That place is still open?

Previously at KnoxViews:

http://www.knoxviews.com/node/7167

http://www.knoxviews.com/node/7255

Clicking the available links, I see that Burchett introduced a bill in '07 to outlaw cage dryers. The industry resisted, of course, and I don't know what happened. I'll check on that today.

Cage dryers may cause heat exhaustion but not broken bones and rupture spleens.

Cage dryers may cause heat exhaustion but not broken bones and rupture spleens.

Obviously not. That sounds like he kicked the dog, which is probably already illegal.

But it also showed signs of heat exhaustion.

My dog died a week after going to Happy Tails for a grooming session. The vet told me she was bleeding internally and they did not know why. They did not perform an Xray because they said there was nothing they could do for her. I believe after reading about this beagle dying that something happened to her at Happy Tails. She was perfectly healthy before her visit.

I got this from two different friends yesterday. She asks for individuals with similiar stories to contact her, but I didn't feel good about posting her contact info, but have e-mailed her for her permission.

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http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/dec/02/familys-dog-fourth-die-local-gr...

Concerning Happy Tails Grooming- PLEASE READ

Friends:

Although this is difficult to write, I wanted to go ahead and share the
story of our beagle’s death. Our dog, Moxie, was a healthy five year old
Beagle; she loved to bark at walkers, lie on our front porch and have her
belly rubbed by any and all visitors. She loved our three children and
just enjoyed her life. On Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I called Happy
Tails (a grooming and boarding business located on old Ebenezer) to see if
they could give her a bath. We were planning on lots of family on
Thanksgiving at our house and knew Moxie would be in the middle of it. She
has been boarded and bathed there when needed for over five years. I
dropped her off at 12:30 PM and paid in advance because my 16 year old son
was picking her up on his way home from Bearden High School. He arrived at
around 4 PM and was told that she would be ready in a few minutes. After
waiting around 10-15 minutes, the owner, Eric Webb came running through the
lobby with our dog in his arms and told my son to follow him to his
father’s office. My son, a licensed driver of two weeks, followed Eric
from their business, past our vet’s office and traveled another 10 minutes
to his father’s office, Dr. Carlos Webb, Rocky Hill Animal Clinic. They
traveled at a high rate of speed and our son was distraught and confused as
to what was occurring. After arriving at the office, our beagle was
pronounced dead by Dr. Webb. The explanation was that she had a seizure
and died after being dried from her bath. Our son called my husband and me
on our cell phones and we arrived as soon as possible (about 20 minutes).
The owner’s wife, Sarah, did not call us even though she had all our
information. They also did not use our vet listed on our emergency form.
The owner, Eric, said he did not call because he was “busy, trying to save
your dog’s life”. The only discussion at the vet’s office while we were
all still in a state of shock was whether to cremate or have the city pick
up our dog. They also discussed the associated costs. We agreed to
cremation around 5 when we left the office.

The next morning, I visited our veterinarian to discuss the situation. She
immediately requested the body be released to her staff. After first
denying that they had Moxie they called back to confirm that they were
mistaken and she could be picked up. Dr. Frazier, Northshore Animal
Clinic, delivered her to UT for an autopsy. She confirmed that Moxie had
no history that would indicate a seizure, etc. It was only after being
notified by Dr. Webb that we had her picked up, that we received a call
from Eric to see how we were. He assured me repeatedly that there was no
foul play and that she died of natural causes. He also offered to pay to
buy us a new dog, any breed we wanted. The results of the autopsy were a
shock to us all. The cause of death was determined to be heat stroke and
blunt injury trauma. She had three cracked ribs and her liver was
lacerated and had bled into her stomach in an amount that would cause
death. Until we can investigate further, we will not know exactly what
occurred at Happy Tails. All I know is that we miss her terribly and find
it hard to understand why she had to endure such a horrible death. It is a
difficult situation to explain to our children.

I have promised our children that her death will not be in vain and that we
will do all we can to share her story and hopefully prevent others from
suffering a similar loss. After our tragedy I researched on the computer
about Happy Tails and was shocked at the other stories. You can google it
and read those for yourself. I can only ask that you do not utilize Happy
Tails for any services for your pets, even something as simple as a bath.
Also, please check out and ask for recommendations for any services for
your pets. I never thought this would happen and always felt safe leaving
my pet in their care. If you have any questions, or if you have a similar
story, please call or email me.

Please forward to your friends. Thanks for listening and give your pets an
extra hug today! They deserve our protection!

Kim Ramsey
(Tom, Ryan, Reid, and Abby Ann)

My dog died a week after going to Happy Tails for a grooming session. The vet told me she was bleeding internally and they did not know why. They did not perform an Xray because they said there was nothing they could do for her. I believe after reading about this beagle dying that something happened to her at Happy Tails. She was perfectly healthy before her visit.

Knox Co. D.A. awaits findings from Happy Tails investigation

Many people may wonder why Happy Tails is still in operation when there are so many claims of negligence regarding animals. Gill says it's because there are no regulations.

Meanwhile, animal control's investigation is expected to be complete in the coming weeks.

The DA's office says if it's determined there's any wrongdoing involving Happy Tails, officials would take action very quickly, most likely in the form of animal cruelty charges.

Gill says it's because there are no regulations.

Ah, another red state "benefit." At least we don't have a state income tax!