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The Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is investigating the death of a beloved family dog while in the care of a groomer.
Just hours after dropping her dogs off at Dirty Dog Pet Grooming in Warren, Rhode Island, owner Bethany Iians got the call that every pet parent dreads. Her healthy 8-year old Shih-tzu/Maltese, Daisy, was dead.
Iians explained to NBC 10 that the groomer told her Daisy was on the grooming table with a leash choker around her neck. He said he turned away from Daisy to prepare her bath water and, while he wasn’t looking, she slipped from the table and hung by her neck over the side, eventually choking to death.
“It takes two to six minutes for a dog to asphyxiate,” said Iians. “So he wasn’t watching her.”
It happened just two months after Ollie, a healthy 5-year old Pug died suddenly at another Rhode Island groomer, sparking legislation that, if passed, would require dog groomers to be licensed to work in the state. In addition, groomers could be held liable for injury or death if negligence played a role.
Because that legislation has not yet passed, no charges are expected against the groomer responsible for Daisy’s death unless it is proven that malice or recklessness resulted in her death.
