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A devastated family are searching for answers after their 'completely healthy' dog died while at a training facility.
Sisters Christina and Celina are mourning the premature death of their 14-month-old puppy, Winnie.
The Zazzarino family, from Australia, decided to get their dog professional training because he was a ‘handful’.
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Celina searched for a training facility online and found one based in Sydney which had good reviews.
Winnie was ‘completely healthy’, according to the family, who told A Current Affair that they took the pooch to the vet the day before dropping him off at the training facility.
The family paid AUS $1,515 (£783) for Winnie to stay two weeks with the dog trainer, and everything seemed to be going well until the fourth day, when they received an alarming call.
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"I've received a call and the lady said that Winston hadn't been eating for four days," Celina said.
"She had asked what Winston likes… she said they were going to go to the shops and buy that."
The family were concerned about their dog but their also wanted to trust the professionals at the facility.
A week went by with no updates on Winnie’s condition, so Celina sent the head trainer at the facility a text message asking for news.
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The head trainer replied with a message that reportedly said: “Winston is doing really well! Loving his time here. Still a bit of a fussy eater but eating better now.”
However, Winnie’s health took a turn for the worst later that day when the training facility called Celina and told her they were taking her dog to the vet.
"They had told me that he just had a stomach pain and he was dehydrated so they told us he got given hydralytes and medication," Celina recalled.
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The family asked if they could pick up Winnie but they were told that the dog was doing ok. They were then sent pictures by the training facility of Winnie, along with a message saying he ‘looks on the mend’.
Once again, the family received a terrifying update - this time a mere 24 hours later - which said that Winnie was not doing well.
"Then we receive another call saying actually we're going to take him to the vet first and then bring him home," Celina shared.
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The family said Winnie never made it home and they had to say goodbye to him at the vet. When they saw him, they noticed he had lost weight and was dying.
The mourning family sought answers on social media from the training facility an their post went viral. The money they paid was refunded by the training facility and the facility also offered to pay for Winnie’s vet care.
However, the Zazzarinos were asked to avoid sharing their story by the facility, they claimed.
The head trainer sent A Current Affair a legal letter to deny any wrongdoing. The family are currently awaiting autopsy results to know exactly what caused the dog’s death.
LADbible has contacted the training facility for comment.
Gregory Robinson