SINGAPORE, July 26 — A pet grooming salon said its staff are “distraught” after the death of a dog it had been caring for. The dog allegedly fell from a grooming table while unsupervised and died after dangling from its own short leash.

The owner of the salon Pawkins said on Instagram on Thursday (July 25) that it was temporarily ceasing operations as it cooperated with an investigation by the authorities.

In response to queries from TODAY, the National Parks Board (NParks) said it had received feedback on a case where a dog allegedly died at a grooming salon and is investigating the matter.

Ms Jessica Kwok, group director for enforcement and investigation at NParks, added that the statutory board “takes all feedback received from the public on animal health and welfare seriously”.

TODAY has viewed closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage allegedly from the Pawkins salon showing the dog falling from a grooming table and dangling by its own short leash until it apparently died. No staff member could be seen in the room at the time.

The incident came to light with a Facebook post late on Wednesday evening stating that a corgi named Fendi was being cremated, following its death after it was sent for a grooming session.

The post, written by a Ms Elizabeth Goh, a friend of a friend of the owner, included a photo of the deceased dog surrounded by flowers. Ms Goh wrote that Fendi “was hung on a short leash on the left table by herself”.

A screenshot of the post was shared on independent news site Wake Up Singapore’s Instagram page the next day.

Both the Facebook and Instagram posts mentioned and tagged the owner of the dog, identified later as Ms Sonia Tan.

On Thursday, Ms Tan, 27, told TODAY that Ms Goh was “a friend’s friend” who sought permission to post about the incident on her behalf on social media.

Ms Tan said that Fendi, aged almost four years old, was cremated on Wednesday, on the same day of its death.

In May 2023, in a separate case, a dog groomer was handed a fine of S$8,000 and disqualified from running any animal-related business for nine months, after a maltese dog under her care died when she left it unattended for seven minutes while on a smoke break.

The 10-year-old dog was hanged by the neck on a short leash until it died. The groomer had placed the dog on a grooming table and it accidentally slipped off the edge.

‘I don't think I'll get over this’

Ms Tan said that one of the owners of Pawkins had called her at 3.14pm on Wednesday to inform her about the “passing of my baby girl”.

“He told me that they went for lunch and came back and found Fendi unconscious, someone did CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on her while rushing her to the vet,” said Ms Tan, who is self-employed.

She shared with TODAY portions of a text conversation she had with an unnamed staff member from Pawkins over WhatsApp.

The groomer had sent her a short CCTV clip of the premises that was under two minutes in length. At her request, Pawkins sent a longer video.

In the shorter clip, seen by TODAY, the dog Fendi was seen on a table top held by a short leash. Other dogs were also left in the room unattended, including Ms Tan’s other pet dog Hades, also held by a short leash on a table top next to Fendi’s.

“Fortunately, he was not harmed,” she said, referring to Hades.

At about 1.42pm on Wednesday, based on the video time stamp, Fendi was seen falling off the table and dangling by its neck. It stopped moving not long after.

In the second clip, also viewed by TODAY, a woman was seen entering the room at 2.17pm. She was seen picking up Fendi and knocking on the door next to the table. Another woman and a man entered the room soon after.

The second woman was seen doing CPR on the dog, before the trio took the dog out of the room at 2.20pm.

Ms Tan told TODAY that she had sent her pets to Pawkins since June 2022, when they went by another name, HumbleHomeGrooms.

“I was not aware they leash the dogs on the high table without the arms looped in. Many groomers have told me it is not common practice to leash on (a) high table to just the neck unattended or unsupervised,” she added.

Ms Tan said that while the Pawkins owner informed her of Fendi’s death, he allegedly did not inform her of the circumstances, such as the dogs being leashed on the table top or that the animals were left unattended.

Ms Tan said that Pawkins have offered to waive the grooming charges for both Fendi and Hades.

She said that she had reported the incident to the police, who then referred her to NParks.

Pawkins did not respond to multiple attempts by TODAY to reach out for comment.

But on Wednesday afternoon, it said on its Instagram page that the team was “distraught over the most unfortunate incident involving Fendi the corgi”.

“We sincerely hope that all those who loved and cared for Fendi can accept our deepest and most heartfelt condolences and sympathies,” read the statement.

Pawkins added that it has groomed and cared for Fendi for about two years and “all of us love her dearly”.

“We are deeply saddened and affected by her passing. We have reached out to Fendi’s owner.”

The grooming company said it was looking into the matter and would cooperate with the authorities.

For her part, Ms Tan said that she would “do whatever it takes” to spread awareness about the case and cases of other pets which allegedly died of negligence while under the care of groomers.

She said that she would like to ensure the relevant authorities are aware of these cases “and do something about it”.

Meanwhile, Ms Tan is still too upset over the loss of her "furkid", such that she “couldn’t bring myself to watch the video”.

“(Fendi) was my first ever dog, I don't think I will ever get over this,” she said. — TODAY