Anne Lindberg, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Wednesday, November 19, 2008
When Margaret Strickland saw her Welsh terrier, Little Bro, at the vet’s after he was mauled in a fight, she thought “he looked like he had been in a war zone.” Strickland and her husband, Marvin, felt as if their hearts had been ripped from their chests when the dog later died.
SEMINOLE — Margaret Strickland knew something was wrong when she got the message to immediately call her vet.
But the bad news took several moments to sink in. Her 5-year-old Welsh terrier, Little Brother, had been attacked by two other dogs while at the vet's doggy day care. Little Brother had been sent to a different vet who specialized in emergency care.
Strickland called the emergency clinic to check on her "Little Bro," as she affectionately called her pet dog.
The emergency vet "told me that Little Bro was extremely critical," Strickland said. "I'll never forget the blood curdling yelp of my beloved pet as she was talking to me (while) her team was trying to stabilize him."
Strickland hurried to the emergency clinic to see Little Bro.
"He looked like he had been in a war zone," Strickland said.
Little Bro's chest had been ripped open and he had bite marks all over his body, including his abdomen. Little Bro died the next afternoon.
Strickland said she and her husband, Marvin, felt as if their hearts had been ripped from their chests.
"I can't even imagine the pain our little guy endured," Strickland said.
Strickland can't bring Little Bro back, but she wants to make sure other owners know what to look for when it comes to finding a safe place for their pets.
"The kennel/doggy day care business is a cash cow … that only requires a business license," Strickland said. "There is no oversight."
Strickland thought she had found a safe place when she and her husband moved to the Seminole area in May 2006. They went to the Oakhurst Veterinary Hospital and were so pleased that they decided to send Little Bro to the Oakhurst Doggie Daycare, which is affiliated with the vet clinic. All went well for two years until Oct. 20 when, as Strickland said, "something went terribly wrong."
It's unclear what started it, but Pinellas County Animal Control said its investigators were told a fight broke out with Little Bro, a golden retriever named Bode and a chocolate Labrador named Kristi. Both the Lab and the retriever were bigger than Little Bro. A technician who tried to separate the dogs also was bitten. Animal control records show that the vet clinic reported the attack but nothing has been done to either the Lab or the golden retriever because no one has reported either dog as being dangerous.
Dr. David Tollon, owner of Oakhurst Veterinary Hospital and the day care, said his facility is a member of both the American Animal Hospitals Association and the Pet Care Services Association.
The Pet Care Services Association, formerly called the American Boarding Kennel Association, is a voluntary nonprofit group with 3,100 pet-care-service business members from around the world. Accredited members pass an onsite evaluation by the association, which also has a code of ethics that members are supposed to stick to.
"It was an unforeseen tragedy, there's no question about it," Tollon said.
The technician in charge of the day care that day was only 5 or 6 feet away when the fight broke out, Tollon said. She immediately jumped into the fray and was bitten while trying to rescue Little Bro.
Tollon said that since the incident, he has made a few changes. Now, the smaller dogs are kept separate from the larger dogs and there is a technician in charge of each group.
But Tollon said he's not sure that would have prevented the fight. Dog fights, he said, can flare up quickly even among dogs that normally play well together. Little Bro and the other two had played well together for several months before the fight, he said.
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