Rock Musician Files Lawsuit over Dog’s Mysterious Death

from People.com

The drummer for the rock band My Chemical Romance is suing a dog trainer after the musician’s beloved German shepherd mix died in the trainer’s care – and was returned in the form of cremated remains, according to court papers.

In a bizarre lawsuit filed in Burbank Superior Court, Bob Bryar alleges breach of contract, fraud, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress against Daniel Schaffer, described in the action as the self-proclaimed “dog trainer to the stars.”

“I don’t even know what happened to my best friend and miss her more than anything in the world,” Bryar tells PEOPLE. “The devastation I feel is beyond words.”

Acting on a referral, Bryar says he spent $7,500 in April to send his dog Dixie – “the most important thing in his life,” according to the lawsuit – to Schaffer’s kennel for intense training to help the emotionally fragile, formerly abused rescue dog adjust to a new dog in the household.

About a week later, after previously telling Bryar that the dog had been “having a blast and partying all day,” Schaffer reported that Dixie was killed when a drunk driver struck the vehicle in which Schaffer was carrying Dixie and other dogs, according to the lawsuit.

Later that evening, “Schaffer called (Bryar) again and informed him that he could not say goodbye to Dixie for she had been ‘cremated due to her condition,’” the lawsuit says. Two days later, the trainer “delivered an urn allegedly containing Dixie’s remains,” the suit says. After Schaffer failed to produce a police report documenting the crash, he changed his story and said Dixie died in her sleep, then changed that story to say she died under other circumstances, the suit says.

Schaffer didn’t return messages seeking comment. No response has yet been filed to Bryar’s lawsuit.

Sorry if this is old news to some, I just saw it. Poor Bob and Dixie!

Daniel Schaffer is not a trainer I would ever have used and was the wrong person for what Dixie needed anyway. I wish someone would have been able to tell Bob that before this happened.