Petco Says It Takes ‘Full Responsibility’ For Death Of Dog In Grooming Salon, Employee Fired

Allison Marks lost her beloved dog Colby Jack after he died while being groomed at a Virginia Petco. Marks says that she did not find out about Colby Jack’s death until she called to check-in on her dog as she hadn’t received a callback from the Petco grooming salon. She was told to meet the store’s assistant manager at the veterinarian where she discovered her beloved pet had passed away from apparent heat stroke.

Petco claimed that the dog was hot from the “stress” of the grooming. However, Marks says Colby was not an anxious dog and that the vet noted his temperature at 105 degrees an hour after he was brought in for treatment. Marks believes that Colby died after too much heat was applied as he was left in a kennel dryer.

Petco released an official statement about Colby’s death, noting that they “take full responsibility” for the dog’s death and that the employees involved in the care of Colby did not follow proper “animal care protocols.” It was also noted that the employees who did not follow those protocols in Colby’s case have been terminated.

“At Petco, we know that pet parents entrust us thousands of times each day to provide quality care for their pets. To deliver on that promise, we have strict protocols in place to ensure the health and safety of all animals in our stores and grooming salons. As animal lovers, we’re saddened and deeply concerned about what happened to Colby last Friday, and we’re committed to doing everything in our power to prevent this kind of tragedy from ever happening again.

• After a thorough investigation, it’s clear our animal care protocols were not followed when it came to Colby. As a result, the individuals directly involved are no longer part of our company.
• While we’ve confirmed that no heat was used, and is not used in any of our grooming salon dryers, as an additional measure, the type of kennel dryer Colby was housed in has been removed from service in all Petco stores.
• We are also using this incident to reinforce our standards of care, and will be conducting nationwide sessions to reinforce this training with grooming salon team members in every Petco store next week.

We take full responsibility for what happened in Midlothian, and remain heartbroken over Colby’s untimely passing. Pet parents place their trust in us, and we realize that trust is earned. We understand there is no way to make up for the loss of Colby, and our thoughts continue to be with his family during this difficult time.”

Though Petco is taking full responsibility for the dog’s death, they are still claiming that no heat is used in their dryers. However, out of a measure of caution, Petco has removed all of the kennel dryer models that were used on Colby from all of their stores. The company also says they are sending grooming salon employees through more thorough training to reinforce proper protocols in Petco salons.

What do you think about Petco’s statement? Are they doing enough to ensure that this does not happen to another pet?

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