A dog owner is demanding Bunnings Warehouse pay her vet bills after her six-month-old puppy was ‘seriously injured’ on a store travelator.
Lisa Sinclair’s short-haired Chihuahua Chelsea’s left front paw and right hind paw became stuck in a travelator at Bunnings Burleigh Waters on the Gold Coast in Queensland at 3pm on Saturday.
Ms Sinclair rushed Chelsea to a vet across the road, where the puppy’s middle toe on her injured hind paw had to be amputated.
Shocking photos show that both of Chelsea’s injured paws were left mangled and bloody with exposed flesh after becoming caught in the travelator.
The dog owner wants Bunnings to pay for Saturday’s vet bill and ongoing bills related to Chelsea’s injuries.
She also wants the Bunnings store it happened at to erect warning signs around the travelator.
Lisa Sinclair’s short-haired Chihuahua Chelsea’s left front paw and right hind paw (pictured) became stuck in a travelator at Bunnings Burleigh Waters on the Gold Coast in Queensland at 3pm on Saturday
Ms Sinclair rushed Chelsea to a vet across the road, where the puppy’s middle (pictured) toe on her injured hind paw had to be amputated
Ms Sinclair said the ordeal was ‘horrific’ for both herself and Chelsea.
‘I had her (Chelsea) on a leash on my left hand side, I’m trying to help her be independent so I let her walk a bit,’ Ms Sinclair told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I put her on travelator with me and as I stepped off, I heard a scream and that’s when I turned around and saw that she was in a lot of pain so I picked her up right away.
‘I could see as I picked her up, she was bleeding and there was some damage to the front paw.’
A woman who worked at Bunnings and another woman who was shopping heard the dog’s screams and came to help Ms Sinclair, offering a towel for the blood.
Ms Sinclair then rushed Chelsea to a vet across the road, where the dog required immediate surgery for her injuries.
‘Her middle balance toe on her back foot had to be fully amputated, they couldn’t save it,’ Ms Sinclair said.
‘There were similar injuries on the front one, part of the paw and nail was gone.’
Part of the paw and nail on the left hind lef were chewed off by the travelator at Bunnings
Ms Sinclair and Chelsea celebrated Christmas last month. Now her pet puppy cannot walk and needs to be carried
Ms Sinclair paid a total of $472.10 for the vet fees and will likely pay hundreds more for subsequent checkups.
‘I’m not working so it’s very hard to survive or even buy food at the moment,’ she said.
‘Chelsea can’t stand, she’s quite wobbly on her feet and I have to carry her around.
‘I’ll take her for another check next Monday but she may need more pain medication and there’s a consultancy fee as well so it’s really adding up.’
The dog owner wants Bunnings to pay for the Saturday’s bill as well as ongoing bills related to injuries sustained from the travelator incident.
Bunnings Acting Area Manager Dean Nantes said: ‘We were sorry to hear that an incident involving a customer’s dog happened at our Burleigh Waters store over the weekend.
‘We have been liaising directly with this customer to offer support and are working towards a resolution.’
Ms Sinclair said she received a call from Bunnings management on Tuesday offering to pay for Saturday’s bill on the condition that she sign a contract and no longer speak about the incident.
Chelsea curled up asleep after her injury on Saturday. Ms Sinclair paid a total of $472.10 for the vet fees and will likely pay hundreds more for subsequent checkups
‘I think he (a man from Bunnings management) wants to shut me up and make it go away really quickly,’ she said.
‘He was trying to make me sign something and convince me it was in my interest but I don’t think it was in my interest.
‘If I accept that and sign something right now, there will be another vet bill next week, what about then?
She also believes there should be signage around the travelator warning owners about the potential danger to their dogs.
‘The vet across the road told me he has treated another dog who was injured on the same travelator, so I think there might be something wrong with it,’ Ms Sinclair said.
‘I’m not the one that’s done anything wrong, I just think awareness needs to be out there so it doesn’t happen to another dog at this store.
Bunnings Warehouse’s guidelines dictate that dogs are welcome in stores as long as they are friendly.
Owners must secure their dogs either on a leash, in a vehicle, in a trolley or carry them by hand.
Chelsea on the beach prior to her injury on Saturday which left her with painful paw injuries
