French Bulldog Found Tied in a Bag in Petco Bathroom

The abandoned dog was severely ill, but the rescue community has gathered around him.

It was a horrible way to abandon a dog: On Sunday, a French Bulldog was found tied up in bag in a store bathroom in Pittsford, New York. The dog was malnourished and dehydrated, and he had decayed teeth and missing fur. He couldn't keep his tongue in his mouth, and he couldn't eat solid food, according to DemocratandChronicle.com. 

The only saving grace: The person who abandoned him did so in the bathroom of a Petco. The store was having an adoption event, so lots of people were milling around with carriers. Presumably, the person slid into the bathroom with a carrier undetected. Or, more likely, the person just had the sick, listless dog in a bag, and was able to bring him into the store and dump him in the restroom without anyone noticing. 

In any event, help came quickly. Store employees found the dog and called a vet. Then an organization that saves dogs brought in by Greece Animal Control in New York, Greece Residents Assisting Stray Pets, stepped in. GRASP, as it's known, has found homes for 273 animals this year alone, and it regularly works with the Petco Foundation. Karla Barkley, the cat adoption coordinator, was determined to help the abandoned French Bulldog.

"Hearing the story about it touched my heart," she said. "So I drove up there to pick him up and bring him into our rescue group." 

"He was in terrible shape," Barkely said. "Malnourished, extremely thin, severely dehydrated, just a whole bunch of stuff." 

Fortunately, Pierre, as Barkley named the dog, is recovering quickly. After being fed by an IV for a while, he's switched to small amounts of boiled meat and rice, and his spirits are up.

"He just wants so much attention," Barkley said. "He followed me around the house all night. You cannot love this dog enough."

"He's the cutest little thing," she said. "The first thing I thought was, 'How could someone do this?' But it's very rewarding to find a dog like this and give him a second chance."

Today, Pierre is well on his way to finding his forever home -- he's just gone to live with foster mom Sue Zukoski, and GRASP is working through applications for a permanent adoption. 

"He's wonderful and loving," said Zukoski. "It's just so sad someone would have neglected him so horribly."

Via DemocratandChronicle.com 

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Woman Sues Petco for Cutting off Dog’s Ear, Gluing It Back On

A groomer allegedly snipped off part of Dodo's ear and glued it back on.

Quiz time! You take your dog to the groomer. Which do you expect her to come back with?

A) Shorter hair/fur.
B) A shorter tail.
C) A shorter ear.

Unfortunately, the answer for at least a couple of customers of the Petco store in Kaneohe, Hawaii, has been any combination of the above.

When Gladys Kapuwai picked up her Pomeranian-Maltese mix, Dodo, from the store after a routine grooming session, everything seemed normal. But two days later, she says she noticed the dog’s ear was dry and felt odd. She took Dodo to the vet, who discovered that the dog’s ear had been chopped off, and glued back on.

“I couldn’t believe what they did. I started crying, because this is my baby,” said Kapuwai. She says the vet told her that if Kapuwai had known about the problem and been able to take Dodo in quickly, her ear may have been salvaged.

I guess the groomer thought this little “oops” would go unnoticed. But Kapuwai not only noticed, she found an attorney to help her sue Petco. And get this: The attorney, David Green, owns a dog who returned home after a visit to this groomer with bleeding nails and the tip of his tail cut off.

Sometimes nails get cut too deeply and the quick bleeds like mad, so that’s not that horrendous by itself, I suppose. But the tail thing? Um, that’s just not okay.

For Green’s complaint, Petco offered a free grooming. “I guess they wanted to take off other body parts.” Green joked. He is suing on behalf of his wife and Kapuwai.

Kapuwai hopes the suit will make Petco realize how important it is to have good groomers, and to train them better. It’s too late for Dodo to get her ear back, but the suit may prevent other owners from walking out and leaving bits of body parts in dog fur on the floor.

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