A third dog died during a grooming appointment at a New Jersey area Petsmart, KTLA sister station WPIX reported.
Last week, Chuck Crawford dropped off his two corgis, Abby and Harley, at Pet Smart in Tom’s River to get groomed.
An hour later, Crawford was notified by phone that 8-year-old Abby, had died during a bath.
The devastated owner told NJ.com that an employee told him to pick up the carcass.
“It was a 20-second phone call,” Crawford said. “It was so crude and beyond comprehension. To take your pet for grooming and then have them die? That is the absolute worst thing.”
Dog owner Andrew Goldsmith was baffled by the disturbing story.
“Obviously it would be really scary to bring a puppy or dog to a facility where dogs are getting killed,” he said. “I can’t imagine how that would happen.”
This incident is the third grooming incident at PetSmart that resulted in a dog’s death in New Jersey.
In December, Danielle DiNapoli’s English bulldog Scruffles died less than an hour after being dropped off at a Flemington Pet Smart.
“As a pet owner we deserve a report,” she told WPIX. “We deserve to know how our baby died.”
Nora Constance Marino, an animal rights attorney, highlights a loop hole in state law that prevents owners from suing for damages if their pet is killed due to negligence.
“New Jersey like many other states see animals as no more than property,” Marino explained. “Like a table or chair and you can’t recover for psychological damages any more than you could get for a piece of furniture.”
“It’s terrible and the laws need to evolve,” she added.
In wake of Scruffles’ death late last year, legislation was proposed in the Garden State – where if its passed – it will allow pet owners to sue for both economic and statutory damages of up to $10,000 in cases of injury or death.
The cause of death in Abby’s case still remains unknown.
Her owner confirmed that a necropsy was ordered.
In a statement to WPIX, Pet Smart said they “are deeply saddened by Abby’s passing” and currently are in contact with her owner.
The matter they said, is currently under an internal review.