A New York couple recently filed at $1 million lawsuit against Doggie Love, a pet sitting agency in Queens, after finding their dog dead on their apartment floor.
Laura Garner and Robert Hardon of West End Avenue left their dog under the care of Doggie Love for one July night in 2009. CBS News reports the couple adored their 5-year-old French bulldog.
The lawsuit indicates an employee of Doggie Love drove Percy home to the couple's NYC apartment in an overheated van. The doorman and a neighbor offered the dog water or medical attention but the employee declined and left the dog in the couple's apartment.
Just a few hours later, the couple found Percy dead in front of an air conditioner in the apartment. The post reports the couple stated, “The emptiness that has been left by Percy's death and the anguish we suffered has not and will never be filled or go away.”
The lawsuit also states owner of Doggie Love, Nilo Mathais, said to the couple, “sometimes, dogs just die.” Marla Abrams, another owner, asked the couple, “What do you want from us?”
Garner wrote in an affidavit, “From the instant I saw Percy...I knew he was the one.” Vets indicated Percy's body temperature was “notably high.” The dog apparently suffered seizures.
Abrams told the New York Post, “The person in question no longer works for me. I've always wanted to be a story in the New York Post.”
Later Doggie Love's attorney released the statement, “Although the death of this dog is tragic, without an necropsy, the ultimate cause of death cannot be determined. We are confident that once Doggie Love has the opportunity to defend itself in court, it will be fully vindicated.”
The $1 million lawsuit was filed in Queens Supreme Court yesterday.
Comments
How can anyone know how the dog died? The lawsuit says nothing about an autopsy -- if they did not do one, it is very suspicious! Sounds like the walkers did their jobs -- if the dog was so fragile, why did the Hord-ons leave him alone????
The owners are to blame. They left their precious dog with strangers to go away for the weekend. I heard the dog was already sickly. They should have been there for Percy.
I hope they win some compensation for their loss. The dog was not "sickly" when the owners left or the dog sitters would have been stupid to agree to take care of him. BUT the dog CLEARLY was in bad shape when it was returned. "The doorman and a neighbor offered the dog water or medical attention but the employee declined and left the dog in the couple's apartment."
And the owners of "Doggy Love" (????) didn't seem to give a dam. The one owner seemed happy to get their name in the paper. Glad the dog'sowbers are suing and hopefully will force the place to close before their negligence murders another beloved pet.
@ TRUTH and JUSTICE---That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard! So if you left your kid with a babysitter and it was killed it would be your fault?? Did any of you read the article?? They were not just "walkers" it was a dog sitting service and an employee drove the dog home in an over heated van, then declined to give the dog water! YES IT IS DEFINITELY DOGGY LOVES fault! You guys are Fing idiots!
1. $1 million is likely the capped limit of the lawsuit. The reality is that if the pet sitters are found to be negligent, the owners are only likely to receive the cost of replacement, court and legal fees and a small amount for their loss. It is common practice in lawsuits of this type to ask for the maximum so there is room to negotiate a settlement.
Secondly, whether or not the dog was ill at the time that the dog sitter accepted responsibility for it, they accepted responsibility for it's care and the liability if something happened. If other people noticed the dog being ill, the pet sitter should have notified their employer immediately and the employer should have called the owners and made arrangements for vet care imediately. Unlike humans, dogs can overheat very quickly and it is a life threatening issue as they have fewer means to cool themselves down. It was better for the owners to leave the dog in the care of a sitter than to leave it home alone overnight.
This story leaves so much information out that it is impossible to know what happened. What is an "overheated" van-simply one w/o aircondioning. Was there water available in the apartment? Was the apartment at a normal temperature? Did the dog have prior medical conditions? A ride in a car that was not a/c would not harm a normal pet
Hey dog walkers are like babysitters. by not imforming the owner of the problem, it shows that they were trying to get over. THEY SHould be put in jail. not anybodody can't be a pet care provider. saving a dollar or two can be painful. as they said "what do you want us to do" do you research people, the bbb is your best option
who cares its a dog try caring about other people first you silly silly loosers pets are a huge waste of money and time and no you cant walk that dog as you always let it crap and don't pick it up
Bottom line is Percy is dead, and for anyone that actually has a HEART you would realize that dogs aren't just dogs, they are a part of a family! They are like children to many people... Justice would be served if it were a human being, so why not give Percy some justice??? Seriously...
I have had a dog for most of my life and while I admit loving them around, they are still dogs. I do not look at him on the same level of my 3 sons. He is a dog. That being said, I feel bad for these people, but there has to be something else there. Dogs don't just up and die unless there is something going on and it's certainly not the fault of the pet sitting company.
IF THAT WERE MY DOG , TRUST ME THESE PET SITTERS WOULD HAVE SOME SEROUS PROBLEMS , I LOVE MY ANIMALS , ANYWAY I PROBABLY WOULDNT TRUST THESE STRANGERS WITH MY PETS , ANYWAY SUE THOSE SCUMGBAGS, ESPECIALY THE WORKER , HEARTLESS BASTARDS
It wasn't doggie loves fault because the owners just wanted to get money they didn't care about the dog. So they obviously just made the dog sick so the dog could die so they could be in the news and sew doggie love so the owners could get money and so doggie love could get bad reviews.
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