Shi Tzu hangs to death after grooming; netizens slam dog spa’s negligence

MANILA, Philippines–Words of disappointment, grief and frustration circled social media sites after a post about a four-year-old Shih Tzu dying while in the care of a grooming spa became viral on various social networking sites like Facebook.

With about 5,000 shares and more than a hundred likes, the Facebook post of a certain Karen Balce, received various reactions from dog and animal lovers not only in the country but also around the world.

Balce recounted an incident on Jan. 8 when her mother, Nancy, took their dog Tyler for his weekly haircut and grooming at The Dog Spa BF Homes Parañaque branch, where the dog had been having his grooming sessions for about a year already.

“Little did we know that this would be the cause of his early death,” she said noting that her mom was informed that the dog was ready for pickup but when she arrived at the spa, she was informed about, and saw for herself Tyler lying on a table dead with a leash still attached to his neck.

“The cause was that after they groomed him, they put him on a leash (he was never ever on a leash, even in the house) and placed him on table and left him there; for some reason he fell/jumped out of the table and so he was hung to death, they only found out when my mom got there 30 minutess after they finished grooming him,” Balce added on her post.

The hardest part for their family, according to Balce, was knowing that Tyler struggled to death as they were informed that the dog was heard barking prior to the discovery of his death, which the family assumed was his way of asking for help.

Being considered as a part of the family, Balce said they have been mourning the loss of Tyler.

“I was never a fan of dogs, but Tyler is different, he has always been very harmless and acted like he was a real boy. We treated him like he was really part of the family and cared for him like he was a real human being. He was never allowed to play outside (just because he can’t get dirty, which he hates as well), his stroller was his way out of the house, and hearing Sunday Mass was always the highlight of his week,” Balce shared on her Facebook account adding that his death has crushed their hearts over and over again.

“It pains us to know that we weren’t able to help him and that his death could have been prevented.”

Tyler’s owners said they shared the story of their pet’s untimely death on social media to warn other pet owners to be careful in trusting the spa as they claimed that it should be a policy to place dogs inside cages after grooming and not on a leash.

In a phone interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Balce’s mother, Nancy, said that she refused to agree to a settlement with the owners of the spa saying “no amount can compensate” for their loss.

“I am really angry because of what happened plus that fact that the owners never got in touch with me until I gave them a call,” she added.

Nancy said she has decided to take legal charges against the owners of the dog spa for them to pay for the moral damages suffered by the family and also to have their business permit revoked.

“There will be no out-of-court settlement or whatever. We will be filing charges through the help of the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS),” the older Balce said.

She also said that they would like to bring this to court and have the dog spa closed.

In a statement, The Dog Spa BF Homes branch said that they have also been mourning the loss of Tyler and that they “don’t have the words to express how heartbroken we are.”

“We have reached out to the family of Tyler, to show our love and support, and provide comfort in their time of need. Not just as business owners, but as human beings who know what it is like to love and lose a dear furry friend,” the statement read.

To prevent a similar accident, the management of the dog spa said that they had already fired the groomer who was assigned to Tyler whom Balce identified only as a certain “Mamerto.”

But this did not seem to contain the anger of netizens who still reacted negatively to the dog spa’s statement.

One Facebook user said she did not feel any sympathy coming from the company. “It is not enough that you fired your negligent employee, you should have done more for the family who lost their furry baby.”

Another furious netizen encouraged the dog spa to name the groomer and warn other pet spa owners about him.

“The manager and receptionist of that particular branch should be fired as well. All branches should be closed for a few weeks and have all personnel undergo extensive retraining,” the Facebook user added.

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