French bulldog dead after being abandoned outside in a kennel
FOX 26 reporter Abigail Dye has more information about the death of a two-year-old French bulldog who was abandoned outside in a kennel in temperatures of over 100 degrees.
Sugar Land, Texas – Bentley, a 2-year-old French bulldog, died of heat stroke after being left outdoors at a dog boarding facility in Sugar Land, according to veterinary records.
His owners, Kira and James Melbert, dropped Bentley off at PetSuites in Sugarland on a Friday to celebrate their 14th anniversary and get out of town.
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They say they were on a plane on August 20 when they started receiving text messages about Bentley, first from PetSuites, then from a veterinary clinic.
They say the vet sent them a text message telling them they were trying to resuscitate Bentley and then sent them another message informing them of his death.
“When I saw the heat stroke, I didn't even read the whole message, it was just bits and pieces. I just dropped my phone because it was unbelievable,” Kira said.
Veterinarian reports from that day indicate that Bentley was outside for nearly an hour. Our weather records show that the high temperature in Sugar Land was 101 degrees.
The file states, “Bentley was outside doing his business (don't know how long he was outside). An employee took him out around 5:30pm and then clocked him out. He was found by an employee around 6:25pm and was laying on his side/collapsed during the second bathroom break, then Bentley rolled over onto his stomach and was panting heavily. Another animal center employee grabbed a cold towel and put it on him for two minutes while trying to reach the manager. On the way to Vet Express. They were closed and then it was off to VEG.”
VEG is the veterinarian who diagnosed Bentley's death from heat stroke.
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“The amazing thing is they just left him outside,” James said.
Texas dog lawyer Zandra Anderson is advising the Melberts in this process.
“When he arrived at the veterinary clinic, his body temperature could not be read on a dog thermometer. That is, it was over 108 degrees – off scale and unreadable,” Anderson said.
The Melberts say PetSuites apologized to them when they came to pick up his leash and collar, but have not been in touch since.
“We haven’t heard from them, no emails, no texts, no calls,” James said.
PetSuites responded to our interview request with this statement:
Our top priority at PetSuites Sugar Land is the health, safety and happiness of our pets. We are devastated by the recent death of one of our guests and our sincere condolences go out to the family affected. Heat is a constant concern for our staff and the team is trained to recognize signs of heat stroke or exhaustion and respond in the event of an emergency. Our goal will always be to provide the best care possible to our guests and we are carefully reviewing this incident.
The Melberts say they want action to be taken to prevent this from happening to more dog owners.
“We honestly don't want this to happen to anyone else. It's a hard feeling,” Kira said.
