A Toronto man is speaking out after his service dog became severely ill and subsequently died after boarding her with PetSmart’s PetsHotel boarding service.

Corey Dixon, 23, says that he boarded his dog, Aspen, at an Etobicoke PetSmart location for a week while he took a trip to a cottage in Muskoka with his family.

Dixon says he was concerned about exposing his dog to ticks and other wildlife while travelling, so chose to board her with the pet supply chain for the duration of his trip.

When he arrived to pick her up, staff brought Aspen out to meet him. She was covered in her own vomit, shaking and unable to stand on her own.

“She kind of hobbled over to me and collapsed in my arms,” Dixon said. “From there we brought her outside onto the lawn, gave her some water, and then we took her right away to the emergency vet.” Aspen remains in the vet’s ICU, where they are working to stabilize her.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of Aspen’s unfortunate passing. The treating veterinarian reported the cause of death as a pre-existing autoimmune disease called Myasthenia Gravis, an illness completely unrelated to Aspen’s stay at PetSmart. We’ll continue to stay in contact with the pet parent during this difficult time,” Petmart said in a statement emailed to the Star after Aspen died Sunday.

Aspen appears to have eaten the bed in her cage, Dixon said. “Instead of taking the bed out of the cage, they left it … she kept eating it,” he said. Dixon alleges that while employees noticed Aspen vomiting for two days, they did not call their on-call vet.

Dixon said he paid extra for a premium package that should have provided on-call vet care if Aspen experienced any issues.

The vet found that Aspen had dropped to 69 lbs in the course of a week, losing 14 lbs since he saw her last, Dixon said.

The four-year-old dog is Dixon’s service animal, specially trained to wait for help if her owner suffers a complication stemming from his heart condition. If Dixon has a medical incident, Aspen, who wears a bright yellow vest, will lie with him until assistance comes. “My dog’s basically saved my life three times now,” Dixon said.

A GoFundMe page has been created to help pay for the expenses. Dixon said PetSmart has promised to pay $5,000. Dixon wrote on Twitter after Aspen’s death that the donations would be put towards her remaining vet bills and funeral costs.

This is the first time Dixon has ever decided to board an animal, he said, but not the first time he has left without her. “I usually take her out (with me) when I’m alone,” he said. When he’s with family or friends that are aware of his medical condition, he’s able to leave her at home.

“Every time we called (PetSmart) to check on her, they said she was entirely fine and nothing was wrong,” Dixon said.