Cloudy with occasional rain…mainly in the morning. High around 50F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%..
Partly cloudy. Low 37F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: October 16, 2024 @ 5:10 am
A dog groomer who was hospitalized earlier this year after being bitten in the face by a dog outside of her Grand Island business has filed a lawsuit against the neighboring business, arguing that the owner knew or should have known about the animal’s vicious and violent “propensities.”
In a complaint filed on Aug. 1 in Erie County Supreme Court, Mayra Rodriguez, owner of the Glitter Paws dog grooming salon on Grand Island Boulevard, contends that she suffered “serious, painful and permanent injuries” during a May 20 encounter with a shar pei named “Gucci” while it was under the care of The Pit Chic Training, Boarding and Municipal Shelter.
The complaint, filed by attorney Stephen C. Ciocca of the Cellino law firm, argues that The Pit Chic and its owner, Kelli Swagel, are liable for Rodriguez’s injuries because they permitted the animal to come into contact with her despite having “knowledge of the vicious propensities of the dog.”
The claim does not specify any monetary damages and instead seeks judgment “in an amount that exceeds the monetary jurisdictional limits of all lower New York state courts.”
In a response filed by Endell J. Osuna, an attorney with the law firm Goldberg Segalla LLP, Swagel denied all of the plaintiff’s claims while arguing that Rodriguez failed to “state a proper cause of action with respect to the defendants” and that the injuries she sustained were not the result of any fault or negligence on the part of the defendants.
Osuna’s response also suggests Rodriguez “assumed the risk incidental to the activity she was engaged in” when she agreed, on the day of the incident, to take the dog out for a walk when asked to do so by Pit Chic staff members.
Osuna declined to comment when reached by telephone on Tuesday.
The Gazette previously reported that Rodriguez agreed, on May 20, to come in on her day off to assist The Pit Chic staff with calming the shar pei whom she was told had been giving them some trouble. She said she agreed to do so because she had previous experience working with the dog, having groomed it for several years, first at her former job at PetCo and later at Glitter Paws, which is located in the same Grand Island Boulevard plaza as The Pit Chic.
Swagel, whose facility is the contracted provider of animal shelter services for the City of Niagara Falls, told the newspaper that on the day of the incident, staff notified her that the dog was showing clear signs of aggression, including growling, barking and biting at the kennel. As a result, she said the staff was uncomfortable handling the dog that morning.
“I reached out to Mayra to see if she was working that morning and explained to her the reason being the dog was showing aggressive behaviors,” Swagel told the newspaper in an email in response to questions in June. “Mayra said ‘no’ but offered to come handle him as she was familiar with him. I advised the owner Mayra offered to take him out and that I would update after.”
Rodriguez said she arrived and was able to help coax the animal out of its kennel before taking it for a walk. As they were walking near the patio outside of the plaza, Rodriguez said she heard the dog whimper. When she reached out in an attempt to comfort the dog, Rodriguez said it turned on her and started biting her, first on her cheek and then on her chest and hand.
Rodriguez said the attack stopped when an employee from The Pit Chic opened the door to the business, distracting the dog long enough for her to get the animal back under control.
Immediately following the attack, Rodriguez was taken in a personal vehicle driven by one of her employees to Kenmore Mercy Hospital. She was later transferred to Erie County Medical Center for additional treatment.
The dog “ripped off” part of Rodriguez’s cheek to the point where it was hanging by her bottom lip. The animal also caused two gashes under her left eye and damage to part of her lip, cheek and jaw as well as her chest. She also suffered what she described as “defensive wounds” on the bottom of the palm, wrist and thumb on her right hand.
Rodriguez has been scheduled for follow-up appointments with her doctor and anticipates requiring additional surgery in the future as a result of her injuries.
Swagel told the newspaper in June that the dog’s owners completed a boarding waiver, a document in which they were asked to disclose any “aggressive history or known behavior concerns.” She suggested that, at that time, they did not disclose any.
However, Swagel said the owners later disclosed information about a previous boarding where the dog was “not comfortable” and of a previous grooming appointment where the dog “showed signs of aggression toward other dogs.”
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.
Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox.
First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: