MARIETTA, Ga.,None — A Marietta family is grieving after their dog died at a local groomer.
The groomer claims that the dog choked on its own leash, but the family told Channel 2 Action News reporter Diana Davis they don't believe the owner's story.
Tom Wall said Jesse, a teacup Schnauzer, was rescued about a year ago. Wall said he dropped Jesse off at the A&P Pet Salon on Highway 92 in Roswell. When his 17-year-old daughter, Courtney, went to pick Jesse up several hours later, Jesse was dead. The Walls said they never got a phone call.
"I'm just like expecting to pick up my dog, like nothing's wrong, and then he's like,' your dog is dead.' He killed my dog," said Courtney Wall.
Tom Wall said Jesse's death is like losing a member of the family.
He told Davis that the owner of A & P Pet Salon claims Jesse strangled on his leash after he was put back in a crate after grooming.
Wall told Davis he does not believe the owner's story.
"He's lying to me. I think he was on the table. I think he left him unattended, to answer the phone or wait on somebody. When I went in the day after it happened to talk to him, he had a dog on the table and he left that dog unattended to come talk to me, and from my understanding, you never leave that dog alone on the table, and I think it was negligence on his part," Tom Wall said.
The owner of A&P Pet Salon insists the dog strangled playing with his own leash in a kennel, not on the grooming table .
"When i saw that, I dropped everything I was doing. I ran … tried to do CPR on him, but I couldn't revive him. I'm still upset about it" said Alex, the owner.
Though he insists the dog was not left unattended on a grooming table, other groomers said it's a common and dangerous idea.
Marietta groomer Brenda Nelson said even the possibility of strangulation is why she never uses a leash on a grooming table. She said it can be like a noose if you walk away for even a moment.
"When you have a live animal on a table, if you've got it in a noose and it jumps, you've got a dead dog," said Nelson.
The owner of A&P Pet Salon has offered to buy the Walls another dog, as well as six months of free grooming. Tom Wall said, "That's not enough."
He said he plans to sue.
WSBTV
