Dog groomer who styles pooches to look like The Grinch for Christmas is accused of 'cruelty' by This Morning viewers - but he insists the vegan dyes are non-toxic and the colourful canines love the attention
- Gabriel Feitosa, dog groomer from San Diego, divides opinions with technique
- He uses colourful dyes to give dogs festive makeover, turned one into Grinch
- He was criticised online for the practice, with some said was cruel to animals
- But the groomer insisted the products he uses are all vegan and dog-friendly
A dog groomer was blasted online after he revealed he dyed a pet green to make him look like the Grinch.
Gabriel Feitosa, from San Diego, has gathered a 60,000-strong following on Instagram with his grooming business, where he turns his clients' pooches into giraffes, mermaids or give them festive makeovers for Christmas.
But the pet grooming professional was slammed by This Morning viewers today after he told hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield about his latest festive look.
On social media, Gabriel divided opinion when he dyed a white dog green and red to make him look like the Grinch, after the Doctor Seuss anti-hero.
While the groomer insisted he only uses vegan, non-toxic and pet friendly products, viewers said his practice was cruel to animals, and should not be encouraged.
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Gabriel Feitosa, from San Diego, has gathered a 60,000-strong following on Instagram with his grooming business, where he turns his client's pooch into giraffes, mermaids and more. But the pet grooming professional was slammed by This Morning viewers today after he told hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield about his latest, festive look, pictured
Gabriel's festive dog make-over, which used green dye, has divided opinions, with some loving it, and other saying it's animal cruelty
This Morning viewers said Gabriel was treating dogs like 'colouring book' and that he should not be dying dogs
Speaking from San Diego, Gabriel appeared on the show with Charlie, another dog styled like the Grinch.
He told Phil and Holly: 'Actually, I was surprised with the reaction that happened on the internet,' he said.
'The Grinch look, a lot of people were very happy with it and wanted me to make their dog a Grinch,' he said, adding some people were even ready to cross the country to come to his salon.
'Charlie is very happy, right Charlie,' he said, giving the pooch a pat.
On Instagram, Gabriel and the other groomers at his salon show off the dog transformation they work on, from turning a dog into a mermaid, left, to a red panda, right
'Everything is vegan, non-toxic, developed for animals, and that's what people don't understand,' he added.
'The cosmetics for grooming industry are very advanced, we have whitening shampoos, conditioning, we have hair dye for dogs, semi-permanent and permanent dyes, they are non-toxic.
'There is a video on my TikTok where I eat the dye to show it's all okay,' he went on.
Holly, who recently adopted a Labrador puppy named Bailey, asked if the time spent at the groomer could be cruel for the animals, because the haircut achieved by Gabriel can take up to three hours.
'It's all okay, usually even a regular haircut can take three and a half hours, we don't just do the bath, we do the bath, the nail, the ears, the cut, we have to de-matt a lot of the time,' Gabriel said.
Gabriel explain the artistic looks only take a little bit more than than a regular haircut would, and that he always uses non-toxic dyes
On Instagram, Gabriel showed how he turned a standard poodle into a giraffe, pictured. Phillip Schofield said it was a 'work of art'
Presenters Phillip Schofield, right, and Holly Willoughby, who recently adopted a puppy called Bailey, asked Gabriel if the practice was cruel
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'There is a lot of it which goes into the process that takes more time than if you yourself were getting a regular haircut,' he explained.
He said dyes for dogs are designed like deep conditioning and have to sit for 25 minutes, but that groomers would then work on the nails and ears of the dogs to make sure they don't spend too much time at the salon.
And Gabriel added his clients are delighted with the attention their dogs get when they step out of the salon.
'I have a lot of dogs who have become local celebrities here,' he said.
'Everybody wants to stop, everybody wants to pet them, everybody wants to give them a treat,' he added.
Gabriel, who started practicing his dog grooming when he was 12, revealed his family were surprised with his choice of career.
'I'm very proud that I get to show people how creative and artistic dog grooming is,' he said.
'Even a regular trim, they take your dog to the groomer, we still have to sculpt them, to make their leg have that curve, it's literally a sculpture on a live animal,' he said.
Viewers slammed Gabriel for the practice and said it should not be encouraged and that dogs were not toys
'That takes a lot of skills, a lot of time to get there, that's what people don't really grasp when they think of the price of the haircut,' he said.
'Like any sort of art you need to practice and practice for you to get there,' he said.
Phil agreed the dogs Gabriel grooms look like 'works of arts.'
The groomer then gave tips on how to make the trip to the groomer a bit more relaxing for nervous dogs.
He said it was all about 'desensitising' your pooch to the scary things they might encounter at the groomer's, from their nails being cut by a stranger to the sound of the clippers.
He advised using an electric toothbrush to massage your dog do that they get used to the vibrating sounds a shaver could make.
But viewers were not impressed with his appearance on the show, and some accused him of animal cruelty.
'All those dogs look miserable, it may not be hurting them but that doesn't mean it's not abusive. Dogs are NOT toys. Shame on you This Morning for promoting this,' one said.
'Why doesn't he do his beard like that instead of the poor dog,' another said.
'It is not artistic, it is appalling' one said.
'Cruel, pure and simple. Making a mockery of dogs for profit, pandering to stupid people. Breaks my heart,' one person wrote.
'Don't give this bloke airtime. Disgusting, it's not artistic, it's cruel and every bloody idiot watching this will want to do it.'
Another person claimed Gabriel treats dogs like 'colouring books' and another said he should dye his beard rather than dying animals.
