Goal: Give most stringent punishment possible to groomers who allegedly killed 12-year-old toy poodle.
A 12-year-old toy poodle, named Kobe, died after he was allegedly mishandled by groomers at PetSmart during a nail trim. Groomers Elizabeth Doty and Julie Miller, along with managers Heather Rowe and Shapan Stonge, were brought up on animal cruelty charges for the incident. They should be given the harshest penalty allowed by law if they are found guilty, so that such a tragedy will be less likely to happen again.
Kobe’s owner, AJ Ross, stated that she walked inside to see employees standing around doing nothing as her dog lay there motionless. Surveillance camera appears to further show Kobe struggling while being held inside a harness. Footage appears to also show that Kobe was in a great amount of distress while being forcibly held down by groomers. Unfortunately, Kobe was later pronounced dead by a veterinarian, who stated that his airway had been crushed after his neck was
Image via Getty/Bruce Bennett
A routine nail trimming at a Pennsylvania PetSmart resulted in the death of a 12-year-old toy poodle, Kobe, and charges against two groomers and two store managers.
Kobe’s owner, AJ Ross, had taken her dog to a Pittsburgh location in November 2020. “I thought it would be a quick in and out,” she told NJ Advance Media. “The last thing on my mind was this would be a death sentence.”
Since her pet’s untimely death, Ross filed criminal charges on May 5 against groomers Elizabeth Doty and Julie Miller, and managers Heather Rowe and Shapan Stonge, including aggravated cruelty to animals and neglect of animals.
Poodle Strangled To Death During Grooming Session; PetSmart Employees Charged With Animal Cruelty
KEY POINTS
PetSmart employees told reporter AJ Ross that her dog passed out and went limp while having his nails trimmed
Surveillance footage of the incident indicated the dog s neck was crushed
Two groomers and two managers were charged in the dog s death
A woman from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who claimed her 12-year-old dog was strangled to death at a PetSmart store last year is seeking accountability from the company. Four of its employees have been charged in connection with the dog s death.
AJ Ross said she never expected her toy poodle, Kobe, to die when she left him at the PetSmart in East Liberty on Nov. 17 last year to get his nails trimmed, NJ.com reported. When the CBS sports reporter returned 10 minutes later, however, she was greeted with the dog s lifeless body.
4 PetSmart Employees Charged in Death of Dog
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Last November, AJ Ross took her 12-year-old poodle named Kobe in for a routine nail trimming at a PetSmart store in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Something went terribly wrong and Kobe had to be rushed to a veterinarian. But it was too late. Kobe died.
Now, four employees at that PetSmart are facing animal cruelty charges related to Kobe s death.
So, what went wrong?
Ross left Kobe in the care of the PetSmart groomers at 2 p.m. on November 17th, according to NJ.com. It took only 10 minutes for the worst to happen. Store employees informed Ross that during the nail clipping, Kobe passed out and went limp.