3 dog deaths investigated at Potomac Yard PetSmart – NBC4 Washington

The Animal Welfare League of Alexandria is investigating the deaths of three dogs who died during or after being boarding at the PetSmart Pets Hotel in Potomac Yard.

Seven-year-old Nova Reed is a large, active Great Dane. She and her owners moved to DC three years ago. Nova’s owner, Sara Reed, says she noticed changes in Nova’s health and behavior after her first placement at Potomac Yard PetSmart.

“Over the last three years, she’s been mostly fine,” Reed said. “Except for that one time she had kennel cough and one time she came home with digestive issues.”

Reed says things took a sharp turn during Nova’s last stay at Pets Hotel, from June 28 to July 7.

“The last time we picked her up, not only was she coughing up blood, but she also had diarrhea,” Reed said.

The latest case came after a nearly month-long investigation by the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria after the league was contacted about the death of a dog during its stay at the PetSmart Pets Hotel.

Alexandria’s chief animal welfare officer confirmed to News4 that the agency launched an investigation on July 1 following the death of a three-year-old Aussie doodle named Clark. The agency says Clark’s owner told investigators the dog was dead upon arrival after a PetSmart employee dropped Clark off at the vet while Clark was being housed at the Pets Hotel.

The dog’s body was sent for an autopsy, as is the case with humans, and the league is still awaiting the results.

According to the Animal League, two other pet owners came forward with similar allegations. Investigators said two owners told them their dogs had developed illnesses and died within a week of being placed in the pet hotel.

Animal investigators say that all three dogs came to the animal hotel at the same time. Since these complaints, the league has been visiting and inspecting the animal hotel every two days.

PetSmart issued the following statement to News4, which reads in part:

“Pet care and safety is our top priority. As animal lovers, we are heartbroken when a pet dies. We take this very seriously and have been in touch with all parties involved to offer them our full support. From what we understand, these three incidents are each unique occurrences with different causes ranging from underlying medical conditions to old age – and are not due to the time they spent in our care. Out of an abundance of caution, we are proactively conducting hands-on retraining with our Potomac Yard staff.”

Nova’s owner hopes that no other pets will be harmed during the further investigation.

“I think the facility should be closed until the investigation is complete,” Reed said. “I feel like I’m a long-time customer now, and as nice as some of the staff have been to my dog, my dog ​​has come home, and like I said, there have been a couple of instances where she’s come home and there have been problems.”

News4 crews were on scene Saturday morning and saw Animal Control employees entering and exiting PetSmart. It’s not clear what they were doing inside, but the league has stated that PetSmart is cooperating with the investigation.