Brandon PetSmart Under Fire As Tampa Store Cleared In Dog's Death

BRANDON, FL – The results of a necropsy performed on a Yorkshire terrier that died while being groomed at a Tampa PetSmart show the dog had a collapsed trachea as well as 16 adult heart worms when he was brought in to be groomed.

Veterinarians at the University of Florida where the necropsy was performed say the stress of the visit to the groomer contributed to the dog’s death because it induced cardiac arrest.

Marcos and Michelle Soto dropped off their 6-year-old Yorkie, Fabio, at the PetSmart grooming studio at 1540 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa, on April 16, for a routine grooming appointment that was supposed to take about four hours.

A little over an hour later, Fabio was dead.

Marcos Soto said the dog showed no signs of being ill prior to being dropped off at the groomer. He said the dog was up to date on his shots and received a monthly heart worm preventative.

Heart worms are parasitic mites caused by mosquito bites. Mature worms migrate to the heart, causing congestive heart failure. Many dogs, however, show little or no signs of infection even after the worms become adults, according to UF vets.

While the Tampa PetSmart was not responsible for Fabio’s death, the national chain of pet stores is in the midst of a public relations nightmare after three dogs recently died in New Jersey after visits to in-store PetSmart grooming studiso. (see related story).

After Fabio's story was published, a number of readers sent emails to Patch sharing stories of their pet’s deaths after being groomed at PetSmart.

One New Jersey pet owner, Danielle DiNapoli, whose bulldog, Scruffles, died after a PetSmart grooming appointment on Dec. 29, has launched a nationwide online petition drive demanding that the PetSmart grooming deaths be investigated. That petition has more than 94,000 signatures.

"This must be stopped," she wrote on her Facebook page, Justice for Scruffles. "Enough is enough!"

The grooming studio at PetSmart isn’t the only focus of criticism. PetSmart has also come under fire by the animal activist group, PETA, which supplied video footage to police in Bellevue, Tennessee, on March 29 showing severely ill guinea pigs and mice at Bellevue PetSmart.

According to a PETA, one guinea pig had an abscessed wound on its back, was dehydrated and suffered from painful gastrointestinal stasis.

Police, aided by Metro Nashville Animal Care and Control, executed a search warrant and seized several sick guinea pigs and mice from the store. As a result, the Nashville District Attorney General’s office filed cruelty to animals charges against three PetSmart managers on April 13.

PETA says it has similar video footage of the Brandon PetSmart store in Lake Brandon Village, 11331 Causeway Blvd., which it has turned over to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office to investigate.

PETA says the video shows PetSmart stocking animals with diseases, such as ringworm and coccidiosis, that are transmissible to humans.

The animal activist group said many hamsters at the Brandon store suffered from a condition known as “wet tail,” a deadly intestinal disease that strikes when they are severely stressed. PETA published a photo of one hamster that did not receive veterinary treatment and died in the store.

PETA also claimed that store employees deprived Valencia, a critically ill parakeet, of veterinary care for at least five days. PETA said the young parakeet was covered with feces and urine and was starving and dehydrated. The PETA representative reportedly asked management several times to give the bird veterinary attention but the bird was never seen by a vet.

"When the witness told the store manager that Valencia might not survive, the response was, 'I wish I had a better answer for you, but I don’t.'"

The bird died six days later.

Peggy was one of numerous guinea pigs at the Brandon store that had ringworm, an itchy, highly contagious fungal disease that is transmissible to humans. Ringworm can quickly spread in filthy bedding when feces, urine and old food are left in the cage.

Additionally, PETA contends the managers at the Brandon store left animals to languish on the shelves during Hurricane Irma. When workers returned four days later, they found that approximately 30 small mammals had run out of water, and some had died.

“Sybil, a hamster, apparently attempted to chew off her own leg after it was caught in a water bottle holder,” said PETA.

PETA said a Brandon store manager admitted that “every single one” of PetSmart’s animals came from “terrible” “pet mills” and that PetSmart is “a horrible place for animals.”

“This evidence of sick and injured animals being denied critical veterinary care and enduring slow and miserable deaths is why consumers should never buy anything from PetSmart until it stops selling animals and switches to selling only supplies,” said PETA Senior Vice President of Cruelty Investigations Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA urges Hillsborough County authorities to follow Nashville officials’ lead and move swiftly to investigate and hold accountable any PetSmart worker who’s neglected animals."

Brandon PetSmart employees referred Patch to the national PetSmart headquarters for comment.

PetSmart’s headquarters released the following statement:

“We are always committed to putting the needs of the pets in our care first. We empower our store associates to do what’s right for all pets, which includes instruction to have any sick animal immediately seen by a veterinarian if needed. There is no adverse effect on a store team that takes every step possible to care for pets.”

At the same time, the company questions the “evidence” Peta supplied to law enforcement authorities.

“We take these allegations very seriously, and are working closely with the Bellevue (Tennessee) authorities to obtain the relevant facts. Additionally, we are investigating the validity of the video, given some of the footage is several years old,” responded PetSmart in its statement.

Images via PETA

PETA photographed a guinea pig at the Brandon store it says was suffering from ringworm and a parakeet that died after being denied veterinary care.

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