[Faline]

A California woman is suing a pet store chain after her beloved Sadie, a Lhasa Apso, died from heatstroke.
Teresa Gilland claims that Sadie, her six-year-old pet, developed heatstroke while sitting in a cage dryer after receiving a shave and haircut at a California Petco.
Cage dryers direct air – sometimes heated – on dogs to dry them after baths. The cage dryer is attached to a kennel, where the dog sits until it is dry. If left unattended, some veterinarians, groomers and pet owners say, overheating and injury can result.



Ms Gilland says that, a few hours after dropping Sadie off for her monthly grooming appointment in July 2008, she received a phone call from the store alerting her that blood had been found in Sadie’s kennel. She was told to meet Sadie and a Petco employee at a veterinary clinic.
Ms Gilland and her husband found Sadie in a kennel with an oxygen mask attached to her face at the veterinarian’s. Medical records confirm that Sadie was in ‘severe respiratory distress’ from heatstroke.
Sadie was transported by ambulance to a hospital for further treatment. According to hospital records, however, Sadie’s condition became worse, and she was put down. The veterinarian confirms she died of ‘severe heatstroke.’
After Sadie’s death, Ms Gilland asked to see the kennel where Sadie was kept after her grooming. Ms Gilland says she found smears of blood and scratch marks inside. She also claims that the store’s managers confirmed that Sadie had been kept in the kennel, with the cage dryer, when she first grew ill.


Though Petco did not confirm the type or heat level of the cage dryer, Ms Gilland's attorney claims the store's dryer had heat settings of upwards of 100 degrees. Sadie had a temperature of 107 degrees when she first arrived at the veterinary clinic, approximately five to seven degrees higher than a dog’s normal temperature.
Karl Jandrey, a UC Davis emergency-care veterinarian confirmed that heatstroke could potentially be caused by a cage dryer. Heatstroke, he told The Sacramento Bee, results from being exposed to ‘a relatively high temperature over a short period of time, or a not-so-high temperature over a long period of time.’
Cage dryers usually feature a range of settings and levels of heat, as well as an air-only setting. Some have timers. But critics claim that kennels often overheat, that timers can malfunction, and that distracted or busy groomers often fail to check on the dogs.
But the dryers save groomers time because they are faster than towel-drying animals by hand.

[Andria]

That's sad... but then again, if I had that kind of dog or a similar breed like a Yorkie, Maltese, Havanese, Shih Tzu, Biewer or Tibetan Terrier, I would leave the hair long (they have such beautiful long soft hair that I think it's a shame most of them are clipped), do the grooming myself and avoid what Ms. Gilland went through...

[Karma]

How awful. Those cage drivers are definitely dangerous if groomers just leave the animal unattended for any length of time. Poor dog was obviously trying to get away/out of the cage.

[souris]

DRAG

[Eaton]

Originally Posted by Andria ↗

That's sad... but then again, if I had that kind of dog or a similar breed ...
... do the grooming myself and avoid what Ms. Gilland went through...

I take care of my own pets.

[candymosh]

they transported the dog by ambulance? that wouldn't fly around here

[Andria]

Originally Posted by Eaton ↗

I take care of my own pets.

As you should.

You can buy or borrow dog grooming books and buy almost any of the clippers, shears, dryers, combs, etc., and do almost everything a groomer can once you learn. Flea-and-tick medication and worming tablets can be administered at home too.

There are some things that need to be left to the vet tho...

[BlueNosePit]

Originally Posted by Andria ↗

That's sad... but then again, if I had that kind of dog or a similar breed like a Yorkie, Maltese, Havanese, Shih Tzu, Biewer or Tibetan Terrier, I would leave the hair long (they have such beautiful long soft hair that I think it's a shame most of them are clipped), do the grooming myself and avoid what Ms. Gilland went through...

Big reason for cutting those breeds of dogs hair besides looks is to keep them cool. This story was in cali in the middle of summer. the dog would be hot as hell without a cut.

[Xfactor]

After a bath my dog runs around and dries herself in minutes.

[hfuekska]

petco eh? smells like a profitable lawsuit