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Coweta family says pug was taken home by vet hospital employee after euthanasia plan
Rebecca Belote says her family paid Senoia Animal Hospital to euthanize their sick pug, Cha Cha, in March, but learned months later the dog had been living with a hospital employee. Belote says she has filed a complaint with Georgia’s veterinary board and that the solicitor general is investigating.
COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — A family says its 4-year-old pug was not euthanized as planned at Senoia Animal Hospital in March, but instead was taken home by an employee and kept for months.
Rebecca Belote said the family brought Cha Cha to the hospital after the dog became seriously ill. Staff told them Cha Cha was experiencing organ failure and diabetic ketoacidosis and recommended euthanasia, Belote said. The family paid for the procedure, according to her account.
Months later, Belote said, she saw a social-media photo of a dog she recognized as Cha Cha. She said a former hospital worker told her an employee had taken the pug home. Belote also said the employee’s husband confirmed that his wife had the dog and that Cha Cha was in good health.
Belote said hospital managers denied that the employee had taken Cha Cha. She said the hospital later euthanized the pug, though she suspects it was done to conceal what happened. That explanation has not been independently established.
The loss has been especially painful for Belote’s 17-year-old son, she said. He and Cha Cha were close, often wearing matching clothes, and he regularly carried the dog, she said.
Belote said the solicitor general is investigating and that she filed a complaint with the Georgia State Board of Veterinary Medicine. The hospital did not provide a response to questions by the time of the report; a staff member directed inquiries to its attorney.
The allegations follow a separate case involving the same hospital earlier this year. Another family said an employee kept its cat, Annie, rather than euthanizing her. The hospital issued a statement acknowledging it had failed to honor the family’s trust. Annie was later euthanized.