A dog grooming school accused of abusing animals has passed a state inspection with flying colors, according to a report issued by the state Department of Agriculture Animal Control Division.
On Nov. 26, state Animal Control Officer Barbara Goodejohn visited the Connecticut School of Dog Grooming, 117 Washington Ave., in response to an animal abuse complaint filed by Tanya Mason-Maresca, who had been a student for approximately five days. She alleged that dogs in the facility were struck with grooming tools, denied sufficient water and were locked in a bathroom.
Mason-Maresca took her case public by picketing the entrance to the shopping plaza, holding signs that asked for an end to the alleged abuse.
But the inspection report shows otherwise. The inspection found the facility to be in appropriate shape and that it had all of the necessary tools and equipment required. It found the dog drying cages to be clean and sanitary and of sufficient size to accommodate dogs comfortably.
The school’s owner, Jenny Aurora, said she is relieved the event is over. “It hurt me to the core,” she said.
“The Connecticut School of Dog Grooming takes its business reputation seriously,” she said in a prepared statement. “It categorically denies the false and defamatory statements of Ms. Maresca, a former student who voluntarily withdrew from the school and previously threatened to attack the school’s reputation and good name unless was provided a full reimbursement of her tuition, which the school has consistently maintained that she is not entitled to.”