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Post by Brooke on Jan 21, 2004 18:27:29 GMT -5
Posted on Mon, Nov. 17, 2003 Woman awarded $47,000 in death of her dog The Associated Press
AUSTIN - A Central Texas woman whose dog was run over by a car and killed after she got away from a pet-store employee was awarded $47,000 by a state district judge in Travis County.
Carol Schuster of Austin sued Petco when her 14-month miniature schnauzer, Licorice, was found dead Jan. 20, four days after she was groomed at the store.
The judge's ruling included $10,000 each for emotional anguish, loss of companionship and punitive damages. Petco Animals is appealing the ruling to the 3rd Court of Appeals.
A pet-store employee lost Schuster's dog when he dropped the leash while walking her after grooming. Licorice sprinted down U.S. 183, where Schuster spotted her while driving to pick her up.
Schuster said employees at the store told her what had happened. Schuster spent the next four days looking for Licorice and putting out food for her in a nearby wooded area.
Four days later, a Petco executive called Schuster to tell her that Licorice's body had been found. The dog was identified through by an implanted microchip.
Sergei Kachura, Schuster's attorney, said there have been four previous rulings in Texas in cases involving emotional damages for the deaths of dogs.
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