After more information was released about the incident, it was important that this story be updated. As social media sites like Facebook are really catching wind of this incident, the authors listed below researched further into the matter in order to provide more detail. The original story and its additional content begin now.
A dog was baked to death after it was left unattended in a grooming drying cage by a Petco employee at a store in Midlothian, Virginia. The dog’s death is now under investigation by local animal control authorities.
The owner of the dog, Allison Marks, stated that she had taken her two-year-old golden retriever, named Colby, to the Petco located in the Westchester Commons shopping center on Friday. Marks left her dog at Petco to be groomed at 8:00 a.m. on Friday morning. After a few hours, she had not received a call back from Petco regarding when she could retrieve Colby. Wendy Stiko, Marks’s daughter, said she had received a call from one of the employees at Petco, who told her that they were at a local animal hospital with Colby after a tragic incident occurred at the store.
Marks was told by the employee that her dog was dead from being left unattended in the drying cage for 45 minutes. The cage has a drying temperature of over 105 degrees. The family learned the reason why Colby was left unattended was because an employee clocked out to attend a friend’s graduation party. Other employees were not alerted that Colby was suffering in the drying cage.
Heatstroke in dogs can occur very quickly. In his article about heatstroke in dogs, Dr. Becker warns pet owners of the danger and provides them with tips for hot summer days. He states that the heat-related death of a pet is very tragic but that this incident can easily be prevented. In this case, however, there is no way that Marks could have prevented the death of her beloved dog. She had no way of knowing that taking Colby to the Petco that morning for a routine grooming could have led to his untimely death. Marks daughter told reporters, “(My mother) just wants justice for Colby.”
Marks expressed her feelings to reporters shortly after the event occurred. She stated that 
this incident was like losing a child to her and that she did not want anyone else to ever have to go through such a thing. The beautiful golden retriever, Colby, suffered an unfortunate fate, as his organs failed from heat stroke in a high temp drying cage.
Since the incident, those higher up at Petco have been working to ensure the public that they are taking care of the matter. With this routine grooming incident, the branch could suffer a bit in sales, as customers may now be reluctant to take their pets in for grooming, due to the nature of the situation. Comments on Facebook and other social media sites reflect that people are taking high concern to the fact that any employee of a Petco could make such a mistake. Claiming that if one employee could be careless enough to let something like this happen, other employees may also forget to make customer’s pets their priority.
Petco released a statement shortly afterward, claiming that the employee who left Colby in the drying cage has been suspended. Following an investigation, it could be possible that the employee and/or the Petco branch is charged for animal endangerment or cruelty. In the state of Virginia, being guilty of this crime would be a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Chesterfield Animal Control authorities confirmed the dog’s death on Sunday, and have launched an investigation into the matter. Officials from Petco stated they are also investigating the dog’s horrible death, and that they will take full responsibility for what happened. They stated that the health and safety of pets is always their top priority, and will continue to be, even after this unfortunate event. In a statement released by Petco, they said, “Our thoughts are with Colby’s family at this difficult time.”
By Alex Lemieux
Update and Additional Contributions By Crystal Boulware
Sources:
NBC 12: Powhatan woman: Petco ‘baked’ dog to death
Healthy Pets: Dead in Minutes: Dogs and Heatstroke
WRIC: Dog dies after regular grooming at Petco
Main Photo Courtesy of Mike Mozart’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
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The idots that allowed these dryers to be installed without safety timers should be fined!
The employee responsible was “suspended”? Are you kidding me! They should have been fired on the spot! The whole crew that was there at the time were negligent. I can’t believe that they don’t routinely check drying cages and the rest of the area. I am so very sad and sickened by this, I just can’t find the right words to express it. The torture that poor baby must have suffered. RIP Colby.
Probably get some backlash for this..” it’s just a dog”, etc. But thank god this was not my dog because i would now most certainly be in jail for the brutal torture/murder of that employee. Not even exaggerating.
Why is the drying cage HOT? Water evaporates in warm or cool air just as it does in hot. The cage only needs to be warm enough to keep the dog from getting chilled
I feel sick they should get rid of the cages altogether and use a towel. That is murder through neglect and to an animal that is completely defenceless helpless and innocent it would be like doing it to an actual child! Someone will rot in hell for that!
should be more than 1 person in charge of things like this
Maximum penalty should be applied as well as suing all response or parties This is inexcusable!
This is so heartbreaking….what a horrible death all because of a STUPID HUMAN!! ive never seen one of these dryers..i thought that groomers dryed the dogs with a hand held dryer…they need to put buzzers on these dryers that go off every 5 min.. to have the dog checked if they are going to be so lazy and use one of these horrible dryers!! this sickens my heart to know that Colby suffered such a horrible death!! I cant believe no other employee seen him in there!! PETCO NEEDS TO PAY!!!!
Omg. I stopped taking 2 of my dogs to Petco in 96th St in NYC. One of my dog got an ear infection due to exercive water in his ears
A misdemeanor? That’s it? Virginia needs to seriously update their laws…the animal suffered greatly and the facility clearly did not have proper procedures in place. A good process would have included mandatory inspection of a groomers workspace as a result of the groomer having taken in a client and then leaving in a relatively short time. Or why isn’t the supervisor checking the status of all clients before a groomer is allowed to leave the premises?
Why do they have dangerous equipment without an auto shutoff. Better yet, why wasn’t the dog handed over to another groomer before the first one clocked out? If the groomer was leaving, who did she think was going to check on & remove him from the drying cage and then notify the owner he was ready for pickup? Im sure officials investigating are asking these same, no brainer questions, but as a consumer & pet owner whi also has her dog groomed regularly, I want to know these things. Im extremely concerned now about the safety of leaving my pet to be groomed. I never knew those drying cages were used. I always thought hand dryers were used. I think all grooming salons should clearly post & explain, in advance of grooming, what their methods & practices are. Full disclosure.
Oh hell no she would wish she was dead too after I got done with her.this should be felony charge and jail time.i hope the owner would sue the store and the groomer.sad just sad
Petco also let 100 pets drown in cages during a major storm in 2011. They didn’t even let the poor animals out of the cages. They had plenty of warnings about the storm way before it hit. What is wrong with these people. There is NO EXCUSE for what has happened to all of these poor animals…
Since Petco was responsible for the death of Cody then they need to pay the cost for what it would cost Allison Marks to get another fur baby
Your business is only as good as your worst employee.
It’s all well and good to say that the safety and health of pets is their top priority, they need to make sure their employees also make it a top priority.
Just a very sad mistake !
This is not the first incident that I have read where a pet has been severely injured or died while being groomed at a Petco. Nationwide. Google Petco complaint board. Makes me sick
I would sue them, that poor dog suffered because of neglect
One thing I do not play with is my Son (dog). I probably would have lost it in there and been in jail. I stopped taking my Mechu to Petco for his grooming because it was winter and I asked for a trimming and they completely shaved him making him look like a bald rat.
First has a vet performed a necropsy to determine why the dog died? Has an investigator from a certifying agency checked on the drying mechanism? I sense people are jumping to conclusions without facts.
Susan I’m wondering the same things!!!
Yall are so quick tohang this employee. The reason they have been suspended for investtigation is because maybe, just maybe they did tell someone and THAT person dropped the ball. AGAIN! Where is the manages responsibility? I feel 100% They knew the emplotyee was leaving and what their duties at the time were. The manager on duty should be held responible and fired without question. This por dog died a horrible death and the family not only has to suffer the loss but the nightmare of how their baby died. But I’ll bet you this young employee is devastated and horrified that this dog died, will live with and probbly have nightmares the rest of her life over it. The manager on duty either way should be terminated immediately and someone, once the facts are clear and precise should be charged with neglect and cruelty.Lets get the facts first and then judge. My heart and prayers go out to this family. I’m sure mothing anyone says or does can fix their broken hearts.
omg! The more comments I read, the madder I get. This is horrible, inexcusable and can never be fixed. My heart goes out to the family and their loss and what a horrible way for that baby to die. Everyone is condemning the teenager that left. BUT! we dont know the facts. Mty finger points to the Manager on duty. They should be terminated immediately. I am sure that the teenager is devastated and horrified that this dog died. She has to live with this the rest of her life. Ya’ll act like she skipped out the door to party and hoped the dog died. Come on, let the facts come out. She may very well have told someone, we don’t know. But again. Manager on duty knew she was leaving, knew what her duties were. Should have known what was going on in every aspect that day. I feel that that Manger is at fault, should be terminated immediately and someone AFTER THE FACTS are found should be charged with animal cruelty/neglect leading to death.
I would say this should put an end to the drying cages period! And while this teenager clocked out where were the rest of the employees and why was management on duty not aware of what was going on. The entire staff on that shift should be terminated in my opinion, Management included, and foremost. This is irresponsibility at its worst, causing an end that can NEVER be rectified iby any means.
I’m sorry but this is inexcusable and unforgivable. Everyone on shift when this happened is responsible in my opinion. If this were my dog there would be nothing anynoe could say or do to make up for this tragic loss. That poor dog suffered horribly and now its family will suffer endlessly for not only their loss but in the horrific way it happened.
this is horrible and the sad thing is they said its all about the girl who left and did not tell the others about leaving yet i work in a clinic and even if someone else worked on an animal or anything everyone is always just going to check bc they know that animal is in the hospital no matter what bc its EVERYONES responisblity! its sad and they probably had a towel covering the cage causing it to get hotter.. this is just horrible and sad that someone couldnt do there job correctly in the result of someone loosing one of their family members !!
Our microwaves have alarms, why don’t the drying cages??!!
They don’t need drying cages…those are for lazy people who don’t want to use a towel (or more) and a blow/hair dryer on a low setting. And these pet supply places shouldn’t be offering or sponsoring side companies to boost their revenue, when it is apparent that they are not as selective about who they hire to fill their positions with (unlike Veterinarians and specialty grooming facilities). I don’t even leave my cats alone at the Pet Supply vet’s anymore, and refuse those hotel services available within them…I’m certain they hire the same type of folks – the ones that have little to no knowledge of Animal welfare, or just simply do not care!
How about employing registered responsible people? Dogs have been beaten, burned the dogs when shaving them, letting them fall off the tables, cut them with scissors, cut nails to close etc. These reports are popping up all over the country. Employees should not only be suspended or retrained, they should be fired as well as being charged by the law.
why do the temperatures have to be of over 105.. what about a timer or alarm… i would want to kill someone if it were my dog..no excuses for this
I don’t understand why there isn’t a timer with an alarm on the machines isn’t that common sense
My heart breaks for the family of Colby… Such a horrible and preventable incident. Shame on Pet ! These annals are our children and part of the family, can’t even imagine the devastation this family is feeling. So sorry for their loss
ThIs is so horrifying that somebody’s negligence lead to such a cruel and unnecessary death.
First off i don’t understand how they can put animals in a heated cage for any amount of time!
We have 2 furbabies that we take to a private groomer…..she is a master groomer and our girls love her. We took one of our dogs to Petco one time. She came out of there a shivering nervous wreck!!! She never went back and when we got our other dog we had already been with a private groomer. So very glad we did that. I cannot even imagine any animal, or person, being put in a cage that heats up to 105. Just that is cruelty!!!
My heart is sick for what that animal suffered and what this poor family is going through right now.
I feel the employee should be terminated. When the employee clocked out, did he tell someone the job wasn’t finished and the dog was in the dryer? The dogs’ death should not be a slap on the wrist. I know mistakes happen but no second chance should be given. The employees should know the dangers of the dryers since this is not the first time a dog has died in one.
its outrageous they have no timers on the dryers for safety reason alone, if the timer was there and set the animal would be alive today, I have hair dryers and they are set for the average person. what a shame million dollar business and such a cheep company.
There is no absolution for this outrageous negligence. I’ve tossed my Petco Pals cards in the rubbish and will endeavor to ensure this doesn’t happen again by advocating for the boycott and demise of Petco. The slow suffering that must have been experienced by a living being with a consciousness, and the long journey of sadness ahead for the bereaved human companion of the living creature that Petco left in a dryer to die. The negligence of one employee is the negligence of the entire company for having not installed redundencies that would have prevented this from happening. OUTRAGEOUS!!!
This company needs to be shut down.. Just researching a little bit about this company their have been 3 dogs killed, several with cuts to their eyes and broken limbs… that’s just a few articles I read. Can imagine if I do a full research how many others they have killed and harmed all over the world.
Jenn, your remark is unbelievably callous. I have been entrusted with a number of dogs over the years and each has left their imprint on my heart.. Yes, Colby’s owner may get another dog, but he was an individual with a specific personality. If, god forbid, that happened to my dog, I would be suing the company for everything I could. Not for the money but for their stupidity and carelessness.
Aside for the fact that the groomer was irresponsible, there needs to be an auto shut off for these cage dryers…..this incident has happened many times before in other dog grooming establishments. People can be distracted easily, so accept this fact and protect the animal!
This is actually a smart idea. While the groomer should still be held accountable, (he/she should have checked in on the dog or spoke with another employee before checking out for the day ), humans make mistakes everyday. If this “dryer” had a shut off timer at say 15 min or less, it would have prevented this. Employees should still be taught to pay closer attention to the animals they are in charge of grooming though. If the animal won’t be done before your shift ends someone else should be told the animals whereabouts and how long they were being “dried”. I only see 2 of 140 comments but apparently someone also made it as if this lady could just *get another dog*. Noone would tell a mother to *have another baby*, if their child died, so why would one say such a rude thing about a pet? An animal might not be exactly the same as a human, but pet owners love their pets as if they are family members, and every dog/cat or whatever has a distinct personality, so she can’t just replace her lost pet with a new pet.
Although this is sad the death of an Animal is in no way the same as losing a child. Im sorry her dog died but she will feel better in a few months people who lose children never heal i think thIs woman clearly is out for money if she cared so much about her dog why take it to petco in the first place they have an awful reputation? Yes this groomer needs fired but everyone makes mistakes im sure she feels terrible but Petco is the one grossly responsible they hired her.
Just saying but what u said about her healing fron this us bs you dont heal from a death of any sort . These dogs are like family to us and they wipl forever be apart of us and when they die they take apart of us with them and she probably has taken him there before with no problems. The death of a child doesnt compare to the death of a dog they are different feelings of pain.
graduation ,really how old are these groomers and shame on them for taking such a big responsibility and giving it to a kid
Just this past Saturday in Newton NJ I was watching as a so called groomer was brushing out a golden and it was horrifying the way she was just ripping thru the dog
I don’t ever push suing, but in this case, the groomer and the store need a huge wake up call. I think if they get hit hard, it will make them more aware of how they need to treat pets. I have groomed for 38 years and find this appalling.
Just another multi million dollar company getting involved in a business that they don’t belong in..supervision is a big big part in this business …animals should never never never be left alone ever..
Employee only has been suspended…how about fired and charge…No one else/employees noticed the dog…sounds like Numerouos employees need to be held accountable…..Petco should not be allowed to do Grooming to many incidents
I have 3 small dogs and groom them myself. If I didn’t do that , I’d find someone reliable who does home grooming and pay them. If I had a large dog I’d find one of those places that I could bring the dog to bath myself . Pet owners should learn how to cut their dogs nails and clean their ears themselves in between general groomings every 6-7 weeks.. These places are “big box stores” that only care about their “bottom line”.
Thank goodness I use a mobile groomer who comes to my home. I see exactly what happens to my dogs.
i agree with you Angela,where in the crap is the timer on such equipment.and temp to hot!what is wrong with that store!?!?good Lord. such a sad iresponsible thing to have happen.sorriness,plain sorriness!!!
Let me guess. The company may not have had enough staffing to have prevented this. American greedy corporations don’t staff their places of business well. They do it to save more money for their pockets. Smaller budgets and spending less on sufficient staffing is what I’m sure is to blame.
I totally agree. Now i know why my Dog drinks like crazy and is just kinda lifeless for awhile after grooming. I have a story as well.
Why isn’t there a safety timer on these? Why is 45 minutes even an option? Is 105 necessary as a temp to dry? My hair can be dried on a cool setting on the hair drier. Even if I leave it on all day I won’t be hurt by it. Petco is just as responsible as the employee. It chooses the equipment it uses. If it is not safe to use unattended then safety features should be built in. Even my microwave comes with a timer!
This is an unfortunate preventable accident that never should have happened. I didn’t even know these “drying cages” existed which seems like a lazy way to dry the animal. They sound much too dangerous and should never be used or allowed in any type of environment. Might as well be using a microwave. I’m saddened to have heard about this event and there is nothing that will make up for the horrible suffering of this poor innocent dog. I have never or ever will take my Shih-Tzu to a groomer of any kind. I hope that Petco will find in their hearts a way to help this grieving family with some kind of relief. My heart and prayers go out to the family.
Never EVER allow the use of drying cages on your dog…specify this!!! Towel dry and hand dry only!!!!!
I don’t feel like Petco groomers are properly trained and this drying cage sounds like a cage of doom .. There no place for the dog to go and the dog is at the mercy of the employee .. As well as owner to hope they check on the animal .. This is so sad and truly unacceptable .. I hope the owners sue Petco and demands all cages of doom be removed in the future .. I feel like with the proper training we will still see accidents happen as this one.
I’m a Petco employee my self and I see this as both company and employees fault. Num One: dog NEVER should had been left alone in what we call the “Hot box” temp in the drying box shouldn’t have exceeded over 65. I personally think is still to warm for them and use it on a lower level. Two: max time in that type of dryer is 15 min. They should have an automatic shut off timer on there. If not working properly it SHOULD NOT be in use. Three: ALL pets should be checked by any and every employee EVERY 15 min to make sure they are doing good and have proper amount of water. That is a water bowl and lixit bottle water attached to the kennel door. Four: even if u need a potty break some one needs to notified that there is an animal in grooming and have someone check on him. If going out to lunch NO drying hoses should be attached to the pets kennels Five:petco’s priority is image. Not safety. They claim they safety first but when you try to notify them of an issue takes them weeks or months to even “try” to fix the problem. It makes me mad that someone’s neglect behavior gives the rest of us a bad image. And sad that this family has gone through this traffic lost. My condolences to them. I love my job and pets and that is why I see them as my own babies as well. But there are people out there that work in this field because of a Job and really because they care for pets, sad to say that but it’s true 🙁
At petsmart we had managers routinely check the kennels every 15-30 min, why wasn’t anyone checking the kenneled dogs? Anything can happen dryer or not, dogs needs to be checked on
thats why i bath and take care of my dog she is family she can replaced with all the money in the world ease that pain
@Brandon: no matter if the management approved the employees time off, it is still the employees responsibility to finish what was started instead of having to rush off to a party. At least could have informed coworkers as to what was still being worked on. In regards to the temperature of the dryer… totally agree! WTF was it so hot? All they needed is ambient air to remove the moisture from the dog… not a permanent press! As for management responsibilities, they need to revamp their process/methods in grooming & employee responsibility.
I will never take any animal there!
i agree with babrie aites the employee needs to be fired regardless if the employee was given time off that person should have notified someone that the dog was in there she neglected to tell someone and the poor dog payed the price with his life RIP colby prayers to the family
Petco is stupid! The driers that go on those cages should NOT BE HEATED if dogs are to be caged dried it is bad business to put a dog, in a metal cage with hot driers on them. Hot air driers should be for drying dogs on the grooming table only. Almost all groom shops do not have heated driers for the cages, it is room temp air for cage drying.
If the employee was approved for time off. How could this be that employee’s fault. The fault lies with the manager not following up. Knowing that this individual was leaving. As well as knowing this employee’s roles and duties for the day. I sure this person didnt say, “im going to my friends graduation and i hope this dog dies.” My other problem is this why is the dryers that hot. In fact why is there any heat what so ever. I have worked at animal clinics and all they use, are the same style as what is used to blow up bounce house’s/castle’s. I personally think this place is trying to save face, by “suspending the employee pending an investigation.” It’s tragic, what has happened.There are way to prevent things like this from happening. Here is a great idea how about something called a “timer” and when the time has been reached the dryer would shut off. Or what about making sure if there is such high heat “water” might be available for the animals to drink.
Ps
I like how they said we take full responsibility, but try to put the blame on the employee only. Taking “full responsibility” means its my fault not pointing a finger at someone else. That would be taking “partial responsibility.” Just a thought
the employee shouldnt be suspended… they need to be FIRED!!!!
I never go to petco again!!!
Petco says the safty of the animals is so important. Not true. Here in Johnson city NY during the big flood the left all the animals to die. They lost every animal in the building. No it wasn’t flash flooding they knew it was coming and had a lot of warning to get them out!! Shame on PETCO
ss. Wow are u kidding me as an employee I cannot believe what I am hearing ! This is an outrage ! Our store doesn’t use hot air we use room temp air and our dryers shut off every 15 mins so we check the dogs and turn them back on ! There is no excuse for this and she leaves for a party haha wow way to go , ur company and employees are become worse and worse and it makes all of us look horrible and careless!! Its not a groomers ! And now u take away muzzles so u put the staff at risk and are turning tons of dogs down just because they simply do not like a 5 min nail trim ! Wow I am really looking into to other places your company is horrible and don’t get how ur still open
This place needs to be shut down. I have heard a lot of horror stories from fox news. Never, will I bring my dog to any of these places for grooming. They are abusive to animals.
I bet the employee is devastated to know that they contributed to the dog’s suffering. There are many reasons possible for why a horrible event like this could happen. I recommend that we find out more before condemning the first name we hear.
NO excuse..fire that jerk and and suspend him/her from EVER working around any animals again..tragic for dog and family. stupidity!!
I agree that an investigation is absolutely reasonable because that employee may have actually told the employee who was supposed to take over and they may have been then one at fault. It’s unknown.
i have been a certified master groomer with 50 years experience…in all the years i have been grooming these drying cages have been lethal.any shop or business that uses them is just asking for trouble. for the groomer that left that poor dog in there…..how would you like to be put in a closed box with hot air blowing on you with no way to get out….firing is too good for you….i hope the owner sues the bunch of you you all deserve it
SUSPENDED? Are you kidding me? What about FIRED! And unless the employee who clocked out was the only employee in the grooming rooms (which I doubt or there would have been no more grooming for the day and that is not the way the big box chains work) how could none of the other people there notice that a dog had been under the dryer and was baking to death? I used to groom professionally and we always monitored the dogs drying in cages. They should only be there for a short time anyway as you need them damp when you put them on the table to finish dry and fluff with the stand dryer. There are many conscientious and caring groomers out there but I am so glad I can do my own grooming on my standard poodles and don’t have to worry about finding one of them….
the employee that left is the main person but you mean none of the others could see this dog in a drying cage all that time?? So very sorry for Colby’s parents and family. Sending prayers.
1st – the title of this article is way beyond decent! Couldn’t you find a kinder way to say it? At least for the family. Have a little heart!
2nd – I totally agree that the employee was negligent. Being more interested in going to a party than looking out for a beloved pet is uncalled for. Both the employee and the manager should have to answer for this!
But if someone would leave their dog in a hot car and dies then they want to give that person jail time the employee was too worry about a graduation than a dog he should be fired not a pat on the hand and don’t do it again the hell with they ought to close the petco in that area till it’s resolve completely I will be posting this believe me
I can’t believe all they did was suspend the employee! What? You have got to be kidding me! And they say they’re “taking care of it”? OMG I am appauled by what I have read. I don’t go to that store anyway. I’m not into China products as I do not trust them and they’re cheap. Reading this just enforces even more why I wouldn’t even take my dog there for a groom. Shame on the store for it’s lack of sympathy along with the disgrace of no immediate fire for that employee!
I worked for 5 years for Petco and they became very strict on using that drying cage which we referred to as the oven but the rules were and I’m going back seven years ago that you could no longer use heat in them so somebody wasn’t following the rules of course and that’s what happens when they don’t have a good manager in their salon I was a good manager in the salon and I followed the rules and yeah there are a lot of rude people that work for Petco I do agree that’s why I no longer work there I would follow the rules and the general manager would rule over me so it was a bunch of crap and I love and I working at the hospital now and I’m very happy
Petco near me killed a dog this year as well. Mishawaka Indiana… restrained the dog by choker leash until the dog choked to death on its on vomit. They should not offer grooming services, obviously they’re teenage employees aren’t qualified to care for animals in such a way
I’m not shocked at all. I worked in the petco which recived top sales and customer service nationally. I went toe to toe with two of the mangers due to the lack of and improper care given to the animals. I was there 5 years. In thoese 5 years I saw countless animals die. What was done about this? Nothing, nothing at all. When told if the store didn’t show improvements….. the gm just falsified shipments. Recoding more dead fish and animals on recived shipments. That way there was more live sold then recorded dead canceling out the difference. This behavior was taught and instructed under corporate guidelines. Everything they do and stand for is covering up issues and making a buck while doing it. Its a shame that the slogan they repeatedly use is where pets come first. First to the grave yard while they brain washed people into handling them cash is more like it.
I have never had a good experience at Petco. Just recently I went in to get a fish tank and the employees were very rude, unprofessional, and unhelpful but I couldn’t even imagine something like this happening. It’s like Petco just throws people out on the floor without any knowledge or training at all and allows them to take care of living creatures. It makes me sick that this ignorance caused something so tragic. I will not be going back to Petco. After my own experience last week I was hesitant but now I am sure. I will not support a company that has such lackluster policies and standards. My heart and my prayers go out to this family. It’s always hard to lose a pet, especially in this type of tragedy.
This is not the first time a Petco has been involved in a dog dying in one of their heat cages. The company should change its policy and not use these death chambers
I stopped bringing my 2 mini schnauzers to auburn ma Petco as they left them in drying for hour or longer and they can home vomiting. And red skinned. …store just said it was exaggerated. …
This is not the first time a Petco has been involved in the death of a dog in their grooming facility. you would think the company would change their policy regarding dogs and heated cages.
whoever left the dog in the cage should be charge with animal abuse
I am a groomer and we make sure we check on our dogs constantly and never ever put heat like that on them.
Solon dryers for dogs should NEVER be used. I don’t care what grooming facility it is, dryers are NEVER good for dogs. The best situation would have been to use a fan to blow on the dog in the crate, and then only if the dog was checked every 10 minutes. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER should any dog be left in a crate unattended at a grooming facility longer than 10 minutes without being checked and certainly never left with a collar or harness on while in the crate. Grooming solons that use dryers should either be avoided or asked to not use the dryer on your dog.
I didn’t know that petco even had a heat cage.
Suspended, not good enough. Employee needs to fired, and the company needs to be charged. Then maybe they will train the staff better. This is unacceptable. They will never get their hands on my furbabies!!!!!
SUSPENDED? !?! How about immediately fired, charged with animal cruelty, and sentenced to maximum. How immature and selfish to leave a job involving the welfare of a defenseless living soul… Petco please do the right thing!!!
Wow, the employee only gets suspended? Are you kidding…. that makes petco just as careless as the piece of crap who just up and left the dog. That person needs fired and charged with animal cruelty… .. no doubt about it. You can’t just get a slap on the wrist for that.
Well this company would have have the name petco if that were my pet.
I work at Petco and there are settings to the heat and the highest setting is just barely warm. There are also 15 minute timers where they shut off and they make you turn them back on so I’m sure this was some crazy malfunction or uneducated and careless individual. None the less this is very sad and unfortunate and gives a bad name to all the groomers who work for Petco because one person decided to be irresponsible.
45 minutes compared to 15 could of made a world of difference… We would all be having a different conversation about possible burns or dehydration ( like prior stories of drying cages )… I just hope this motivates future cage bans
We all know that dogs can not be left in vehicles because it reaches 105 degrees. Why are there ‘drying cage’. These cages should be banned.
Horrible! Poor dog! How alone he felt! I want to vomit thinking about it.
This employee should be charged and fired!!! Not suspended. I would never give them business again!
I don’t know why they call it suspension she was fired. When I worked at any job when an employee was “suspended” it was termination.
Forget suspension, that employee should be fired! This is just ridiculous!
In petco policy your are suppost to check on dogs every 10 mins,why were the other employees not checking on the dogs & it was left unattended for 45 mins,also why was it heat,we are never to use heat,they are all suppost to be room Tempe ture air all on timers for 15 mins!
The best way to ensure it never happens again is to hit them where it hurts- In their cash register. That’s all Petco cares about and if they loose several million to this poor woman in a lawsuit maybe then they will take the necessary precautions.
Why on earth don’t these drying cages have a timer on them?
All this sadness could have been prevented with a simple timer that shuts off the power to the device within the proper time limits. A tragedy could have been averted.
Oh my god yes!!! A timer with automatic shut down! How simple! And did I read that the employee had simply been suspended? Uh, how about fired?
I can’t imagine any grooming salon using a heated cage dryer AT ALL given the ease with which dogs can suffer heat stroke. Also, I would imagine the store would hire a responsible person to handle people’s pets. So many of us can make mistakes, but places the steady, responsible person in a job like this, not a young nit wit.
We had this happen a few years back in Pa. I understand then it was two dogs that died in one of those dryers. I thought they got rid of all of them after that incident. I don’t go to Petco. Their prices are so high. This is so tragic, what a beautiful dog.
it has happened before… http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/07/28/woman-sues-petco-after-dog-dies-from-cage-dryer/
Any of these big chain places are the same whether in Virginia or any other state. Stick with small local groomers, ask questions about their procedures on drying. I know at my groomer, it’s an unheated blower after hand drying. Been going there for years too, family owned, same people, trust and relationships are built, unlike cookie cutter stores with lots of turnover.
who the hell would pay 45 to 70 dollars to have someone else groom their pet? This is really sad though. The employee should be fired and have an animal cruelty charge slapped on them. He/she knew the animal was in there and should not have left. That is part of their job and lots of place don’t let u leave until the job is done. Common sense: use it
I didnt know they still had them out there and frankly as a groomer my self we hand dry all dogs and no heat element is used ever
THEE NEEDS TO BE A PETITION TO REMOVE THESE FROM ALL STORES. A blow dryer should be good enough.
I agree. They should of had auto shut offs on all of them.
Good point as well! Even if the dryer itself doesn’t have a timer, they can be plugged into outlets with timers on them. We have that at our salon as well.
I agree. At our salon, we use blow dryers and the kennel dryers we use are unheated, plus they have a wire crate type door to provide proper ventilation if we use the kennel dryer so it’s more like having a fan blowing on them, AFTER we use the blow dryer in case they’re a little damp. We also have strict limitations as far as breeds that we will never kennel dry & set age limits. More salons need to implement higher saftey standards like this, or these accidents will continue to happen.
Pet safety certainly isn’t always their top priority. On this particular day graduation took precident.
Can’t they put a timer on this thing or something? Or even alternate heat and cool air to dry the animal? smh
No different than Petco in a northeast state leaving small animals caged in a store with 6-8 FEET of flood water running through it!
automatic shut off…. very easy.
There should be a fan on them not heat wtf is petco doing???? I have worked at several groomers and never was there a heater on them it was a simple fan that attached to the front of the drying cage!!!
I would have them shut down so it doesn’t happen again
Why would the temperature be set so high in the first place? for speed to get another customer in there? And yes, a timer is a simple solution. Horrible Horrible death. They so close their doors.
I’m sure nobody will read this because everyone wants so badly to blame the big chain grooming salons, but something does not add up here. Heated dryers are NOT allowed at Petco. All the dryers have timers for 15 minutes, and it’s not possible to over ride this feature. I’ve worked at both corporate and private groomers, and corporate salons have so many more safety policies in place than private salons. I just don’t see dozens of policies broken and nobody noticed
Why is there not an adjustable timer on the drying cage to turn the heater off after a given period? If the dog is not dry enough it can always be reset
I would never take my dog to Petco, Petsmart, or any chain store for grooming. I hear hundreds of stories about beaten dogs, and killed dogs. The employees and the stores NEVER pay any consequences and it will keep on occurring!!
Put and leave that groomer in the dryer. See how she likes it. Both Colby and the groomer are living beings.
i will never take my dog there HE IS A LIVE BODY GET THE PERSON FOR THAT SHE HAD PARTY ON HER MIND YOU NO
The most appalling part of this article is where it states that the employee was “suspended.” Are you freaking kidding me? Why not fired? Immediately!
Prolly Cuz if they Fire him b4 investigation is concluded he file a wrongful termination suit…
Outlaw drying cages.
Is there a reason drying cages should even be used??? What about groomers actually using a dryer by hand and not just sticking them somewhere to dry?
Turn he or she name and information over to the F B I they are prosecuting animal abuse cases.They need extreme punishment!!! They need to be put in same cage for the same amount of time!!!
this just terrible yes employee should be fired for leaving the dog in a drying cage. sorry to people for your lost .
So if I’m not mistaking petco had a complaint of a groomer abusing a dog and it was caught on video. Petco needs to do more research on they’re employees.
I’m sorry but I have a wolf hybrid. I would have found the employee and beat her bloody. She needs to be fired. That’s like baby sitting an infant and leaving it unattended in a dryer cage at 105 degrees. There is no coming back from that do you know how rare my dog is? And replacing her and it being the same won’t ever happen either. The poor thing was only two years old. Poor thing didn’t get to live it’s life =(
Very disturbing. Who ever left the dog in there and left should be fired not suspended. They didn’t do their job by telling some else to watch the dog.. I am sure they were more worried about getting off work and getting to their party on time. You can never make up for this loss Petco.
Why would they have a drying cage the pets are stuck in there the dog could have been able to get away from heat if it wasn’t locked in cage they should be banned what happen to just blow drying
A preventable death this employee should be fired and gels accountable who the hell leaves work to go to a party and if it was okay ed check in all the animals before leaving if this happened to my fur baby I’d sue the crap out of pet Co you can’t make this right
In Virginia, the most the dog’s owner can sue for is the market value of the dog.
Dear God. Someone wants the government to license all groomers? Yep. That’s the answer 100% of the time. More government! We are so freaking hopeless
Poor engineering to not have a timer switch. Your clothes dryer do. Employees had to “work around” defective employer provided equipment. NO time switch is lower cost and employees will just have to pay attention.
My question is why is the employee not terminated completely? Suspensions is too good for someone who literally took a dogs life for his own selfish needs, accident or not. He should also be charged and if I was that dogs owner I would be suing because obviously they aren’t taking the right steps and are not willing to dish out money to upgrade to a safer means of trying.
That is so sad. I live on Long Island and just read thishttp://longisland.news12.com/news/levittown-petco-blamed-in-2nd-bulldog-death-1.8945820
With all the excellent forced air dryers (no heat) on the market this should have NEVER happened! All element heat dryers should be illegal. I groomed for forty years and know this was neglect pure and simple. The groomer should be fired and charged with a crime. RIP Colby and condolences to your family. All groomers should be licensed in EVERY state.
Why dont these heat drying cages have a 20min timer or less amd then they shut off.this would prevent an incident from ever happening again.so sad.
The really sad part is I don’t believe this is the first time for the chain. Seems like I remember reading about them being sued before. If that is the case, then hey knew of the risks. The only reason I can see for them still having heated drying cages is greed, you can do more animals in a day! Unfortunately, it would seem that it is better for their bottom line to settle “accidents” then to hand dry or disconnect the heat! Just my opinion.
There were 2 I found so far, one of them being from 2011… If you look at earlier comments you’ll see a link for them… there was even a video from a news company about petco stating they stopped using Heat altogether in their drying cages…
Suspended? Really? Suspended?
The employee should not have been suspended. He or she should have been fired on the spot!! Poor Colby suffered a cruel death. Petco should make all their employees takecourses on heat stroke as well as being placed in a room with an extreme high temperature so that they would get a glimpse of what animals feel during being placed in a heat cage.
I agree the cages need to have a time with auto shut off for sure!!
If anyone or anybody hurts my fur baby. They don’t want to deal with me. Because I will not let it go. People are so stupid
Employee was suspended how about terminated wouldnt be alive if it was my pet
RIP Colby….Yeah as tragic as this poor doggies fate….you would really take someones life? I doubt you would really do that Dorothy.
i dont know if i would be able to control myself if that happened to one of my fur babies. so tragic.
my thoughts are that I will never take my animals to Petco for any grooming I would go to as reliable groomer and Petco you don’t know how long those people have been on the job or what they really know so no not a good idea to go there
Really suspended?? How about fired!!! Your employee killed a living being, not by mistake, but total negligence on their part and yours!! What your employee did was criminal!! Your grooming dept apparently is not over seen by anyone, not even management, that’s appalling!! Why would you even have equipment in your grooming dept that would even pose a danger to pets??? Your grooming dept should be shut down and your company sued for every penny! Unfortunately for innocent sweet Colby that didn’t deserve this, his justice will never come!!
How can these drying cages not have automatic timers and controls to shut off or alarm automatically?
They do. They shut off after 15 minutes, and there is no way to over ride this feature. The dryers are also not heated, so I’m not sure where they’re getting the dryer temp of 105 °
I agree. Employee should be fired. I’ve seen employees so excited and eager to leave work that they carelessly leave things undone. But a dog’s life? Come on. I would feel so bad I wouldn’t even want to work there anymore.
So sad. I can’t even imagine why u would put a dog in a drying machine
She was only suspended, how about fired and arrested for animal cruelty!!!!
They need to do a criminal background check one every potential employee for animal cruelty
I know PetSmart does or did back when I worked there
There is no excuse!!! Justice is an understatement!!! How can you forget what you are doing when it involves a living creature… The pain and suffering this poor dog went thru without anyone coming to his aid is inexcusable!!! How about we put that employee in the same position!!! See how they enjoy being baked and tortured!! I hope she sues everyone involved… But in the end it won’t bring her loved one home nor will it take away the horror that this poor helpless animal suffered at the careless hands of an irresponsible person….inexcusable!
Tragic….beyond comprehension how a responsible employee could have done this. She should be fired. Period
I took my very calm loving pit to a location just to pick him up limping and a vet to tell me he had a minor sprain from his leg being pulled hard mind u my dog will gladly give u his paws for a nail trim. These types of places are like a factory it’s all about money not the well being of animal. Leave the grooming to a professional place that only does grooming yes you will pay more but this will never happen. I hope the lady sues them. Our dogs are our children thos girl should be put through the same and see if she lives…
That nevershould have happened! The employee who thought that going to a graduation party will have this dog’s death on her conscience! This employee should be severely disciplined as well, esprcially since she didn’t bother to alert anybody the dog was in the drying cage.
These dryers should not use heat only cool air and timers. I work for petsmart and we use only cool air dryer with 15 min timers. This is so sad it would be hard to imagine the pain the pet parent must be in during, knowing her poor pet Colby suffered such a death. This is one more reason groomers need to be licensed.
Wow I used to work at a petco grooming salon and we didn’t use heated forms of drying for this very reason. This is awful
Update: http://consumerist.com/2011/07/28/dog-dies-after-visit-to-petco-groomer-owner-wants-hair-dryer-cages-banned/
Petco CLAIMS they stopped using heat.. Checkout this 2011 Petco dog death I just located…
When that petco employee “clocked out” , did that employee inform any co-workers or mangement there of a dog being in the cage? Why doesn’t the dog-cage have a timer to turn off after xx minutes? Isn’t there a way to supply water on the side of the cage to atleast help keep the pet hydrated?! Perhaps put in a cctv monitor in there that security can keep tabs on?
What the hell?!
Poor baby R I P
can we put that employee in drying cage and see how he likes it and he’s left unattended to suffer the same way that poor innocent dog did????
More then looses her job! She should be in JAIL for animal cruelty! Stupid stupid person, in jail for being stupid and not caring!
Poor baby!!!! My heart breaks for him an his family!!!! This person needs to loose her job for this and never groom again. Petco needs to be sued also!!!!!
This is a heartbreaking story… How could you even leave work without making sure the dog was either out of the drying cage or someone else knew to take the dog out? That’s definitely animal cruelty and I hope the groomer loses her job over this…
I’m “never” going to take my dog to petco after reading this.
The employee needs to be fired and animal cruelty charges filed
I’m in Florida and I can smell a lawsuit from here.