BB was a 9-year-old chihuahua that died during a grooming session at West Coast K9 in Olympia. Picture from Rhonda Nutt Facebook page.
Last week an Olympia woman named Rhonda Skinner Nutt posted on Facebook that her mother’s 9-year-old long haired chihuahua died during a grooming session at West Coast K9, an Olympia pet grooming company.
A veterinarian did a necropsy on the dog, BB, and determined that she “slowly strangled” during the 45-minute grooming session.
The necropsy noted official cause of death was “pulmonary congestion and endema (fluid buildup) of vessels in the upper part of the head.” The fluid accumulated while BB suffocated during the grooming session. The necropsy also found fluid buildup in her lungs.
After BB died, Ms. Nutt, her mother, her step-father and her brother watched a video of the session recorded by one of West Coast K9’s cameras.
This is how Ms. Nutt described in her post what she saw on the video:
Grooming Loop. Image from http://loopvetclinic.com/OurServices/Grooming.aspx
“Her back end was weak and she kept sitting. It got worse and worse over 40 minutes or so before her whole body went limp. She had blood drops come out of her nose and mouth before she even went completely limp. They never once tried comforting her, petting her, nothing. Just layed her lifeless body on the cement floor and left her there by herself while they made phone calls. She was there for approximately 8 minutes before they decided to take her to vet…just a couple blocks down the road.”
Ms. Nutt told me that the video showed the grooming loop used by BB’s groomer strangled her (most groomers will slip a grooming loop around a dog’s neck to keep the dog upright and steady as it’s groomed).
I emailed West Coast K9 on Monday and Tuesday to get their side of the story but I never heard back from anyone.
Just before I posted this story Ms. Nutt told me that West Coast K9 paid $819 for BB’s vet bill, necropsy, and cremation.
I’ll continue to follow this story and report any new developments. Here’s what Ms. Nutt posted on her Facebook page in its entirety:
“A couple weeks ago my mom and step-dad took their little long haired chihuahua to WEST COAST K-9 on Harrison Ave for grooming. Little did they know it was the last time they would see BB alive.
They finally received the necropsy report back today and it shows that she was slowly strangled for about 45 minutes of grooming until she finally collapsed. We watched the video of her entire grooming and it was so sad and painful to watch. She was in distress after the first 10 minutes, then progressively got worse until her body finally went limp.
At that point the groomer set BB’s poor, lifeless body on the cement floor while she made phone calls. It was approximately 8 minutes from the time BB collapsed to the time they finally decided to take her to the vet…..which was only a couple blocks away.
During the time she was being strangled fluid was building up on her brain. When the groomer released the choker all the fluid went down into her lungs. Please share this if you know anyone who takes their pets there for grooming. I hope to save another family from going through what my mom and step-dad have.”
The vet hospital is actually next door within feet of this business. Killing a pet is criminal. This business needs to be closed.
You may be thinking of another one of their locations? The only vet clinics around them are a few minutes away by car (West Olympia Pet Clinic being the closest).
This is a bunch of crap! I know the groomer personally and I have had my dog groomed by this person for years! Maybe you need to have looked into your dogs medical history, and or the fact that your dog was very old, and perhaps it was it’s time. The smear campaign you are doing to put this groomer out of work or the place out of business shows me that you have nothing better to do, but cause problems. I have an idea, get another dog and love it and move on.
9 years old is not “very old” for a Chihuahua…Dogs aren’t easily replaceable, they’re part of the family. I’m sure you would know since you have a dog of your own. “Customer” mhmmm okay.
who are you! You have no idea what you are talking about… a necropsy together tells the story…
Horrific!!! No words, this is disturbing
That’s simply horrible. I cannot imagine being so callous as to not notice the poor dog’s distress. I’ve groomed for almost 40 years now, and have never, ever treated someone’s beloved pet in such a way in all that time.
That grooming loop is there only to keep the dog safely on the table. It’s not very hard to teach a dog to stand patiently while being groomed – in fact, if the loop is fairly slack, the dogs realize that they have some responsibility in the matter and really learn to stand quite nicely and they seem proud of their trick.
My deepest, most sincere condolences on the loss of your friend. I wish she had been on my table, instead. She would be home and happy.
BOYCOTTED for LIFETIME!! All three locations in Thurston County, Washington State!!! PSA: I have BOYCOTTED this business for lifetime, effective immediately. I will not ever take myself, nor any animal to whom I am Guardian to any of their facilities. I strongly encourage all Animal Guardians, Advocates, and Activists to do the same; and to share this post Globally.
Totally messed up, who does this shit. I would fukn own this business if it was my dog they killed. Heartless pos! !!!!!
OMG. This is beyond sad. My heart is breaking. I would be in jail because I would be in there kicking some asses !!
Unfortunately this story is not true. It is all on camera. The facts our this dog was 9 years old, over weight and had heart problems. No one was arrested and people need to stop the drama!
Yes, its all on camera. Which is why the owners know the facts. Having an overweight dog with heart problems doesn’t cause it to die in a groom shop. I know this because in the 20+ years Ive been a groomer, manager, and grooming teacher I have groomed hundreds of overweight dogs with heart problems, diabetes, cancer and all kinds of other ailments. Not one time has a dog EVER died in my care. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see when a dog is in distressed on the table. Oh, and I know this groomer. I worked with them years ago. Some people just shouldn’t be in the industry.
As a long time dog groomer saying the dog was overweight or had health problems is even less of an excuse. Elderly dogs and those with health issues should be treated even more gently. What a shame that they won’t own their mistakes. This poor dog died needlessly.