The death of a 13-pound French bulldog puppy that was killed in an attack at a Petco-owned pet-boarding facility in Hollywood has the dog’s owner in mourning and her supporters outraged.
The death, which occurred after an altercation with a larger dog Sunday at the Pooch Hotel at 950 Highland Ave., has prompted French bulldog owners to call out Petco on social media under the hashtag #justiceforboggs.
“The brightest light in my life went out last night,” the dog’s owner, Melissa Wood, wrote Monday on her Instagram account. “My baby Boggs passed away yesterday after an unfortunate, avoidable incident. … My heart is in pieces.”
In a statement provided to KTLA, a spokeswoman for San Diego-based Petco said the company was investigating the incident, which occurred during “supervised play.”
“All of us at Pooch Hotel and the Petco family of brands are deeply saddened by Boggs’ tragic passing,” read the statement from spokeswoman Megan Oxford. “We believe that this is an unfortunate and isolated incident and in no way related to the actions of our store team.”
The dog that killed Boggs had interacted with her before without incident, according to the statement.
Eight-month-old Boggs was left in the care of the Hollywood branch of the Pooch Hotel — a 24-hour dog day care, spa and boarding facility — when Wood and her roommate Sara Coates went away for an out-of-town trip. Coates left her own French bulldog, Reuben Wrinkles, in the facility’s care as well, she said in an email.
On Sunday, Wood received a call from the Pooch Hotel reporting that Boggs had an altercation with another dog and was taken to the veterinarian as a precaution, according to Coates.
About 45 minutes later, an emergency room vet called to say Boggs was in critical condition, said Coates, who in turn called the Pooch Hotel to find out what had happened. A representative of the boarding facility told the women Boggs had been transferred to another vet but there was a delay because of L.A. Marathon traffic.
As Coates and Wood waited in a security line at the airport, more calls came in from the vet, saying Boggs’ condition had worsened and there was nothing doctors could do.
“We had to sit on the phone as they helped her pass,” Coates wrote in an email.
After a five-hour flight home, the roommates soon learned that Boggs had been attacked by a pit bull at least five times the French bulldog’s size, Coates said. The bigger dog picked Boggs up in its mouth and shook Boggs, leaving the “Frenchie” with multiple internal injuries that a vet described as the equivalent of blunt force trauma, Coates said.
Boggs’ trachea was torn and she could not breathe, Coates said.
When the pair returned to L.A. and Coates when to pick up Reuben from the Pooch Hotel, she said the dog was terrified. The manager apologized and told the women that the incident was not her fault and had happened in an instant, Coates said.
“Our hearts are so broken and while we know that nothing can bring her back, we need this place to take responsibility so nothing like this ever happens again,” Coates wrote in an email.
A post on Boggs’ Instagram account read “She was 13 pounds of pure joy and made the very most of her short time here on this earth.”
Boggs was not properly supervised, the women contend. They have watched the attack on a recorded webcam that allows pet owners to keep an eye on their dogs, Coates said.
Wood declined to speak to KTLA because she is distraught — and is in talks with an attorney about taking legal action, Coates said.
Meanwhile, the Yelp review page for the Pooch Hotel has been bombarded with negative reviews, some of which have been removed, Coates said.
Dogs at the Pooch Hotel are screened in advance and given a “temperament test,” Oxford of Petco said. In supervised play, the dogs are grouped “by a variety of criteria including size, sociability, age and activity level,” she said.
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