PITTSBURGH (WPXI) — Four former PetSmart employees in Pittsburgh have been charged in the death of a toy poodle.
A.J. Ross brought her toy poodle Kobe to this PetSmart store to be groomed last November.
When she came to pick up the dog, he was dead.
Ross then rushed Kobe to a nearby animal hospital, but after 15 minutes of CPR, hospital staff pronounced the dog dead.
All four former employees are facing felony animal cruelty and neglect charges for their alleged role in the dog's death, which happened during a nail trim.
According to court records, a humane animal rescue investigation found there was hyperextension of the neck and a lack of contact between Kobe's paws and the grooming table.
This is what they said led to Kobe's airway being crushed and resulted in his death.
PetSmart released the following statement about the incident:
"We are heartbroken by and truly sorry for the loss of Kobe. After this terrible accident, we launched an internal investigation and found unintended failure to adhere to our pet safety processes. Additionally, we cooperated with an external investigation, terminated the responsible associates and facilitated an autopsy to help provide answers."
PetSmart also offered Ross help with adopting a new dog, but she declined.
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