When Katherine Rhodes took her 6-year old, 7-pound Chihuahua, Terri Lynn to her local California PetSmart for a simple nail trim on Tuesday afternoon, she never imagined her sweet, adoring dog would be dead just 10 minutes later.
Katherine dropped Terri Lynn off for her nail trim appointment and returned 5 minutes later to pick her up. That’s when she noticed something wasn’t right, despite Terri Lynn’s recent perfect bill of health from her veterinarian.
Terri Lynn suddenly went limp. She was rushed to a nearby veterinarian, but was pronounced dead only moments later.
While Katherine has ordered a necropsy to determine the exact cause of Terri Lynn’s death, she already has her suspicions.
“When you’re holding a dog, I feel like they were holding he a little harder just to keep her calm,” said Rhodes, adding, “I feel like she was squeezed where she couldn’t breathe anymore.”
PetSmart officials insist that the associate doing the nail grooming “followed all safety policies and procedures by immediately recognizing signs of stress during the nail trim.”
The results of Terri Lynn’s necropsy will be available in a month.
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18 Comments
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Lisa bynes
Jan 9, 2018 at 10:55 pm
I worked at Petsmart as a groomer for 11 years. I’ve bow been with Petco for over a year. Both places train their groomers in safety and to be able to recognize signs of stress. It’s unfortunate these all happened at the same store. I would say that store should be under major investigation. Not all stores are the same…its all a matter of individuals. We actually care very much..we are proud of where we work and stand behind our training .
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Pamela Sichi
Jul 3, 2016 at 9:07 pm
I trim my own dog’s nails or they can get them trimmed at our vet for free. Petsmart is always in the news harming someones furbaby something should be done. They should have trained groomers not just someone off the street
Ginger Tilton
Jul 3, 2016 at 10:31 am
When ours need her nails trim, we take her to the Vet. It may cost a little more, but we don’t care.. Plus were back in the room with her when she gets her nails or get shots. She feels better knowing were there..
Natasha
Jul 2, 2016 at 11:32 pm
Just because they are suppose to live longer does not mean there couldn’t have been an underlying cause. Breeding the dogs is a factor. I’ve seen chihuahua live to be 3 cause of cancer. Or lab that was 18 with heart failure.
Sherry
Jul 2, 2016 at 9:33 am
Is it not common sense that Petsmart is a pet food store and that’s it?
WHY leave a pet there for ANY reason?
IT’S A PET FOOD STORE THAT I USE OFTEN FOR THAT REASON!
GERRI BOYLE
Jul 2, 2016 at 7:49 am
WE TOOK OUR WIRE FOX TERRIER TO PET SMART EVERY SATURDAY FOR SIX YEARS AND NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS. IT DEPENDS ON THE PET SMART AND THE STAFF AND MANAGEMENT. THIS IS SAD, BUT GIVE PET SMART A BREAK, IT IS A VERY GOOD AND ORGANIZED PLACE. CHECK OUT THE ONE YOU ARE GOING TO BEFORE LEAVING YOUR PET,
Mik
Jul 1, 2016 at 6:10 pm
Problem here is that the cause of death is still unknown. It could have been a little stress that triggered an underlying problem that no one was aware of. I’ve seen a cat go into boarding and have heart failure but even the emergency vet found that it was an issue that could not have been avoided no matter the circumstances. Just don’t jump to conclusions until all the facts are known.
Catherine Clark
Jun 30, 2016 at 6:59 pm
How many dogs has Petsmart killed now? I don’t know what’s going on there, but someone needs to be investigating and shut those places down. I would NEVER take my dogs there for ANYTHING. Wow. So sorry that little chihuahua had to die because someone is too stupid and obviously not trained. I hope they sue. I would. Lesson here, don’t take your animals to Petsmart.
TRISHA HILL
Jun 30, 2016 at 6:27 pm
So sorry to hear about this! I never allow them to trim nails unless I am there watching them. Petsmart and their vets are horrid at caring for animals. Perfectly healthy dogs are given made up symptoms needing costly meds and aftercare when nothing is wrong and vise versa they let a truly sick pup suffer silently. God has our baby at the Rainbow Bridge and she will wait for you….sending blessings your way.
Michelle
Jun 30, 2016 at 3:49 pm
This is horrible and why I am so so overprotective of my baby/
sue
Jun 30, 2016 at 2:13 pm
so sorry for the loss of your pup……….hate these grooming places. if in the future you have another pup, take it to the vet to have anything done…
Adrianna
Jun 30, 2016 at 11:17 pm
With all due respect, I work at at a petsmart grooming salon. We are trained to recognize signs of of stress, which it states in the the article they associate recognized. This is a tragedy, I’m sure the groomer/bather is devastated. I can assure you that, at my salon, we take every precaution, and care for these dogs like they are our own.
Heather Castaneda
Jul 1, 2016 at 9:33 am
Sadly not every groomer cards they just see it as a job and rush through things. I know this because my dog was hurt and not only did the groomer not tell me they tried to cover it up.
Judy Norkiewicz
Jun 30, 2016 at 2:09 pm
Then why are you reporting this – wait for the results. It is a tragedy – but many times animals have other triggers – strokes for one and can cause acute immediate death. Don’t assume anything!
Marika
Jun 30, 2016 at 1:35 pm
Shame, it is so sad! Perhaps she was too stressed! Little dogs like that do not have a very long lifespan! She was already 7 years old and over weighed! RIP
Norma Guerra
Jun 30, 2016 at 6:51 pm
I am so saddened by this. As a groomer with 20 years of experience can say that there is no excuse for a dog to die at a grooming session or a simple nail trim. I hate to have to agree with PETA and demand to stay with your pets during grooming. If they refuse to let you stay then you have the right to go somewhere else. As for Petsmart and Petco the groomers say that they are certified but really only have attended a few months of training before being named a groomer. There needs to be some new regulations put into place to make sure that new groomers have a longer training process. And for the person that says that a little dogs life span is not very long. I have a news flash I think you have it backwards. It is the large dogs that normally don’t live past the age of 15 years and the smaller breeds live a few more years past 15 to maybe 16-18 years. I have groomed a Shihtzu that was 23 years old. The dog past away before his next grooming appointment. So like I said there is absolutely no reason for a dog to die on a grooming table or at the hands of a groomer. Again I’m so sorry for the loss of this young pup.
Pat
Jul 1, 2016 at 12:58 am
Little dogs have longer life spans! Chihuahua typically live to be 15/20 years, the longest of all dogs