DANIA BEACH, Fla. — A family took their eight-month-old German shepherd named Buddy for training and boarding with a local dog trainer.
They expected to get him back in five weeks, but less than three weeks later the pup was dead.
Nancy and Matthew Willner love animals and they have lots of dogs, so when they brought Buddy home last November, they decided he needed professional training and they picked Melanie McElyea of Dog Lovers Only Grooming based on a friend’s recommendation.
“We agreed to a 5-week session and he would be boarded by her and that we would meet her every week,” said Matthew Willner.
But that never happened.
The Willner’s claim communication was sketchy, receiving texts only, that were mainly about Buddy breaking out of his kennel or McElyea needing more dog food.
There were no calls and no meetups.
“If they were not capable to take care of my dog, they could have called,” said Nancy Willner.
On May 25, they took their eight-month-old puppy to Banfield Pet Hospital for a full workup. He was up to date on all his healthcare and he weighed nearly 70 pounds.
On May 28, Buddy went to McElyea’s home in Dania Beach to begin training while he lived with her. That was the last time this family would ever see their beloved puppy.
Local 10 News attempted to talk to the trainer to find out what happened to Buddy, visiting her home and calling numerous times.
But instead, we have to refer to the notes made by Dr. Kevin Ramirez at VCA Hollywood Animal Hospital.
Buddy’s caretaker told the staff she left the home for 20 minutes and returned to a foul odor, finding a dead dog already stiff, and she said heat stroke was to blame.
Her own two dogs were not affected.
Nancy Willner rushed to VCA just before midnight on June 14 after receiving a call from McElyea.
“She told me Buddy is dead and I said how and she told me that they left him in a crate,” said Matthew Willner. “I said what about the other dogs, are they dead too? And she said no they are fine.”
The story was not adding up, and the Broward Sheriff’s Office was called to the scene.
In the police report, McElyea and her husband claim the air conditioner broke, but this time they told the deputy they were away from their home for seven hours, not 20 minutes.
But again, their three German shepherds were all perfectly fine.
So what happened to Buddy?
The Willner’s sent Buddy’s body to have a necropsy performed and Local 10 sought out a specialist to read the pathologist notes.
“This was a traumatic event, there was a traumatic situation going on, there’s nothing normal about this,” said Dr. Eric Haskin with EMH Concierge Veterinary Services. “I saw the report. Buddy was at the Vet on May 25th and he weighed 69 pounds, and from what I understand, he lost over 20 pounds in two and a half weeks. That’s almost impossible.”
In addition to the dramatic weight loss, a young and growing puppy had both eyes indented, congested lungs, chipped and fractured teeth, mucous in the intestines, no food in the GI tract, and man-made foreign material in his body.
“If anybody walked into my office and I saw that, I would be terribly concerned as to what’s going on in the home,” said Haskin.
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