Georgia family has sick dog put down; months later, they find the dog alive and well, and this isn’t the first time the clinic has done this

A Georgia family who paid a clinic to have their dog, Cha Cha, euthanized claimed that they found out months later that their pet was still alive and was living with a member of staff from the Senoia Animal Hospital. The pug was allegedly put down following the discovery, but this is the second time the clinic has seen staff accused of taking owners’ pets rather than euthanizing them.

Cha Cha’s owner, Rebecca Belote, spoke to WSB-TV and claimed that Senoia Animal Hospital told her that the pug “was in organ failure and had diabetic ketoacidosis.” The vets at the clinic recommended that the dog be euthanized. 

Belote said that her husband and son were both very close with the family pet, particularly her 17-year-old son. They were the most affected by the news, “They both took it kind of hard,” she said. “My son was really attached to the dog.”

The family believed that Cha Cha had been euthanized in March, but months later, Belote said she saw a picture of her dog on Facebook. “I knew scrolling like that’s my dog,” she said.

Senoia Animal Hospital has faced similar accusations in the past

Earlier this year, the Georgia clinic was accused of not euthanizing a family’s cat despite them allegedly paying for the procedure. Similar to Cha Cha’s case, the family learned later that their pet was still alive and being cared for by a member of staff at the clinic. The cat was eventually euthanized. At the time, the hospital released a statement acknowledging that it had fallen “short in honoring the trust the family placed in us.”

Belote said that a former hospital worker confirmed to her that a member of staff took Cha Cha. When she took the matter to the Senoia Animal Hospital, she claimed that the managers denied it. “They have a lawyer,” she said, “They won’t talk about it.”

Belote also claimed that she had spoken with the husband of the worker who allegedly took Cha Cha, and said he confirmed that they had her dog. He also said that the pug was in good health. However, the dog was later put down by the hospital, according to Belote. She believed it was to hide what happened. “The fact that they put a healthy dog down. That’s just sick,” she said.

WSBT-TV reached out to Senoia Animal Hospital, but the clinic has yet to provide a response to the accusations made by Belote.