Pet store mutilated dogs, suit says

Two dog owners are suing the Petco store in Kaneohe for allegedly mutilating their pets after the owners dropped off their dogs for grooming last summer.

According to a lawsuit filed in state court Monday, Gladys Kapu­wai, owner of one dog, claims Petco cut off the bottoms of her dog’s ears, then tried to cover it up by reattaching the bottoms with tape.

"Within a matter of weeks, parts of the ears fall off on the floor. And when she took the ear to the vet, the vet, she looked at the ears under some microscope or magnifying device, and saw there was tape on the ears," said Michael Green, the lawyer representing both dog owners.

The owner of the second dog is Green’s wife, Estelle. She claims Petco returned her pet bleeding from the tail because the tip had been cut off. She also claims the dog’s toes were bleeding because the nails had been cut too short, and that its eyelashes and whiskers were cut and that it was filthy.

When his wife talked to Petco employees about her dog’s condition, Green said the store offered her dog a free grooming.

"I guess they wanted to take off other body parts. They only got the tail the first time," Green said.

He said Petco did not offer the owner of the other dog anything to compensate her for the dog’s mutilated ears.

Store employees said the store manager was not available Monday to comment about the lawsuit.