Owner Sues After Toy Poodle Dies On Pittsburgh PetSmart Grooming Table

PITTSBURGH, PA — A local sports reporter is suing a Pittsburgh PetSmart and two grooming employees after the death of her 12-year-old toy poodle, whom she'd had since he was a puppy.

Ashley J. "AJ" Ross, a CBS Sports reporter and anchor, filed a civil lawsuit on July 23 against the East Liberty PetSmart and two employees. She is a Pittsburgh native.

Her dog, Kobe, died on a grooming table in November 2020. According to court paperwork filed in a criminal case, a Humane Animal Rescue Investigation found Kobe's neck had been hyperextended and his airway was crushed.

Two groomers, Julie Miller and Elizabeth Doty, face felony charges of aggravated cruelty to animals for their alleged roles in the dog's death. They both await trial, court records show.

Ross is suing for negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and claims employees and managers told her Kobe "had just gone limp and collapsed without cause," according to the lawsuit.

On Monday, Ross shared security footage from PetSmart, which shows the moments the dog collapses and her arrival to find his limp body.

"While this has been an extremely traumatizing and emotionally draining process, my hope for justice in this case is inherently connected to truth and transparency," Ross wrote on Twitter Monday night. "I believe/hope this video will encourage permanent changes to #PetSmart hiring and grooming practices nationwide."

Ross, represented by Pribanic & Pribanic LLC, is demanding a jury trial and seeking monetary damages.

According to court documents, Ross took Kobe in to the store on Centre Avenue for a nail trim on November 17. She normally would stay with him, but because of COVID-19 precautions she was not allowed to, the lawsuit said.

Kobe did not like having his nails trimmed, so Ross normally put a small muzzle on him so he did not nip at the groomers, the lawsuit said. She left him at PetSmart and returned 10 minutes later to be told he had "passed out and went limp," she says. Ross rushed him to a veterinary hospital, but staff could not restore his heartbeat.

Ross went back to PetSmart and asked to see video surveillance from the grooming area, but says they refused to let her see it until December 1. Upon seeing it, she says, what employees told her "was not true."

Ross claims Miller and Doty put tethers around her dog in such a way that it was "not unlike a hangman's noose if Kobe were to lose his footing." As they turned his legs, he became suspended over the table, the lawsuit says, akin to "hanging Kobe by the neck while they trimmed his nails."

According to the lawsuit, Kobe "struggled and was in obvious distress and panic," but they ignored him and continued. After the nail trim was done and they removed the tethers, the dog collapsed.

"No one from PetSmart appeared to have any knowledge or training about what to do under the circumstances and there was no effort made to resuscitate the dead or dying Kobe," the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit claims PetSmart was negligent in training its employees and says employees concealed what happened to Kobe by saying he went limp. Ross also claims the store violated state trade practices and the Consumer Protection Law by making her think she could trust them with her beloved pet.

PetSmart told multiple Pittsburgh media outlets that the associates involved are no longer working for the company. Court papers show both have since moved out of state.