WASHINGTON — A Virginia woman blames a Petco groomer for her dog’s untimely death.
Allison Marks of Powhatan dropped her dog, Colby, a 2-year-old golden retriever off at a Petco in Chesterfield County on Friday for a routine grooming.
Marks became concerned when she hadn’t heard back from the store after a couple of hours since dropping off her dog. She then called the store and that’s when she was told to meet the store’s assistant manager at an area animal hospital. When she arrived, she says the store’s assistant manager told her Colby was accidentally left in a heated drying cage for too long.
“This is her exact words: your groomer had to go because she had a graduation to go to,” Marks tells WTVR CBS 6 in Richmond.
Petco’s corporate office told Marks that the drying cages cut off after 15 minutes. However, a veterinarian told Marks that Colby likely died of heat stroke. More than an hour after Colby’s death, the dog’s internal temperature still registered more than 105 degrees.
Marks says Petco’s management team was kind during the ordeal but that she wants justice. She says the assistant manager was weeping along with her at the vet’s office.
“You can’t replace a dog like that. He was the most lovable dog ever. It sickens me that they could just let something like this happen,” says Marks adding Colby’s passing on Friday was the worst day since her husband died.
Relatives of Marks say the dog had no pre-existing health problems.
