A heartbroken family who paid a veterinary clinic to put down their terminally ill dog were stunned to discover her thriving months later on social media – only for the pet to be euthanised in an alleged cover-up. Rebecca Belote and her family, from Georgia in the US, made the agonising decision to put four-year-old pug Cha Cha to sleep in March after she suffered organ failure triggered by diabetic ketoacidosis, which occurs when the body does not have enough insulin. Vets at the Senoia Animal Hospital in Coweta County advised that the kindest option was euthanasia. Believing they were ending their pet’s suffering, the family paid the clinic fees and said their final goodbyes.
The family spent months mourning the loss of the companion, who was especially close to Ms Belote’s 17-year-old son. “They had matching clothes. Like matching hoodies that they would wear,” Ms Belote told local broadcaster WSB-TV. “She hardly walked anywhere ’cause he carried her everywhere. My son was really attached to the dog.”
The grief turned to disbelief when Ms Belote logged onto Facebook and spotted recent pictures of Cha Cha looking happy, healthy and very much alive. The dog was living with an employee from the animal hospital. When confronted, the worker’s husband confirmed they had taken Cha Cha home instead of putting her down, nursing the pug back to health.
A former clinic employee also corroborated the claims, revealing that the procedure had never been carried out. Ms Belote immediately contacted the animal hospital demanding an urgent explanation.
Instead of an apology or reunion, the clinic allegedly went to extreme lengths to bury the scandal. Ms Belote claims staff took Cha Cha back from the worker’s home and put the now-healthy animal down to dispose of evidence of the malpractice.
“The fact that they put a healthy dog down. That’s just sick,” she said.
According to reports, Senoia Animal Hospital refused to comment on the matter, denied dognapping allegations and referred inquiries to legal counsel.
“They have a lawyer,” Ms Belote added. “They won’t talk about it.”
Seeking justice for Cha Cha, the family have now lodged an official complaint with the Georgia State Board of Veterinary Medicine as regulatory authorities look into the clinic’s conduct.
