More than 75,000 people have petitioned the City Council and Georgia Department of Health to shut down a dog grooming salon in Cumming.
On Oct. 7, Michelle Louise Root, the owner of Paw'sh Paws in Cumming, was charged with cruelty to animals after an incident at her salon which resulted in the death of a dog . Root, 41, was released from Forsyth County jail on Oct. 11, after posting a $5,630 cash bond.
Root is also facing another charge of animal cruelty from 2016, said authorities .
In the most recent incident, an employee of the grooming salon told police that Root kicked a dog named Meko into the door and choked the dog to the point of unconsciousness with the grooming lead that was still around its neck.
Root then allegedly slammed the dog against other objects before throwing the dog on the table to finish the grooming service. The dog was unresponsive, according to the employee and when someone came to pick Meko up, they were told that the dog had a seizure and needed to go to the emergency room. Meko died later at an animal hospital.
Sean Scott launched a petition on Care 2, asking the city council and the Georgia Department of Health to shut the business down. Scott expressed concerns that employees kept quiet and went along with the story about the dog having a seizure, when the dog was picked up.
"I want to do everything in my power to make sure this psychopath doesn't get to continue making profit owning her dog salon," wrote Scott. "Even if Root is found guilty of the charges and sentenced, he said, she would still be profiting off her the store. "This hurts me to my core. There is no excuse or rationality for brutalizing and killing someone's pet," he wrote.
By Friday morning, more than 75,000 people had signed the petition including 2,535 from Georgia. The petition is seeking 80,000 signatures.
