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Dog dies while at training facility in St. Martinville; family sues for negligence
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JEFF DAVIS PARISH, La. (KLFY) -- A family from Jeff Davis Parish is suing a dog training facility in St. Martinville, alleging negligence after their one-year-old Labrador, Dusty, died while in the facility's care.
Dusty, a black Labrador retriever, died from a widespread bacterial infection while at Cypress Bottom Retrievers, a training facility for hunting dogs, according to the lawsuit.
"They entrusted that this man and this business would take care of this dog, and he did the opposite," said Ramez Shamieh, the attorney representing Dusty's family.
The lawsuit lists owner and trainer Brandon Menard; Brandon's parents, Joseph and Shari Menard; Kirk Guilbeau, who owned property where dogs were once kept; and the facility, Cypress Bottom Retrievers, as plaintiffs.
The suit claims that the facility and its staff failed to maintain suitable housing, a clean environment, and provide safe food and water for Dusty. The final report from LSU/Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory indicated that Dusty suffered tremendously before his death.
"We've had people that have come forward that have said this is not the only dog this happened to. There's been multiple dogs that this happened to. This is only the tip of the iceberg," Shamieh said.
The attorney hopes to prevent future incidents and encourages anyone with similar experiences to come forward, emphasizing the importance of their testimony to the family.
"It would mean the world, if anybody is out there to come forward, it would mean the world to the family. They want all of you to know that," Shamieh said.
Shamieh is available at 337-477-7222 or through email, ramez@shamiehlaw.com.
Cypress Bottom Retrievers declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing legal counsel advice. Dusty's family seeks accountability and hopes to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KLFY. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KLFY staff before being published.