They dropped him off to be groomed, and then they got a call he was dead. A family is grieving the loss of their beloved dog after he was mauled by a large dog in the grooming area of a PetSmart store in Pennsylvania.
Betty Miller said she is angry after her 12-year-old Bichon Frise, Brewster, was killed shortly after dropping him off at a PetSmart in Dickson City. Only a short time later, a veterinarian called to let her know that another dog had attacked Brewster and that Brewster was pronounced dead upon arrival at the veterinary hospital.
“He was loving. He was gentle. He was funny. He was like a toy, and he loved everyone,” Miller told WNEP-TV News. “It was hard, very, very hard. He’s been with us for 12 years. He was just a great dog.”
Miller said a pit bull attacked Brewster. She said she doesn’t understand how the store allowed the large dog to come near her small one.
“Why would you want to bring a pit bull past a small dog who’s really just bait? He was bait,” Miller said. She also said she was the one having to call PetSmart corporate for answers.
“We still don’t know why the other dog came in close enough contact with Brewster,” she told Global TV. We know Brewster was being groomed, so he was tethered to a waist height table, but what was the other dog doing with a lead long enough to get him?”
Miller is heartbroken over the last words she told her dog.
“I felt so guilty the day it happened because we would say to him, ‘You want to go bye-bye?’ And he’d hop in that car,” she said. “He didn’t know it was going to be his last ride.”
PetSmart has released a statement that they are saddened by the incident and have launched an internal investigation. “We are truly saddened by the loss of Brewster. The health, safety and well-being of the pets in our care is our top priority, and we immediately launched an internal investigation to better understand what led to this tragic accident. We have high standards of care in place and are actively gathering more information to determine any policy or procedural violations. We welcome all dogs, regardless of their breed, into our grooming salons provided they are well-behaved. We will remain in close contact with Brewster’s pet parent as we learn more.”
For Miller and her family, they want the terrible incident to help pet owners and groomers learn from it. Miller urges pet owners to question and know what their groomer’s procedures are for large and small dogs.
“Know your groomer’s procedures for big and little dogs,” Miller urges pet owners. “They don’t belong together, even if they have never shown aggression.”
Share this advice with the pet parents you know, so they can have confidence in their groomers doing the right thing.
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