Four employees at a Pennsylvania PetSmart were arrested and charged with animal cruelty after a customer’s dog died while in their care.
NFL sideline reporter AJ Ross is still mourning the loss of her loyal companion, Kobe. The poodle was strangled to death during a grooming session after Ross dropped him off at a PetSmart in Pittsburgh.
Julie Miller, Shaphan Stonge, Elizabeth Doty and Heather Rowe each face charges in connection with the death of 11-year-old Kobe.
Ross told PEOPLE she dropped off her beloved pooch for a nail trim on Nov. 17.
“When I brought him in, I asked if I could stay, because he was just the type of dog that he liked to see where I was at all times,” she told PEOPLE on Thursday. “They told me because of COVID I couldn’t stay in the grooming area.”
When she returned to pick up Kobe she found her dog laying motionless on the grooming table.
“He looked lifeless. He didn’t even look like he was breathing,” Ross said.
Ross shared her pain in an Instagram post titled “PetSmart Killed My Dog.”
“My horrific experience at PetSmart has been excruciating to recap publicly. But I sincerely hope in sharing my story it will lead to better grooming training practices and increased transparency and oversight; so no one else has to endure a pain like this.”
