Business Owner Claims Dog Died After Bath At Park Slope Groomers

A local dog owner claims that her 1-year-old, 5-pound Pomeranian died due to injuries sustained at a Park Slope animal groomer Tuesday.

Denise Cianciotti, who co-owns local plumbing company Steve Belsito Sons Inc. (395 5th Avenue between 6th and 7th Streets), says that her dog, Sebastian, died approximately one hour after a grooming appointment at Paws In Paradise (410 5th Avenue between 7th and 8th Streets).

Cianciotti told Park Slope Stoop that a vet had declared her pup healthy prior to the grooming appointment.

“The doctor was taking care of Sebastian for anemia. And the end of the appointment, he said my dog was doing very well,” she said.

After her 12pm appointment at the vet, she brought her dog to Paws In Paradise for a 2pm scrub.

“Ten minutes after I dropped Sebastian off for a bath, [Paws in Paradise] called me back to tell me something was the matter,” said Cianciotti. “I could hear my dog howling on the phone in the background. I’ve never heard a dog make such painful noises.”

According to Cianciotti, she returned to the groomers and observed that the dog’s legs were limp. “Something was very wrong with him,” she said.

She then brought Sebastian back to Bluepearl Veterinary Partners (32 4th Avenue at Pacific Street). “They took x-rays of his neck. It was snapped,” she says. “He died about an hour later.”

Cianciotti plans to have Cornell Veterinary Medicine perform a necropsy (an autopsy for an animal), which she hopes will determine the cause of death.

Paws In Paradise owner Judy Wong, who has operated the pet salon for eight years, told us her insurance company advised her not to talk about the incident while it is under investigation.

“It was a very unfortunate incident,” said Wong. “I feel really bad,”

A manager at Bluepearl Veterinary Partners confirmed the dog was brought into the vet on Tuesday for the second time.

“We managed the case through emergency. The emergency doctor who saw the dog the second time was different from the doctor earlier in the day,” said Amy Zarate on behalf of the business.

When we asked to speak with the emergency doctor who was present when the dog died, Zarate told us that the doctor was declining to comment about the dog. “There have been a lot of news inquiries,” she added.

A necropsy does not guarantee a definitive cause of death, according to Zarate.

A devastated Cianciotti said she has been bringing her three dogs to Paws In Paradise since April, and that she has not had previous issues with the groomers.

“Sebastian was my baby,” says Cianciotti. “I used to dress him in all of these outfits. He never complained. I don’t know what I’ll do now.”

Police are currently investigating the incident.