Dog Groomer Gets Just Two Years Behind Bars After Dog Dies Choking in His Care
Guest Contributor
The sentencing of a former Alexandria dog groomer in an animal cruelty case has drawn intense public attention and renewed concern about pet safety in grooming and boarding facilities. For many people who consider their animals part of the family, the idea of a beloved dog being harmed during what should be routine care is deeply unsettling. This case, centered on the death of a golden retriever named Abigail and the mistreatment of other dogs, has become a sobering example of why careful research into any dog boarding and grooming facility is so important.
According to the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria, former groomer Kevin Sanders was sentenced to five years in prison on a Class 6 felony conviction, with three years suspended. He is required to serve two years behind bars. In addition to the felony tied to Abigail’s death, Sanders also received 12-month sentences on four Class 1 misdemeanor convictions related to other dogs in his care. Those misdemeanor sentences were fully suspended, but the combined outcome still marks a significant response by the court to animal cruelty within a commercial pet care setting.
The conditions attached to the suspended time are extensive. The court ordered Sanders to complete two years of supervised probation and two years of good behavior. He must undergo a cognitive behavioral evaluation and complete any recommended treatment. He is also required to attend anger management. Perhaps most notably for pet owners in Alexandria and beyond, he is now barred from owning animals or working in any job that involves animals, and he is prohibited from contacting the victims in the case. He is scheduled to report to begin serving his prison term on June 25.
Sanders pleaded guilty in February to the felony charge arising from Abigail’s death. Abigail was a 3-year-old golden retriever who died on July 12, 2024, while in Sanders’ care at Your Dog's Best Friends, a boarding and grooming facility located on Richmond Highway in the Del Ray area of Alexandria. Investigators later uncovered that Sanders continued to work at the facility after Abigail’s death, and that further incidents of alleged mistreatment were captured on video over the following months.
Alexandria Sheriff's Office
The Commonwealth's Attorney's Office filed a statement of facts describing what happened to Abigail in the grooming room. According to that document, Sanders became frustrated while grooming her and handled her in a way that caused a grooming tool placed around her neck to choke her. A veterinarian who reviewed surveillance video concluded that Abigail was substantially mistreated and that this mistreatment caused her death. That expert review, based on the video evidence, formed a key part of the case that led to the felony animal cruelty conviction.
The four misdemeanor animal cruelty charges stemmed from separate incidents recorded in October and December 2024. Those videos reportedly showed Sanders mishandling other dogs at the same facility. The judge who presided over the case found him guilty on all four misdemeanor counts after reviewing the seized video evidence. The decision reinforced the conclusion that what happened to Abigail was not an isolated error, but part of a pattern of unacceptable behavior in a professional pet care environment.
The facility’s owner, Paul Haire, publicly offered a different interpretation of Abigail’s death following Sanders’ arrest. In a July 2025 Facebook statement, Haire said that a veterinarian who examined Abigail had attributed her death to a heart attack caused by a congenital heart defect and had not found signs of trauma or asphyxiation. Haire acknowledged that Sanders had struggled to control Abigail and failed to follow a protocol that required removing her from the grooming table when she became too difficult to manage. He suggested that the resulting stress may have triggered the underlying heart condition. Despite that account, Sanders later pleaded guilty to the felony charge, and the court found him guilty on all four misdemeanor counts after considering the evidence.
The case against Sanders began when an anonymous former employee stepped forward. On December 13, 2024, that individual delivered a complaint and a USB drive to the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria, alleging that dogs were being abused at the facility and that management was allowing it to continue. The USB drive reportedly contained video recordings that raised serious concerns about how animals were being treated. This whistleblower’s decision to act set in motion the broader investigation that would ultimately lead to Sanders’ arrest and conviction.
With support from the Alexandria Police Department, investigators obtained a search warrant and executed it on January 24, 2025. During that search, authorities seized more than 640 video files that together contained over 600 hours of footage. Reviewing such a large volume of material was a substantial undertaking, but it provided the evidentiary foundation for the charges that followed. A grand jury eventually certified those charges, and Sanders was arrested on July 21, 2025.
The Animal Welfare League of Alexandria publicly thanked its animal services officers, prosecutors, law enforcement partners, veterinary professionals, and advocates for their work on the case. The organization also extended its sympathies to the victims, including Abigail’s family and the families of the other affected dogs. In its statement, the league expressed hope that the outcome would offer at least a degree of closure to those who had trusted the boarding and grooming facility with their pets.
Beyond the courtroom, this case has renewed conversations about how pet owners can better protect their animals when choosing services such as dog grooming and daycare. The league emphasized the importance of researching facilities in advance, which can include reading reviews, asking detailed questions about training, supervision, and handling protocols, and observing how staff interact with animals during drop-off or tours. It can also be helpful to check whether a facility uses cameras, what their policies are around reporting incidents, and how they respond to concerns raised by employees or clients. While no amount of preparation can remove all risk, informed choices can reduce the likelihood that a dog will end up in an unsafe environment.
This case from Alexandria underscores how much trust pet owners place in professional boarders and groomers, and how devastating it can be when that trust is broken through animal cruelty. The legal consequences for Sanders, combined with the public attention to Abigail’s story and the other dogs involved, may encourage stronger oversight and more careful decision-making by both pet care businesses and the families who rely on them. For anyone who loves an animal, that kind of vigilance can make a meaningful difference.