BUCKHEAD, GA — A family whose little dog brought them comfort when they lost their mother is now grieving the death of their beloved Yorkie. Compounding the loss are questions the family says they haven't received answers to about the conditions that allowed another dog to fatally attack Lexi during a visit to a Buckhead boarding facility.

The boarding facility owner, Robert Fawcett, told Patch that after reviewing the video surveillance and speaking with the attendant who had Lexi that morning, he's convinced there was nothing that could have prevented the accident.

Lexi, a female Yorkie, died in the care of Pet Set Buckhead employees on Nov. 23, according to family. Aprille Greis dropped the dog off at the boarding facility, located at 2480 Briarcliff Road NE in Atlanta, for a trial visit and temperament test that morning, only to learn a few hours later that Lexi had been attacked and killed by an English bulldog.

In the case of Lexi, she was the only dog taking the temperament test that morning and she was being shadowed the entire time, Fawcett said. During those tests the attendant is with the dog the entire time and they're watched closely to see their mood and if they're taking well to the other pack.

"Accidents can happen in pet care with grooming, boarding and daycare, and they can happen at the fault of no one," said Fawcett on Tuesday. "We don't know what a pet is always going to do. Any time a pet comes in contact with other animals in a free place, accidents can happen. That doesn't mean someone was doing something wrong."

Seconds before the attack, video shows the attendant holding Lexi and then she stands up and sits the Yorkie at her feet. In the blink of an eye another dog in the area quickly attacks.

"She was the attendant's best friend and she was getting played with," Fawcett told Patch. "She had her on the lap. Lexi was getting attention."

Fawcett said the incident occurred as they were getting the dogs ready for their nap time. There were four dogs out, including Lexi and the other two attendants were dealing with the other dogs.

Greis' older sister, Ashley Greis, who lives in Washington, D.C., said that Aprille moved out of their shared D.C. apartment almost a year ago when accepting a new job in Atlanta. Lexi moved with her. The furry family member had been with them since 2010 and helped them get through tough times.

The death was difficult for everyone, she said, but Lexi was there to help.

"When my two siblings and I went to college my mother got this dog and treated her as her fourth child," said Ashley. "Lexi went and did everything we did. In 2011 we got the terrifying call no one wants. Our mother unexpectedly passed away of an undetected heart defect at the young age of 42."

"From that day forward, whenever any of us were upset Lexi always seemed to realize and cuddle with us like she was also trying to comfort us in our hard times as well," Ashley said. "In a way she actually became an unofficial emotional therapy dog for us three kids."

With the dog's sudden death, the family is devastated and describes this unexpected incident as traumatic.

"Lexi was more than just a dog to us," said Ashley. "Lexi was a part of our family and had extreme sentimental value to us. We want to ensure that this facility is held responsible for their negligence. Proper care and precautions could have been taken in order to avoid Lexi's horrific death."

Fawcett, who's been the owner since the early 1990s, said that the Pet Set has been in business since 1975 and they've never had an accident like this occur.

"Pets in daycare can get scratched or bitten or nipped, it's not a plastic bubble," he said, adding that one of his groomers was bitten by a dog over the weekend with no indication trouble was brewing.

"This is the worst accident that has ever happened and I wish I could find fault and say we did something wrong," Fawcett said.

THE DROP OFF

Aprille stopped by the facility around 9 a.m. on Nov. 23 for more information. She said she was already in the area shopping and since she travels often, she was looking for a safe place for Lexi for those times she's out of town. Aprille was told she'd need to have Lexi go through a temperament test before she could schedule boarding. They had time that day so Greis agreed to leave her while she continued her shopping.

"I spoke with them about how Lexi needed to be with dogs her own size because she is afraid of large dogs, but they said she would be watched the whole time she was there and she would be fine," Aprille said.

She didn't step into the dog room because the large windows allowed her to see the environment Lexi would be left in. Aprille said she could see the separate areas for different sized dogs to play in.

"The dogs looked happy and were having a ball," she said.

The employee told her the test would take about four hours and they'd call her. She left believing that Lexi was in good hands.

Around 12:30 p.m. less than four hours later, Aprille got the call that changed everything.

According to Ashley, who spoke with the owner by phone because her sister was too distraught, Lexi was sitting on an attendant's lap right before she was put down and attacked by an English bulldog.

"They also did not even try to take her to a vet and just assumed she was dead," said Ashley.

The Pet Set called 911 to report the attack and provided a recording to Animal Control, said Fawcett.



Ashley called a local pet crematory business and had them pick up Lexi. Fawcett offered to pay for the service and shared that he had video of the incident and would share it with them, but Ashley said they never received the video. Patch was able to review the video, but Fawcett declined to share it publicly.

"We are looking for holes in our system and we're not finding a lot," Fawcett said about how the business can possibly prevent this from happening again. "We came up with implementing a color band. A yellow band will be used in grooming, bathing and daycare for any first time pets, not just boarding, to always have a visual, so there will be more eyes on the pet."

Animal Control was also notified by the family and the incident is being investigated. A city spokeswoman with Animal Control said that because it's an ongoing case, they can't share details or photos until the incident has been resolved. She was able to verify that an investigator arrived at 3:49 p.m. on Nov. 23 to gather information.

NEXT STEPS

Aprille has a court date Friday in DeKalb County and said she'll see what will result from the attack being reported to animal control.

"Georgia's law really limits how you can hold the business and dog owner accountable," said Aprille. "If it wasn't for me calling the non-emergency police number to report the dog attack no one would have reported it nor would anyone be held responsible."

Aprille wants to share her story to spread awareness in hopes that a repeat won't happen to other pet owners.

"Honestly, I would say never use this company for anything, but I also want the public to hear my story so that they think twice about using a dog daycare facility, not just at this location but at all facilities," Aprille said. "Make sure you read reviews and really do your research before you drop your dog off for someone else to care for them."



She also warns people to base their decisions on more than just Yelp, which from her experience has removed negative reviews.



Fawcett, who says the business has gotten awards and has always been a part of the community, used Yelp to publicly address the incident and show his sympathy for the family.





We have reviewed this situation over and over to see if there was anything we could or should have done differently. The dogs were not overly active, no dog displayed signs of aggression or anger towards another, there was absolutely no indication of any aggression. They had been playing as usual up to this point. We had one attendant to four dogs, and yet at a moment one dog turned on another...