Owner Rebecca Belote said the Senoia Animal Hospital recommended Cha Cha for euthanasia after she brought the dog in for diabetic ketoacidosis

NEED TO KNOW

• The family claims Cha Cha the pug was diagnosed with organ failure and diabetic ketoacidosis before the animal hospital recommended euthanasia
• Cha Cha’s owner filed a complaint with Georgia’s veterinary board after reportedly finding photos of the pug alive online
• The hospital faced a similar case involving a cat this year, but police declined to pursue criminal charges

A Georgia family who paid to have their sick pug euthanized claims they later learned the dog wasn’t euthanized and was living with an employee of the animal hospital for months.

Rebecca Belote told WSB-TV that Senoia Animal Hospital in Senoia, Ga., owned by Robert Baggett, DVM, and Jill Phillips, DVM, recommended she euthanize 4-year-old Cha Cha in March after the pug became seriously ill.

“They said that she was in organ failure and had diabetic ketoacidosis,” the owner said. The hospital recommended euthanasia for the dog, which Belote said deeply affected her 17-year-old son.

“They had matching clothes. Like matching hoodies that they would wear,” she told the outlet. “She hardly walked anywhere cause he carried her everywhere.”

Despite the difficult decision, Belote says she accepted the animal hospital’s recommendation and paid to have Cha Cha euthanized.

Months later, Belote claims she spotted a photo of Cha Cha on Facebook. “I knew, scrolling like, ‘That’s my dog,’” she said.

Belote claims a former animal hospital worker confirmed an employee had taken the pug home, and the employee’s husband told her his wife had Cha Cha and that the dog was healthy.

FOX 5 Atlanta reported that a technician had been secretly treating Cha Cha’s diabetes.

Belote said the animal hospital’s managers denied the account. “They have a lawyer,” she said. “They won’t talk about it.”

Belote said she has filed a complaint with the Georgia State Board of Veterinary Medicine.

PEOPLE reached out to the Georgia State Board of Veterinary Medicine for comment. Senoia Animal Hospital refused PEOPLE’s request for comment.

This is the second alleged case this year of a pet not being euthanized at the hospital.

In September, WSB-TV reported that Brian Jagt paid nearly $300 in February 2025 to have his sick 19-year-old ragdoll cat, Annie, euthanized and cremated at the hospital. Jagt claimed the veterinarian told him, “Don’t worry, we will handle it.”

In July, his son allegedly learned from a friend at the hospital that Annie was alive and living with a veterinary technician. In a statement at the time, Jagt said the vet tech “had the nerve to post a picture of her holding Annie on both her Facebook page but also on the Senoia Animal Hospital website.” Annie was euthanized Aug. 13.

In a statement to WSB-TV, Baggett said the worker’s decision to keep the cat was “a mistake made out of compassion,” adding that the care team didn’t believe the cat needed to be euthanized.

“Our team’s intention throughout was to protect the cat’s life and well-being. We recognize, however, that we fell short in honoring the trust the family placed in us, and we have made every effort to make things right with the family,” Baggett said in a statement at the time.

“We take our clients’ trust very seriously, have addressed the matter internally, and have reinforced our policies to ensure that our clients’ decisions regarding their pets are always respected,” he continued.

The friend who informed Jagt about Annie was fired following the procedure, according to WSB-TV. The outlet said that the hospital claimed the worker was “terminated for entirely different independent reasons unrelated to this incident.” It said it had “no knowledge” of the worker’s role in the situation with Annie.

Senoia police and prosecutors have since decided not to file criminal charges against the veterinarian and veterinary technician involved, FOX 5 Atlanta reported. Investigators concluded that the conduct did not meet the legal definition of a crime.

“We feel that there are obviously some ethical concerns regarding the conduct at the Senoia Animal Hospital, but we don’t believe that it rises to the level of criminal conduct,” Capt. Jason Ercole told the outlet.

Police referred the matter to state regulators, specifically the State Board of Veterinary Services, and said any further action rests with the pet owners in civil court.

Senoia Police Department did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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