WHITMAN, MASS. (WHDH) - Whitman Police say there is no indication of abuse or neglect on behalf of a dog groomer in connection with the death of a Holbrook family’s dog.
According to police, they responded to K-9 Groomers to conduct an inspection on May 28 in response to an allegation by a dog owner that their dog had died as a result of neglect by the groomer the day before.
Police said the animal control officer did not find any violations at the time of the inspection.
Robert McNeil said he brought his Bernese Mountain Dog, Bailey, to K9 Groomers in Whitman for a bath. A few hours later, he got a phone call from the groomers, telling him Bailey was “not breathing well.”
“At that point, I just hung up the phone in a panic,” said McNeil. He met the groomers at the veterinarian and found his dog hot and not breathing. Bailey was covered with cold towels and ice packs to bring his temperature down.
“It’s awful to see your pet that you love going through that and you just see that it’s not getting better,” said Cheryl McNeil.
Bailey’s condition deteriorated and McNeil and his family made the difficult decision to have Bailey put down. The McNeils said the veterinarian told them Bailey was killed by heatstroke. The groomers said it was a bacterial infection.
“I feel like I left my son there to die,” said McNeil. The family initially got Bailey seven years ago to cheer up their daughter Julie while she was in the hospital. Sadly, Bailey was put down on Julie’s 20th birthday.
According to police, Bailey was two hours early for his appointment and it was explained to the owner that he would have to wait to get bathed. Police said the owner was fine with this, and left the dog there.
Around 12:30 p.m., Bailey was taken out of his cage and brought to the bathing room, where he laid down on the floor. Bailey was observed not drinking water and breathing heavily, police said.
He was then rushed to Whitman Animal Hospital.
Police said the dog’s temperature was recorded to be 101.4 degrees and was sick for about two hours before the owner elected to euthanize the dog, police said.
“Unfortunately, an accurate determination of any underlying issues cannot be guaranteed, nor can heatstroke causing those issues alone be guaranteed,” police said. “Though proving an underlying issue with Bailey prior to going to the groomer is still uncertain, there has been no indication of abuse or neglect by K-9 Groomers both during inspection and while observing video footage.”
Police added they have not received any complaints about the groomers in the past.
“The rush to judgement and attacks directed at K-9 Groomers through social media as well as phone calls to the business is very disturbing,” police said. “They have even received death threats as a result of Bailey’s death.”
7News was unable to reach K9 Groomers for comment.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)