Couple says beloved bulldog died while having ears cropped

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Parkway Village couple says their dog, died during what should have been a routine procedure, having his ears cropped.

Empty nesters Felicia and Michael Herron spent $3,000 for their dog, a “micro-bully” named Shaka.

“We only had him five months, but he was growing and he just meant the world to us,” Felicia Herron said.

The Herrons claim Shaka died Aug. 9 while having an ear cropping procedure at Teon’s Puppy Palace on Winchester. They were told by Teon’s owner the dog would probably be sedated for the procedure.

“When we walked in my husband told him, ‘This is precious cargo. You got to take care of him. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you let us know and we’re out,” she said. “He’s like ‘This is what I do, this is my business, this is what I do.'”

The Herrons were shocked when they got a phone call their dog was dead.

“When I saw him again he was lifeless, laying on the floor. He was lying on the floor in the place and he was lifeless,” she said.

The Herrons say they were told their dog essentially drowned, and were blamed for giving the dog water. They admit they gave him two chips of ice more than an hour before the procedure.

Felecia buried Shaka that day in the Herrons’ backyard in Parkway Village.

But she had questions. She called police and soon an investigator with Memphis Animal Services came to the house and asked the family to exhume the remains of the dog so a cause of death could be determined.

WREG went to Teon’s Puppy Palace with questions.

A man who said he was Jamiel Carpenter, the owner of Teon’s, said he knew nothing about the Aug. 9 incident, didn’t know the Herrons, and showed us the door. He did not answer when asked whether he was licensed to do the procedure.

Felicia Herron was in disbelief that the man said he doesn’t remember Shaka, or the day that changed their lives.

“He knows,” she said. “He knows my name, he knows the dog. He knows quite well.”

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WREG is waiting to hear back from Memphis Animal Services about their investigation. We have reached out the the Tennessee Department of Health to confirm whether they are looking into the dog’s death.

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