July 15, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): Banker couple Laura Garner and Robert Hardon in New York City is determined to sue a dog sitting agency for $US1 million after their French bulldog died under their care.

The couple left their five-year-old French Bulldog Percy for one night in ‘Doggie Love’, a dog sitting agency in Queens. This was in case of July 2009. They returned home next day to find their beloved dog dead lying before an air conditioner in the apartment.

As per the lawsuit, Percy had difficulty in breathing and regulating his body temperature common to the flat-faced breeds of dog. It added that the worker took the dog in the back of an enclosed van and the dog got overheated. The dog was driven to their Upper West Side apartment. The dog was then left inside the empty apartment when it was obviously in distress. A federal judge who lives next door and the doorman of the building asked the worker if they could get the dog some water or call a vet.

Percy was examined by the Vets that night, who confirmed that the body temperature of the dog was remarkably high and it suffered seizures.

The couple said, “The anguish and the emptiness left by Percy’s death has not gone away and will never be.”

The couple filed papers against the agency in Queens Supreme Court yesterday. They have asked for $US1 million to fill the damage.”

According to a statement by the lawyer of the Doggie Love, “The death of the dog is very tragic. However, the ultimate cause of the death cannot be confirmed before a necropsy. I am sure that Doggie Love will be found blameless once they get the chance to defend themselves in the court.”