Healthy Cat Dies At Groomers, Cremated Without Owner’s Permission And Ashes Held Hostage

A 2-year-old cat named Sandy was deemed “perfectly healthy” before being dropped off at a Sacramento pet grooming facility. However, when owner Vanessa Rodriguez-McQuade went to pick the cat up from the groomer, she learned that her beloved pet had died. Vanessa was baffled at what could have happened to healthy Sandy and asked to see her cat. However, the pet groomers at VIP Pets told her that the cat had already been cremated and that they were keeping the ashes.

The New York Daily News reports that Vanessa Rodriquez-McQuade dropped her 2-year-old cat off at VIP Pets in Sacramento to be groomed. When she returned to pick up her pet, Vanessa was given the awful news that Sandy had passed away in the groomer’s care. The heartbroken Vanessa was told that the cat became unresponsive while being groomed and died. However, instead of calling Vanessa to let her know what had happened and to ask what she would like to be done with the body, the pet owner says that the groomer went ahead and cremated the cat without her permission. To make matters worse, initially the groomer wouldn’t hand over the ashes and said they would be keeping them.

According to the Daily Mail, Vanessa is now skeptical about what really happened to her beloved Sandy at VIP Pets since the company was so quick to do away with any evidence of foul play with a swift cremation. Fortunately, after pushing the issue with the groomer, eventually an urn with the name “Sandy” across the top was delivered to Vanessa that supposedly contained the ashes of her deceased cat. With Sandy’s ashes in her possession, Vanessa now wants answers.

The groomer claims that the cat was brought to a local veterinarian when it became unconscious and that it was determined that the cat died of a heart attack or blood clot. However, when the veterinarian was contacted by media outlets, it became evident that the vet never cared for Sandy at all. In fact, the veterinarian claims that he had never seen Sandy before.

Venessa says she will never know what happened to Sandy in the VIP Pets salon since an autopsy is no longer a possibility with the cremation.

“I miss her so much. She was just so hyper, so happy. She was a perfectly healthy two-year-old cat. You’re not going to know until you have an autopsy done.”

Venessa has made no mention of a potential lawsuit, but instead says that she just wants to know the real story of what happened to her beloved cat that dreadful day. She is also wanting others to know about the sudden death of Sandy in VIP Pets care, so that it doesn’t happen to another cat owner. Veterinarians suggest that pet owners stay with their animals for grooming to avoid situations such as this. It is noted that grooming can be incredibly stressful for pets and can lead to unexpected health problems and even death.

[Image Credit: CBS Sacramento]