The owner of a dog that died after being abused at an award-winning dog daycare in Del Ray has sued the business owner for $585,000.
Earlier this month, Andrew Cheslock filed a civil suit against Paul Haire, the owner of Your Dog’s Best Friends (2000 Richmond Highway). It’s been two years since Cheslock’s 14-month-old golden retriever Abigail died after being strangled by Kevin Malik Sanders, a former groomer who pleaded guilty to one count of felony animal cruelty and four misdemeanor counts of animal abuse. Cheslock’s suit was filed earlier this month, soon after Sanders surrendered to authorities to serve a two-year prison sentence.
“I’m satisfied that [Sanders] was brought to justice,” Cheslock told ALXnow.
Cheslock and his wife live in Del Ray and were customers at the doggie daycare for years before they adopted Abigail in April 2024. Soon after Abigail’s death, the couple bought Hazel, a golden retriever puppy, and continued to use the daycare for a year until they were notified by the Alexandria Police Department that it opened an investigation into Abigail’s death. The investigation was opened after a whistleblower, a former employee at the daycare, released video of Abigail and several other dogs being abused.
Cheslock said that, at the time, he was unaware that such a video existed. He also claimed that Haire never spoke to him about Abigail’s death, that there was never an investigation and that without the release of the video Sanders would still likely be working for the business.
In his complaint, Cheslock said that from the time Abigail died until APD notified him that there was a criminal investigation a year later, on June 24, 2025, that “Your Dog’s Best Friends indicated to the plaintiff that Abigail died due to a medical condition.”
“One thing that I can’t stress to you enough is how traumatic this was for us to have had the misunderstanding of how this happened,” Cheslock said. “Our feeling was how incredibly unfair it was that we had this misunderstanding that she had some sort of genetic condition, and you know she was only 14 months old. She’d only made it here (in Del Ray) for 100 days.”
Cheslock said that Haire covered up the real cause of Abigail’s death.
“At all times relevant to this matter, defendant Paul Haire knew or should have known that Kevin Sanders caused the death of Abigail on July 12, 2024,” Cheslock said in his complaint. “From the time of Abigail’s death on July 12, 2024, until the Alexandria Police Department’s notification on June 24, 2025, Your Dog’s Best Friends indicated to the plaintiff that Abigail died due to a medical condition.”
Cheslock is asking the court to award him $21,241.48, the amount that he paid for Hazel, $63,724.44 in attorneys fees and $500,000 in punitive damages.
“The purpose of the punitive damages is to punish the defendant for their actions and to serve as an example to deter them and others from acting in a similar way,” Cheslock said.
Haire, who also owns The Dog Store in Del Ray, declined to comment and referred ALXnow to the statement he made last year after Sanders was arrested at work and charged. That statement is below.
Public Statement on the arrest of Kevin Sanders, a Your Dog’s Best Friends employee
We are reaching out today with transparency and care regarding an incident that has understandably raised alarm within our community. While we don’t have complete information yet, we want to issue our own statement.
A year ago, a young golden retriever in Kevin’s care for grooming died while on the table from what a vet confirmed was a heart attack. The vet who examined the dog within minutes stated she was certain that the dog had succumbed to a congenital heart defect, Dilated Cardio Myopathy. We were told the condition was “a ticking time bomb.”
This defect has become a recognized medical problem in this popular breed. The vet was specifically asked if there was any sign of any other contributing factor including trauma or asphyxiation and she indicated without hesitation that there was not. When the dog’s heart attack began, the critical nature of the situation was not immediately apparent to Kevin as the dog appeared to quietly lower itself from a standing to a “sphinx” position. As is common practice in grooming, the dog was supported by loose chest and head straps. Kevin did not immediately recognize the dog going quiet as a sign of distress because the dog appeared calm, in a semi-upright position, and did nothing to indicate discomfort.
We were told by the examining vet that, despite our rendering CPR in which the staff receives certified training, nothing Kevin could have done would have changed the outcome of the heart attack.
Immediately before the heart attack Kevin struggled to control the dog. He failed to follow our protocol of taking a dog off the table when this occurs.
- That struggle, while not rising to the level made in the accusations against Kevin, may have caused the dog enough stress to pull the pin on the ticking time bomb. While Kevin understood the gravity of his mistake, he was removed from grooming to undergo a rigorous retraining from our 2 senior groomers in our ‘No Fear” protocols and safety measures. This took place over several months before he was allowed to resume limited responsibilities as a bather.
- Neither before this incident or after have we seen or have had reported to us any injury or customer complaint about the treatment of dogs in our grooming regarding Kevin or anyone else. Nor has any dog since shied away from Kevin on a return visit. Those, and the supervision of the senior groomers, are the key factors we closely monitored on his return to grooming.
We understand how distressing this news may be and want to reassure you of the following:
- The health and safety of every dog in our care is our highest priority.
- We have reviewed all related procedures and are confident in the professionalism and compassion of our staff.
- We continue to work closely with veterinarians and animal care professionals to ensure we uphold the best standards in our industry. We know how much trust you place in us when you leave your pets in our care, and that trust means everything to us.
A court date has not yet been set.
Image via Google Maps
