Dog Dies After Grooming At Toms River PetSmart

TOMS RIVER, NJ — If you have a dog and you need help grooming it or trimming its nails, Chuck Crawford has a message for you: take it to your veterinarian.

It is what he is wishing he had done after his corgi, Abby, died March 25 during a grooming appointment at the Toms River PetSmart. She is the third dog whose death has been blamed on grooming at one of the company's New Jersey stores since late December.

Crawford, 76, who lives in Holiday City, said he dropped off Abby and his other corgi, Harley, at the Toms River PetSmart at 8 a.m. that Sunday to be groomed. At 9:45 a.m., the phone rang.

"I thought they were calling to tell me they were ready," he said Thursday afternoon. Instead, the woman on the phone told him he that Abby had died, and that he had to go to the Brick PetSmart to pick up her body.

He was in shock. The shock quickly turned to anger when no one could give him any answers about what happened, Crawford said.

RELATED: After Toms River Dog's PetSmart Death, Dozens Of Readers Speak Up

"I was met by the vet, the assistant manager from the Brick store and the assistant manager from the Toms River store," Crawford said. "They all said we don't know 50 times."

"We are deeply saddened by Abby’s passing, and we are in constant contact with her pet parent during this very difficult time," PetSmart said in a written statement Thursday afternoon. "An internal review was conducted to help us better understand the timeline of events and what happened."

"We do not, however, have access to the results of the necropsy, which would likely help clarify the circumstances which caused Abby’s unfortunate passing and potentially reveal any pre-existing conditions," the PetSmart statement said.

Crawford said the company does not have access the necropsy because it has not been completed yet, and because he is paying for the examination of Abby's body. He said both dogs had been to the vet recently and Abby, who was 8 years old, was given a clean bill of health. Harley, who's 10, was diagnosed with cancer, Crawford said.

PetSmart had offered to pay for the necropsy, Crawford said, but when he drove Abby's body to the New Jersey Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory in Ewing, he was told that if PetSmart paid for it, there was no guarantee he would see the report soon, if ever.

"It's my dog, I delivered it here, I want the results," he said he told the lab, so he paid for the exam.

Crawford is angry about Abby's death, but he's also angry at what he called the cold treatment by the PetSmart employees.

RELATED: PetSmart Employees Dropped Dead Dog At Vet And Left, Owner Says

He said described the call from the woman telling him Abby had died as "just cold." And Crawford said that while he was at the Brick store trying to get answers about what happened, one of the employees "kept repeating 'this is supposed to be my day off.' " After dealing with matters in Brick, Crawford then had to go back to the Toms River store to pick up Harley, he said.

The Toms River PetSmart is on Hooper Avenue across from the Ocean County Mall, in the shopping center next to Bed, Bath & Beyond and near the Toys R Us that is closing. The Brick PetSmart, where Abby was taken because there is a veterinarian there, is about a 20-minute drive from the Toms River store.

Abby's death comes three months after an 8-year-old bulldog named Scruffles died while at a grooming appointment at the Flemington PetSmart. Scruffles's owner, Lambertville resident Danielle DiNapoli, learned her dog had been dropped off at Flemington Veterinary Hospital and was dead on arrival on Dec. 29.

A second dog, Ranger, died after a Dec. 22 grooming appointment at the Flemington PetSmart, his owner, Tara Fiet, told Patch in the wake of Scruffles's death.

In both of those cases, the owners are dissatisfied with the answers they have gotten. DiNapoli, who started the Facebook group Justice for Scruffles, is campaigning to have PetSmart close its grooming salons and for regulations that require certifications for groomers.

On its website, PetSmart says its groomers undergo a yearlong training process that starts with trainees "learning basic anatomy and bathing at least 125 dogs." The training progresses to 160 hours of classes and in-salon training that teaches them how to use grooming tools and how to groom specific breeds and styles. From there, it's 16 weeks of supervised on-the-job training "by salon leaders as they work on 200 dogs," the website says. Then they spend six more months learning and being evaluated "until they become certified PetSmart Pet Stylists," the company says.

PetSmart's website also says it has instituted a host of policies to ensure the well-being of pets — though it is unclear from the website how recently the policies were instituted. Among those policies are "express service" for breeds such as bulldogs, pugs, boxers and Boston terriers that "are more likely to experience respiratory challenges, particularly in stressful environments;" an assessment of the pet at grooming check-in for lethargy, excessive panting or drooling, trembling or shaking, or resistance to entering the salon or going to the kennel area, and refusal to service pets that exhibit those behaviors; a review of its training and grooming safety standards, and "enhanced salon monitoring," including the use of video cameras in the salon.

Crawford said he does not know whether the Toms River store has video surveillance in its salon area. He'd had Abby and Harley at the store other times without incident — times, he said, where washing and grooming them at home was inconvenient.

"These companies are making money off our unwillingness to do it," Crawford said. "That's why I'm going public. If you have an issue (with grooming), take your dog to the veterinarian, where the technician is certified and has gone through training to be certified."

A 2014 bill that would have required pet groomers in New Jersey to be at least 18 years old and pass a test by the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners languished in committee and disappeared after that legislative session.

"I've had pets since I was 2 years old," Crawford said. "I've had to take that last ride" when age and illness meant it was time to do what was best for the pet and not have it suffer. Abby wasn't near that stage, he said.

"Abby was a happy, bouncy corgi. Even at 8 years old, she'd come bouncing in at night like a puppy," Crawford said.

"The bottom line: Don't take your pets to one of the big box stores. Do it yourself or get someone who's certified to do it," he said.

Have you had issues with a groomer at PetSmart? Contact Karen Wall at karen.wall@patch.com.

Note: This article has been updated with comment from Crawford and with a statement from PetSmart after its initial publication. It also has been updated to correct the date of the incident to Sunday, March 25. Photo of Abby (front) and Harley via Chuck Crawford, used with permission. Store image via Google Maps