Carmen Cesta, owner of Carm's Dog House, stands near one of his mobile grooming buses.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The owner of a Cicero dog grooming service received death threats and a spate of customer cancellations after his business was falsely accused on Facebook of breaking a dog's leg.
The scathing review of Carm's Dog House appeared on Facebook at about 7:30 p.m. May 23 and was shared more than 7,000 times. It said a dog named Rocky was in so much pain the animal could not stand up after one of Carm's groomers gave it a haircut.
The next morning the parking lot of Carm's Dog House at 6260 Route 31 was covered with broken glass from smashed bottles and the telephone was ringing with calls from customers pulling their dogs out of its day care service. Facebook users threatened to break owner Carmen Cesta's legs and burn down his business. People shouted insults at him while he was driving one of his mobile dog grooming buses.
"It was just horrible," said Cesta, 28, who started the business in 2010 which also offers boarding and operates a bakery that makes treats, cupcakes and birthday cakes for dogs.
It turned out Rocky's leg was broken when it was hit by a sport utility vehicle after being taken outdoors unleashed by the dog owner's relative.
Dog owner initially pleased with groomer's work
Cesta said the information in the Facebook post was at odds with these facts he gathered from staff:
At about 10:30 a.m. Saturday May 20, a mobile groomer arrived at a Brewerton apartment complex to groom Rocky, a small mixed-breed owned by Carol Oatman. The mobile groomers make house calls in buses equipped with baths tubs, running water and electricity.
Pam Graham, the groomer, finished with the dog at 11:30 a.m. She said the dog was energetic, running around and Oatman was pleased.
About 30 minutes later Oatman called Carm's Dog House and left a message, saying the dog looked great and she was pleased with the groomer's work.
But at 9:23 p.m. Saturday, Carm's received an email from Oatman. She said she left home in the afternoon and when she returned that evening, Rocky was barely moving. She said Rocky had numerous bare spots on his legs, foot and groin from the clippers and might need to see a veterinarian.
Vet said dog needed orthopedic surgery
A Carm's employee responded the next morning. In an email, the employee apologized, told Oatman she would not be charged for the haircut and asked her to send photos of the dog.
After receiving photos, Carm's offered to pay the bill if Oatman took the dog to a vet.
On Monday Oatman sent another email to Carm's saying a vet determined the dog had a broken leg and would need orthopedic surgery.
When he heard that, Cesta said he knew there was no way his groomer broke the dog's leg. The owner would have noticed the broken leg and other injuries when she picked up the dog after the grooming session, he said. "If the dog was limping or had cuts you would think she would have brought it up then," he said.
He sent Oatman an email Tuesday afternoon, telling her his business did not cause Rocky's injuries.
Facebook post cost groomer more than 100 customers
That night Chuck Cesario, Oatman's son, published a Facebook post, railing against Carm's Dog House for not taking responsibility for the dog's injuries.
"Pleased I beg of you to share this with all your friends on any social media you can to save some other family from going through this tragic event," Cesario said in the post. "Someone like this should not be in business and should not be able to hurt someone's family like this."
An excerpt of the Facebook post that triggered death threats.
Cesta said the Facebook post quickly cost him more than 100 customers, including 20 who made appointments to board their dogs over the Memorial Day weekend and never showed up.
He feared the backlash from the Facebook post would put him out of business and force him to lay off his 15 employees.
Video shows dog was hit after haircut
A woman who lives near Oatman's apartment complex contacted Carm's and said she saw a vehicle hit an unleashed dog near the complex on May 20, the same day Oatman's dog was groomed. The woman said the dog was with a man she had seen walking the dog unleashed every day. She also said the accident may have been recorded on the apartment complex's video surveillance system.
Cesta obtained a copy of the video which showed Oatman's dog getting hit. The time stamp on the video shows the accident happened at 1:53 p.m., about 2 1/2 hours after the groomer finished. Cesta posted the video on his Facebook page. In less than an hour, Chuck Cesario put up a new Facebook message, apologizing for his previous post.
Cesario said Rocky was hit after a family member let the dog out while his mother was not home. He did not identify the family member. Cesario said neither he nor his mother were aware of this until he saw the video.
"If I would have known the truth I would never have posted this," Cesario wrote. "Anyone who knows me knows I can get emotional and make snap decisions."
"I apologize with all my heart to carms (sic) and their family I'm sure that this is no help to them at this point ...," he wrote.
An excerpt of the Facebook apology
Oatman and Cesario did not respond to numerous phone messages from syracuse.com.
Fake Facebook complaints against businesses common
The video, which has been viewed more than 75,000 times, has triggered an outpouring of support for Carm's Dog House from customers who have praised the business on its Facebook page and Cesta's personal Facebook page.
Fake Facebook complaints against businesses are becoming common, according to Greg Loh, executive vice president of Eric Mower & Associates, an advertising agency.
When a business faces criticism on social media it needs to respond quickly in a way " ... that is respectful and courteous because the whole world is watching," Loh said.
It's important for businesses to regularly monitor what is said about them on social media, he said.
Loh said the video Cesta posted helped rally his loyal customers.
"The strength of support of customers can help a business recover from a social media catastrophe," he said.
Many believe whatever they read on Facebook
Stanley Germain, Cesta's attorney, said he is stunned that many people believe whatever they read on Facebook.
"I would ask some questions before I threaten to break someone's legs or burn their house down," Germain said. "Even though he did absolutely nothing wrong, Carmen was very scared until that video came out and it started to clear up."
The video clip shows Rocky wandered into the road and collided with a sport utility vehicle towing a car on a trailer. After being struck by the SUV, Rocky was hit a second time by the trailer and knocked off his feet before scampering off the road.
Cesta said the extended version of the surveillance video, not included in the clip, shows the driver stopped after hitting Rocky, but the man with the dog waved to the driver to keep going.
Cesta said he feels sorry for Rocky and hopes he recovers.
"Another three inches and it would have gotten its head crushed," he said.
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