This is still very disturbing because this just happened 3 weeks ago. If anyone can get me help with whom to contact what to do I would greatly appreciate it. Saturday January 12, 2008 my wife took our 9 year old Golden Retriever to PETCO for a normal wash and dry. She waited several hours and since no one had called her from PETCO she decided to go and pick up Gracie, our golden. When she arrived and asked is Gracie was finished they told my wife that Gracie wasn't breathing and asked if she could try and wake her up. What!!!!! Gracie was cold as if she had been dead for quite some time. An autopsy was performed but there wasn't anything that could prove negligence. Her tongue was purple which made them suspect choking, but without any bruising or marks there wasn't any proof. We still have not been contacted by PETCO on the matter and we aren't sure what we can do. We were deferred to an out sourced third party administrator for PETCO. Right now I just want Gracie back.

[Yogi]

in many cases bruising will not appear til some time after necropsy. You may want to check and see if any bruising has developed since that time if possible.
Sorry for your loss. I personally let no one bath my dogs but me. I guess I am just not trusting of others to handle them, especially a pet store.

Oh what a terrrible thing to happen.I am so so sorry for your loss. I would not rest until I found out what had caused your dog to pass away. ---Aggy.

please contact an attorney. there is now case law for pain & suffering because of these types of things. I know money won't bring your Gracie back - but it should be a black eye for Petco.

now keep in mind there could have been other things at play there too.

had she gone there before? if not it could have stressed her terribly.

did they have ONLY wire crates? or do they also have the Vari - kennels that look like a large cat carrier? if they dried her in one of those - that could have done it.

We had taken her their a few times before. She has been taken to groomers since she was 6 months old. I didn't see anything but the wire cages. Her last resting place was one of their wire cages. It is a very haunting image that I can't get out of my mind....

oh I wasn't implying you didn't have her groomed, I just thought this may have been her first trip to this place.

does this store also have the Banfield vet office there? if so why didn't they immediately get a vet over there?

if so, it wan't them that did the necropsey I hope.

her last resting place is in your heart

See if you can find out if they use what is called a "Drying Box". If they do, and didn't watch her close, or if they left her in there too long.....
I would be calling a lawyer. I am so sorry about your dog.

[Groominator]

The circumstances of your pet dying are very suspect. I have to say that I am a Grooming salon manager at a petco in central texas and have been grooming for several years. If an autopsy proved she was not choked then she may have died of natural causes, or an underlying health condition that was exacerbated by the stress of grooming combined with her age.

My major question is: Why did they not seek medical help for your dog? Why did they not call you to tell you she was in need of medical assistance?
Was she finished grooming? Did they attempt to call you? Did they tell the store manager the dog was not breathing? What the hell is wrong with those employees? "Can they wake her up?" That statement sounds fishy. I know that if I pass a dog in its cage and its asleep I wake the little dude up! Or at least check to see if hes really just sleeping.

PETCO policy is:

When you drop your dog off you have to sign an authorization form stating, among other things that 'in the event of an emergency you authorize we may seek medical attention for your dog, etc'.

If a dog shows any signs of a health or injury issue we MUST call you to get your authorization to take the dog to the petco vet. If you dont answer then we take the dog there and try to contact you until we get ahold of you.

If you did not sign an authorization form stating we are allowed to seek medical attention for your dog then petco does not allow us to seek medical attention for your dog.
We must attempt to contact you though in any way.
The reason being for this is if you dont sign the form, and we take the dog to the vet without your authorization, you as the customer can sue petco.

I have to say this is a horrible instance of incompetency and callousness. I am so sorry this happened to your best friend and your family.

If I were you I would look into a lawsuit. Not for the money, but on principle.

Corporate pet stores need to do a better job training the "groomers" that get trained through them. (as in not going to grooming school but training thru petco/smart) Often they "train" for 2 weeks and then are sent out to groom. Real groomers go to grooming school for months with rigorous training and paid the school thousands of dollars to do so.

FOR EVERYONE READING THIS:

Please ask to speak directly to the person grooming your dog. Ask them how long they have been grooming and how/where they were trained. Make sure they are attentive and open to speak with you, and are professional. Appearances and age dont always tell a full story. I have seen some very normal looking people that are groomers that are less than friendly with the dogs. And I have seen groomers with mohawks and neck tattoos that would throw themselves in front of a bus to save your dog. Also, just because a groomer is an older/ middle aged person does not mean that they are a better groomer.

Form a relationship with your groomer just like you would your own stylist or doctor or your veterinarian. This has many benefits. You trust/know the groomer and so does your dog.

OMG, that is horrible, I can't believe they didn't call you right away, I am so sorry, that is so sad.

There have been a few cases over the recent years that I have been aware of where dogs have died in cage dryers, hung in the tub and been CUT (requiring 20+ staples). As a groomer for almost 13 years and working in many shops I did the same "sleep check" Groominator mentioned. I got tired of the stressful (for the dogs & groomer) shop environment. I always worked in small, privately owned shops and cannot even imagine a petco/smart grooming factory situation. I would never do that to a dog (or myself for that matter). I now do grooming house calls and my clients are thrilled. I work in their homes, they watch, the average grooming takes 1.5 - 3 hours and then I clean up and leave. It gives people peace of mind and is stress free for the dogs. .