BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — An East Bakersfield family took their dog to a local PetSmart for a grooming session but say they left with more than what they bargained for. Alleging that the groomers cut their dogs ear off.
- The owner, Guadalupe Zapien, claims that her dog, Cosi, went into the grooming unharmed but ended up leaving with her ear missing.
- Zapien says her dog needed emergency surgery and about 20-30 stitches.
- Ultimately, Zapien says Cosi lost her ear.
What was supposed to be a routine grooming session ended up turning into an emergency hospital visit for one local service dog. The owners telling me they believe it was a case of negligence.
“I grabbed her ear and it was hard. It was really hard so I told my friend Angie Cervantes that she had something on her ear and it was like bothering her,” said Cosi’s owner Guadalupe Zapien.
Zapien says she took her three year old service dog Cosi for a grooming to PetSmart on Oswell Street on January 20th and picked up the dog the same day.
However, Zapien says she noticed her pet acting strangely for days. Then on February 5th, Guadalupe noticed something.
“So, I told Angie you know what let’s give her a shower and it wasn’t until I was showering her that a part of her ear fell off,” said Zapien.
Zapien claims that it was the groomers from the PetSmart who allegedly cut Cosi’s ear off and attempted to cover it up by adding glue.
We reached out to PetSmart management for comment and they referred us to their corporate office. In a statement, PetSmart said,
“At PetSmart, pet care and safety are always our top priorities. Our Pet Safety team conducted an investigation and we found no evidence of activity that would cause an ear injury during Cosi’s grooming session on Jan. 20. We’ve made several attempts to contact Cosi’s pet parent for more information after they first reached out to the store on Feb. 6, but they have not yet been responsive. We will continue our efforts to connect with Cosi’s pet parent to better understand what caused the issue.”
But Zapien disputes this, she alleges she submitted all documentation about her dog's injury to PetSmart and says to date, has not yet received any response.
23ABC sat down with two law firms that specialize in animal rights cases, both creating cases against PetSmart in the past and say although pets are seen as property under the law, that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything families can do.
“When you have a defendant like pet smart that spends money on advertising and really sells themselves as a company that treats your pets a certain way; when the things they’re saying publicly are not true, that comes with false advertising,” said Jill Ryther, founder and managing partner at Ryther Law Group LLP.
Julie Feiber, partner with Cotchett, Pitre, and McCarthy says,
“In a case we brought back in 2017 against PetSmart, you know, you can seek the value of the animal, you can seek the cost of the medical care that you had to provide the animal.”
Zapien says now, all she wants is justice for Cosi, to bring awareness to the issue.
“We want help and we want justice for Cosi because now look, she doesn’t have her ear anymore,” said Zapien.
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