CALIFORNIA, Md. — On Friday, August 9, 2024, Eddie, a nine-pound Dachshund, was dropped off happy, healthy, and uninjured at PetSmart, located at 45315 Alton Ln. Ste. 16084, California, Md., along with his 10-pound brother by the 22-year-old daughter of Angelica Williams for a bath and nail trim.
A few hours later, Williams received an email and phone call advising her that the Dachshunds were ready for pick-up. There was no indication of what was to come.
According to Williams, her daughter arrived at PetSmart to pick up Eddie and his brother. She received a checkout receipt and proceeded to the cash register to pay before the Dachshunds were turned over to her. However, before she could pay, a manager took her aside and led her back to the grooming department.
There, the manager informed her that Eddie was being taken to an unspecified emergency veterinarian due to “a little redness in his eye.” Williams stated that her daughter quickly called her and told her that Eddie was already in a crate, ready for transport.
Williams became anxious but remained calm to understand what was going on. She asked to speak to the manager, who could not explain what had occurred. The manager’s priority was getting Eddie to an ER and had not spoken to the groomers to find out if there had been an accident.
Williams was confused by the lack of information she received from the manager, who claimed to have worked for PetSmart for 20 years. Williams asked her daughter to send her pictures of Eddie’s eye, and that is when she discovered it was more than just a little redness. Williams described Eddie’s eye as completely red, swollen, and protruding from his head.
Eddie was transported to All Kinds Veterinary Hospital in Callaway, Md. He was given medication for the pain and diagnosed with hyphema, commonly known as a “black eye.” The treating veterinarian suspected it occurred while playing with another dog. However, the dogs were kept separated while at PetSmart.
Research states that a “black eye” usually occurs due to blunt force trauma to the face. Williams posted her grievance on Facebook and was contacted anonymously by a veterinarian who suggested that Eddie may have been choked.
Williams attempted to file a police report but was transferred to Animal Control. Animal Control advised they would investigate. However, Williams did not want to wait for answers. She returned to PetSmart three times on Friday with questions and requests to view the surveillance cameras.
Williams noticed the groomers who worked with Eddie were still grooming other dogs. In addition, she found out from the manager that Eddie had been tethered by a neck collar. Williams was surprised by this practice for such a small and passive dog, especially for just a bath and nail trim.
Investigations against the PetSmart brand began as early as 2015. In 2018, it was reported that 47 dogs had died across numerous states, either at a PetSmart or days after visiting the store. Recently, three dogs died after being boarded at PetSmart Potomac Yard. One victim reported she dropped her dog off healthy and picked him up with bloody, cloudy eyes.
We contacted the PetSmart Potomac Yard and asked to make a reservation to board a dog. Despite the recent deaths and ongoing investigation, this location was still boarding dogs. The same was true at the California, Md., location, which was still operating its grooming department without any clear answers as to what happened to Williams’ dog.
We called District Lead Stephanie for a statement; however, she declined to speak with us. Williams was promised she could view the surveillance video on the evening of Monday, August 12.
Williams reviewed the surveillance video for three hours in the presence of the PetSmart District Lead and the store manager. She discovered the only camera that captured Eddie was when he was transferred to a table for his nail trimming. Williams witnessed the groomer place a tether around Eddie’s neck.
Eddie began to pull away forcefully as the groomer attempted to cut his nails. Despite being held in what was described as a football hold, Eddie continued to pull away. The groomer called over a second groomer to help. Williams observed “something else” wrapped around Eddie’s neck before he finally stopped pulling away.
Once the groomer finished, the tether was removed, and “something” was unwrapped from his neck. Williams noticed that after Eddie was placed in the crate around 3 p.m., the manager, who made rounds, spoke to the groomer. Williams described this portion of the video as “everyone moving fast.” The video captured the manager speaking to the groomer several times; however, they barely looked up from what they were doing.
This is a developing story that we will continue to follow.
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