What happened, exactly, when a couple in California brought their 1-year-old dachshund to a grooming appointment that led to his death? They claim that the pup came out of the grooming department with bloody foam coming out of his mouth, and he died from injuries suffered at the groomers’ hands. Now the couple has filed a lawsuit, seeking answers about how their pup — who they refer to as their “son” — could have died from a routine nail clipping.
The dog, Henry, was found to have broken ribs and a punctured lung after the incident in May. How? A PetSmart employee has been held responsible for the animal’s death, and he was arrested, charged with felony animal cruelty, and freed on bail. He will have a trial eventually, but the couple wants to know what happened and protect other dogs, which is why they filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
“What we want from this is there to be systematic change,” one of the owners said at a press conference at their lawyers’ office this week. “We want [groomers] to be trained.” While groomers do undergo training, not all states require a license to enter the profession.
An investigator from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals told the San Francisco Chronicle that such injuries happen more often than people think. Even non-fatal injuries cause pets significant pain and suffering, like another dog injured in May 2016 when a blade cut its genitals.
We’ve shared stories of dog deaths at groomers in the past, both at Petsmart and its national competitor Petco.
While they wait for the criminal trial, the couple insists that their lawsuit isn’t about money, but is about changing the industry so this doesn’t happen to anyone else.
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist
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