A Manhattan family has filed a lawsuit against a New York City kennel after their adored dog was mauled to death while they were away.
The 10-year-old dog had been dropped off at the facility on July 25 and was scheduled to be picked up on August 6 while the family vacationed in Alaska.
The family, however, was notified of her death after she was attacked by a group of sixteen dogs overnight, piercing her lung [and] resulting in excruciating pain and death.
The lawsuit also alleged that the kennel breached its contract with the Puri family and ‘destroyed their family trip.
The poodle was then taken to an emergency veterinary clinic later in the morning, where she was pronounced dead. The Puri family was notified the following day.
Buddy’s Dog Den was supposed to have a small-dogs-only floor, but the lawsuit alleged the kennel was ‘neither monitored at all times, nor separated on different floors, at the time that Bella was mauled and killed.’
The family’s lawyer, Evan Miles Goldberg said: ‘It’s like losing a family member, they were devastated,’ the family’s lawyer.
‘You’re on the other side of the country in Alaska. It’s not easy to just hop on a flight and head back to New York on a whim. This was lingering over their heads.
‘There was nothing they could do,’ Goldberg said.
In addition to losing their dog, the family also had to pay for Bella’s cremation.
Buddy’s Dog Den has reportedly refused to reveal the identities of Bella’s attackers. ‘There are dangerous dogs in our community and those owners should know,’ Goldberg said.
