A Georgia family is accusing a veterinary employee of keeping their beloved pet pug after they paid for the clinic to euthanize him following a devastating diagnosis.
Even worse, the family alleged Senoia Animal Hospital Coweta County ended up euthanizing their 4-year-old pug Cha Cha to hide the scandal, WSB-TV reported.
The dog’s owner, Rebecca Belote, told the local news outlet the veterinarian diagnosed Cha Cha with organ failure from diabetic keto acidosis and recommended euthanasia. The family agreed to put the dog down — but sometime later, they were shocked to see Cha Cha alive and well in a Facebook post from a clinic employee, according to the report.
The clinic employee’s husband allegedly told Belote Cha Cha had recovered. However, the clinic allegedly took the dog back from the worker and ended up euthanizing him anyway.
“The fact that they put a healthy dog down. That’s just sick,” she told WSB-TV.
Belote said the clinic has denied the alleged dognapping.
“They have a lawyer,” she said. “They won’t talk about it.”
She said the clinic denied the alleged dognapping.
A reporter from the news outlet reached out to the clinic for comment and was referred to the business’s attorney. He did not receive a response by time of publication.
The outlet reported that this is not the first time a worker from the clinic has been accused of taking home a pet that was supposed to be euthanized.
WSB-TV reported on another family who alleged they found out a worker took their cat, Annie, home after they paid for euthanasia. The hospital put out a statement in that case saying it fell short in honoring the trust the family placed in them, per the report. The cat was later euthanized.
Belote told the outlet they really loved Cha Cha, especially her 17-year-old son, who would wear matching outfits with his dog. Belote said she filed a complaint with the Georgia State Board of Veterinary Medicine.