A heartbreaking tragedy struck a Los Angeles woman when a dog trainer allegedly kept her thick-coated puppy in a sweltering crate for hours until the pooch eventually died from the heat.
The pup’s owner, Trish Mayor, says she enrolled her 11-month-old dog, Kilo, in a 3-week training program that cost thousands of dollars with a SoCal dog trainer.
Just days into the program, she received a call from the trainer asking her to pick up her dead dog.
Mayor was left scrambling for answers about how her young, white-haired Samoyed had suddenly passed away.
“She was told Kilo suffered a heart attack after being left alone in a crate for four hours in 85-degree heat. Even more painful, the trainer did not seek veterinary help and only contacted Trish the next day to tell her to come pick up Kilo’s body,” a GoFundMe seeking funds for the puppy’s autopsy said.
Mayor, who called cute Kilo the “sweetest thing this earth has ever had,” is seeking to prove that the trainer actively neglected the dog while caring for him.
“Trish wants answers, justice for Kilo, and protection for other dogs so this does not happen to another family. This is every pet owner’s worst nightmare, and it could happen to anyone who places trust in someone else to care for their beloved animal,” she wrote in a GoFundMe.
Mayor shared alleged texts on Instagram involving the trainer. In one, the trainer allegedly writes to her:
“I can’t change what happened. I take full responsibility. I broke your trust and placed your dog in the wrong hands. I never had any ill intentions toward Kilo,” the trainer said.
The trainer then said they will “know more” after the lab results and suggests they can move on. They even ask to “give me one more chance when you are ready for a new puppy.”
Mayor claims the thick-coated dog was kept in a plastic crate for hours with the room temperature set to 84 to 85. She said the crate did not have any water in it and did “not look sanitary.”
Sayomed dogs are typically bred to endure harsh winter conditions with a thick fur coat, according to the American Kennel Club.
The trainer also allegedly gave Kilo to a person who worked for the owner of the program to be cared for, Mayor said. The person told her boss that they let Kilo out on the day of his death at 6 p.m. and then they returned him to his crate, where he was found dead hours later.
His gums and tongue were blue when he was found, the trainer said.
Mayor’s fundraiser has raised more than $3,300 of its $5,000 goal so far.
The California Post reached out to Mayor and the trainer for comment.
