VIDEO: Couple Says Great Dane Lost 28 Pounds in Nine Days at PetSmart Hotel
As if you needed another reason to avoid PetSmart, the cruel pet store chain is proving once again that it has no empathy for animals. Michigan resident Allison Yates and her husband claim that Beauvine, their 7-year-old Great Dane, lost 28 pounds in the nine days he spent at the store’s PetsHotel in Rochester Hills.
The couple—who boarded their dog while they traveled to Utah to volunteer at an animal sanctuary—said they chose the PetsHotel because the facility offered soundproof rooms and private time, and Beauvine has a nervous temperament. According to Yates, PetSmart called four days into his stay to report that the Great Dane had diarrhea and had vomited. Had they known the severity of his condition, Yates said, she would have returned home immediately.
The couple claims that when they dropped Beauvine off at the PetsHotel, he weighed 138 pounds, but when they picked him up—nine days later—he weighed only 110 pounds. The couple also said that their veterinarian informed them that the Great Dane was dehydrated and appeared to have “been neglected for a week.”
“I don’t want this to happen to any other dog,” Yates said.
PetSmart Cruelty Strikes Again
In a statement released by the company in the wake of the incident, PetSmart provided the standard response: “The health, safety, and well-being of pets in our care is our top priority.” But we know this to be far from true.
Last year, a dachshund named Henry reportedly died after being taken to the store for a routine grooming session, and a PetSmart employee was arrested on suspicion of felony cruelty to animals.
According to reports, just minutes after Henry was dropped off at a California PetSmart store for a routine haircut, employee Juan Zarate emerged from the grooming office with the dog, who was bleeding from the mouth and having difficulty breathing, and took him to an on-site veterinarian. Henry was said to have died shortly after the vet began treatment, still in the store.
In 2016, eyewitnesses found that reptiles were denied basic care, left to suffer with gruesome injuries, and cruelly killed at a PetSmart supplier.
Animals were crammed into filthy, crowded plastic bins stacked on shelving units like boxes of old bank statements. Living beings were deprived of water for days or even weeks. Sick and injured animals were denied veterinary care. Emaciated, severely dehydrated animals were desperate for water. Animals were cruelly killed by being gassed or frozen to death. All of this occurred at Reptiles by Mack, a reptile mill in Xenia, Ohio, that breeds and sells frogs, lizards, turtles, and other animals to pet stores across the country, including PetSmart.
This case was not unusual. Reptiles by Mack was the sixth animal dealer with ties to large pet store chains that PETA has exposed, and we’ve exposed more since.
PetSmart is well aware that investigation after investigation of its animal suppliers has found factory-farm conditions, filth, crowding, deprivation, neglect, cruelty, and prolonged, painful death. Yet it continues to sell animals and do business with these mills.
NEVER Support Stores That Profit From the Sale of Animals
You can make a difference by “voting with your wallet.” Please, pledge never to buy pet supplies from retailers that sell any animals. Let PetSmart officials know that you’ll buy supplies from businesses that don’t sell animals—such as Target, Walgreens, or online retailers—instead.
And if you’re planning to add an animal companion to your family, please visit a local shelter or rescue organization—never buy from a pet store or breeder.
