Family: Dog hit and killed by car after mistakenly let out by pest control

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    PEORIA, Arizona (KPHO/KTVK) — Peoria family members are mourning the loss of their dog and pointing the finger at a pest control company, they claim, let the dog loose while working at their home.

Now they said the company isn’t doing much to help and they’re considering legal action for negligence.

The Woollam family said they repeatedly told the pest control company to let them know when they would be coming back to their home so they could make sure their two dogs were inside.

Not only did that not happen, but the company, ironically called Watchdog Pest Control, made a mistake that the family says cost their 4-year-old lab Lucy her life.

Tessa Woollam could not imagine her life without her yellow labs, including Lucy.

“They’re not just dogs. They’re our family members,” she said.The Woollam family said they repeatedly told the pest control company to let them know when they would be coming back to their home so they could make sure their two dogs were inside.

Not only did that not happen, but the company, ironically called Watchdog Pest Control, made a mistake that the family says cost their 4-year-old lab Lucy her life.

Tessa Woollam could not imagine her life without her yellow labs, including Lucy.

“They’re not just dogs. They’re our family members,” she said.

But the unthinkable happened last week.

“It was so preventable and completely negligent,” Woollam said.

Their family said they hired Watchdog Pest Control to come remove pigeons from their solar panels.

They claim the company did the job on Jan. 19 but left six large trash bags on the side of their yard and asked if they could come back to pick them up later in the week.

“‘Hey, our technician will be back to pick them up in the next few days. Is that OK? And my husband is like, ‘Yes, just please let us know. We have two dogs, I don’t know what my wife is going to be doing, so just give us a call,'” Woollam recalled.

On Thursday, Woollam left to go to lunch with her mom while her husband was at work. She claims the pest control company never told her when or what time they would be coming back.

That’s when she received a voicemail from a vet’s office.

“I went outside and called them and said, ‘I’m Lucy’s mom, what happened?’ And they’re like, ‘We have Lucy, she was hit by a car,'” Woollam said. “Is she OK? And they’re like, ‘No, unfortunately, she was killed.’ And my body was just numb.”

Her husband then got a text from the company saying the crew accidentally let the dog out and couldn’t find her in the neighborhood. A mother and daughter found her on the side of the road after being hit by a car.

“They were with her when she passed and we’re so thankful for them that she wasn’t alone,” Woollam said through tears.

She said she called the company furious.

“They just kept saying, ‘Oh, I can see how frustrating that is.’ And I said, ‘Frustrating? My dog is dead,'” she said.

Now the Woollam’s are considering taking legal action after losing Lucy and losing a piece of their heart.

Arizona’s Family reached out to Watchdog Pest Control for an interview or statement Tuesday, but they said their attorneys are handling it and they have no comment.

Woollam said the company’s attorneys have not reached out to her.

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