TAMPA, Florida -- It's every dog lover's nightmare: You drop your dog off at doggie daycare only to return later to hear the worst possible news.
"One bite clamped down, killing him instantly, shattering his brain. He bled out immediately," says Sherrie Ligori. She's talking about the incident involving her dog Max, a 4-pound Teacup Yorkie who was brutally killed by another dog while spending the day at Bayshore Grooming and Pet Resort in Tampa.
"It happened like that. It was obviously a much larger and stronger dog," says Ligori.
Ligori left Max at Bayshore for just the afternoon. "I left him there happy and I left him a few short hours and that's how I expected to pick him up. I never thought it was going to be the last time I would see him alive. Then I had to come home and tell my children. When I told them, Julian, my youngest daughter, dropped to her knees and started screaming, 'No, mama, tell me this is a nightmare. Tell me this is a bad dream.' My other daughter was crying hysterically," she says.
According to Hillsborough Animal Control, Max was attacked by a Scottish Terrier that outweighed him by at least four times. "There was no way he could defend himself. He never should have been in a position of that nature," says Ligori.
The Scottish Terrier's owner has received notification that his dog has "dangerous propensities" even though Bayshore says there was no problem pairing the dog with Max.
"They knew each other and they had played together often for two and half years with no aggression from either dog," says Mina Morgan, an attorney for the Bayshore Grooming and Pet Resort.
Hillsborough Animal Control says Bayshore has been resistant to cooperate with the investigation from the beginning, pointing to the fact they won't release a video tape of the horrific incident. Their lawyer still maintains the facility isn't trying to hide anything.
"We left a specific message for animal services saying they could view the tape at any time. We're not trying to hide it. We just didn't want to see it on the Internet," says Morgan.
They have reasons to worry about the Internet. There are conflicting reviews of Bayshore Grooming and Pet Resort ranging from "My dog loves it!" and "I wish I could stay there myself," to "This is the most uncaring unclean kennel I have ever used" and "Not a good experience."
But all that is no comfort to Ligori. "I go over and over my thinking. Why did I take him that day? It's my responsibility, like I take care of my children. It's another little life and I did everything I could to keep him safe," she says.
The attorney for the facility maintains Bayshore is a safe place and it has never had an incident like this before. The groomer who was watching the dogs was cited and has to appear in court because of the incident. "There's always a citation issued in this county. If you were watching my dog and it ran out in the street and aggressively went after somebody, you would get a citation for a vicious dog," says Morgan.
Ligori's daughters wrote letters to warn people about incidents like this after the family went back to Bayshore after Max was cleaned up to see him one last time."I don't know if we actually had to see him and tell him goodbye, not that he will ever be out of our hearts because he won't. But we wanted to let him know we love him and we're going to do everything we can to keep other animals safe," says Ligori.
But as far as Ligori is concerned, her beloved Max was not safe at Bayshore Grooming and Pet Resort. "It does break your heart and makes you want to reach out to everyone and say, 'Make sure your little pet, your little life you love ,is being taken care of appropriately. It can happen like that and your world can be totally turned upside down,'" she says.
The family has set up a Facebook link for Max if anyone would like to leave a comment about what happened to him. Go to Facebook.com/FriendsOfMax.
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