LEAGUE CITY, Texas — A League City family went on vacation and boarded their dog only to come back and find him dying. Now, they’re warning others and hoping to get answers about how this happened.
Cabello was the Smythe family's 11-year-old Pomeranian and had grown up with their kids and grandkids.
"He was really cute, furry, with one white paw that stood out. Pretty cool," Steve Smythe told us.
Last Friday, while the Smythe’s were in Florida to see the launch of their astronaut neighbor, they got the most terrible call.
"Another dog got released from his kennel and jumped on Cabello," Steve said.
Turns out a pit bull had attacked their pet at the Safari Animal Hospital in League City.
"They said seven or eight ribs were broken. They said they did X-rays on him and he couldn’t breathe and we, I don’t know, losing hope," Rebecca Smythe said.
They rushed back to League City, but sadly their dog didn’t make it.
"I was frustrated. I am mad. Still upset," Steve told us.
The family said the biggest frustration is that they got no answers from the vet or boarding facility on how this happened.
"Sunday, we picked him up no calls, we asked questions about surveillance videos, they wouldn’t share," Rebecca said.
The family is now sharing their story, hoping facilities are more cautious with dogs and they can prevent the pain for another family.
"I just want the truth to be told. It's in God's hands. My Cabello is gone," Steve said.
KHOU 11 News reached out to the facility. This is their statement, provided by Susan Mooney-Garner.
"It is with great sadness that I can confirm that one of our boarding dogs was attacked on Friday night by another dog which had burst out of its enclosure. He was given immediate treatment followed by surgery by a Board Certified veterinarian but sadly his injuries were too severe. The families were notified immediately and Animal Control visited the next morning to ensure that the facility was safe. Safari has been in business for 40 years and this is the first time something like this has happened, it is quite literally a one in a million chance. As a result of this incident, we have made physical changes to the kennels to ensure this can not happen again and upgraded dog handling procedures to enhance the safety of all dogs in our care. Unfortunately all dogs are a potential bite risk. The dog that was the attacker has been using our facility regularly since 2016 without incident. The staff and management deeply regret this incident and are sorry for the loss of a much loved family member."
KHOU 11 News also asked how the dog was able to get out of the enclosure and what changes, if any, have been made since then. We have not yet heard back.