Dog's Routine Nail Trim Appointment Ends With Broken Ribs And Death

Nail trims are a quick and routine grooming necessity for any dog.

When Terrie Peacock and Stefan Zier took their one-year-old dachshund, Henry, to PetSmart to get his nails trimmed, they never imagined it would end in his death. The dog suffered two broken ribs, a punctured lung, and he was struggling to breathe with blood foaming from his mouth after just a few minutes with groomer Juan Zarate, who has been arrested and charged with animal cruelty.

Henry died after spending just a few minutes in the store. “I didn’t know that just taking him in would end his life,” Peacock told KTVU. “It’s like if I were going out for a pedicure and I died getting a pedicure.”

Peacock and Zier are suing PetSmart and their lawyer alleges that there have been hundreds of cases of PetSmart groomers mistreating or killing animals since 2010.

This problem is made worse by the fact that there are currently no regulations for dog groomers, which means care and safety standards during grooming are at the employer’s discretion.