For the discerning New York dog owner, mobile groomer HoundSpa offers a range of luxurious canine treatments, all of them conveniently available from the comfort of their homes.
Aside from routine teeth brushing, nail cutting and grinding — not to mention ‘de-skunking’ for pets who have rolled in something unsavoury — there’s a luxurious blueberry facial on offer, along with deep conditioning treatments with lush spa products and, to finish off, a soothing blow-dry.
So it was that the HoundSpa ‘Dirty Dog’ van pulled up on the driveway of the multi-million pound Westchester County home of Nicola and Brooklyn Peltz Beckham on June 15 this year, ready to groom one of the most precious and pampered pooches in the world.
Nala, one of the celebrity couple’s five beloved dogs, was carried out to the customised van in the arms of Nicola’s personal assistant and handed over for what should have been a routine 25-minute procedure — a bath and blow-dry, a nail trim, teeth brushing and ear cleaning.
But when the nine-year-old, fawn and white chihuahua was returned, according to a lawsuit filed this week, she was in severe physical distress, breathing heavily and wheezing, while her chest was pulsating.
Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz Beckham console each other at the funeral of their beloved chihuahua Nala
Mrs Peltz Beckham, according to documents filed at the Supreme Court of New York County of Westchester, rushed her pet to a veterinary surgery, a 15-minute drive away. Nala was put on oxygen but passed away.
Nicola claims that the death of the animal, which weighed only 2lb, was caused by ‘intentional and malicious abuse’.
An extraordinary social media post this week laid bare the couple’s grief alongside a photograph of a white coffin, surrounded by roses — an image so haunting that it left some fans fearing that a human loved one had died.
And a source close to the Peltz Beckhams has exclusively told the Mail that 29-year-old Nicola is turning to the US courts, not for financial gain, but because having discovered that cases like hers are not uncommon, she wants to see the regulations around dog grooming tightened.
‘It’s a last resort for her,’ the source told me. ‘Nicola’s devoted a lot of her life to saving rescue dogs. She’s not the type of person that can just let this go without having answers. She had to watch her dog suffer and pass just two hours after it was groomed.
‘It is devastating. She wants to know what happened. She wants to raise awareness about how lacklustre the regulations are around dog grooming. Many people cannot be sure of the safety of their animal when they hand them over to be groomed.’
Nicola’s celebrity status, both as the actress and model daughter of billionaire investor Nelson Peltz and the daughter-in-law of David and Victoria Beckham has ensured that Nala’s death has received global attention.
The couple, who married in April 2022, regard their canine family as their children. In 2022, Nicola launched Yogis House, a Los Angeles-based refuge for rescue dogs at risk of being put down.
Nicola posted this picture of Brooklyn, 25, with Nala on social media
Nicola cuddles chihuahua Nala. Nicola claims that the death of the animal, which weighed only 2lb, was caused by ‘intentional and malicious abuse’
This case also raises wide-ranging questions about how certain pet owners can be that their dogs are safe when they hand them over to groomers, given that the industry is unregulated in both the US and the UK.
There is no system for licensing groomers in the US, although several states offer certification from bodies such as the National Dog Groomers Association of America.
The situation is similar in the UK where there is no licensing system for a ‘buyer beware’ market, which in 2021 was said to be worth £900 million and booming thanks to the trend for posing photos of pets on social media.
UK Groomers are not required to hold any professional qualifications, although the RSCPA advises owners to find someone who has undertaken, for example, a City and Guilds training course, and is also a member of the British Dog Groomers Association.
But, as the Mail discovered this week, a growing number of high-profile tragedies both here and in the US means there are calls for the situation to change.
‘The end goal for Nicola is to bring awareness and tighten regulation,’ the source added.
‘She’s devoted to animals and aware that the law does not support them and how common this issue is. She feels she has a duty to use her voice to try to get the law changed.’
So what did go on inside the HoundsSpa mobile van on June 15 after it parked on the driveway, around 100ft from Nicola and Brooklyn’s front door? Nicola claims that the groomer sent to tend to Nala and four other dogs belonging to the Peltz Beckhams was someone her family had previously complained about.
Nicola and Brooklyn, who married in April 2022, regard their canine family as their children
She claims HoundSpa owner Debra Gittleman was contacted in 2022 after Nicola’s brother and his girlfriend’s dog allegedly suffered a ‘horrendous negative experience’ at the hands of the same groomer, named in the documents as Jony Ceballos.
According to the documents: ‘Nicola reasonably believed that Gittleman would not send Ceballos as a groomer to Nicola or her family and would remove Ceballos as a HoundSpa groomer.’
She claims that there have been ‘multiple customer complaints’ about Ceballos and that by continuing to employ him and failing to monitor him, Gittleman ‘knowingly and maliciously, or recklessly put every dog that was groomed by HoundSpa at risk of being harmed’.
Two of Nicola’s other dogs were groomed before Nala. Both, she claims, went on to show clear ‘signs of distress’.
According to her claim, one of the dogs, three-legged Angel, ‘was severely traumatised that day’ and has since developed a fear of being left in a room alone.
‘She starts to shake and scream (not bark, but scream) in apparent terror,’ court papers state.
Nala was the third dog to go into the HoundSpa van. According to Nicola’s account, she was ‘a happy, healthy’ dog but returned ‘injured and in severe physical distress’.
The Beckham family: From left: Brooklyn, Nicola, Harper, David, Romeo and Victoria
Given the high-profile status of the Peltz Beckhams, this case is likely to receive plenty of media attention in the months ahead
By the time she received medical treatment, it is alleged, her tongue was said to have turned blue, she had fluid in her lungs and she had suffered neurological damage.
‘All Nicola could do was try to provide Nala comfort through her own heartache and pain, as she watched Nala suffer through debilitating injuries and die,’ state the court documents, which continue: ‘HoundSpa ended Nala’s life.’
Another Instagram photograph, apparently taken at the vet’s surgery in the moments after Nala’s death, showed Nicola being comforted by Brooklyn, 25, an aspiring chef.
‘My brain can’t comprehend where you went,’ she wrote on Instagram, alongside a series of images of Nala with the couple.
‘I just feel so much pain. Her life was taken away from her way too soon. She was my beautiful queen and stayed by my side for nine years through everything.’
Hinting at the legal battle which lies ahead, she added: ‘Please be careful who you send your dogs to because you don’t know what goes on behind closed doors.’
This week, after news broke that she was taking legal action, Nicola went into more detail. ‘I am truly still in so much shock and pain over my baby Nala suddenly passing last month following what should have been a routine grooming session,’ she wrote on Instagram on Wednesday.
‘I posted the experience on my Instagram to bring awareness and was heartbroken to hear the horrifying stories from so many others who have experienced the same tragedy. I can’t bear it. I’m outraged to hear how common stories like Nala’s are.’
According to animal charity Peta, incidents with groomers are not uncommon in the US, with many caused by dogs overheating in crate dryers — cages with a special hair drying machine attached.
Some states have campaigns and bills in progress that would require groomers to be licensed but none have yet become law.
A campaign for Bijou’s Law, calling for all dog groomers to be state licensed, was launched in New Jersey after the death in 2012 of a six-year-old Shih Tzu at a PetSmart grooming salon and is now making its way through the state senate.
Stories of grooming salon deaths in the UK have also emerged in recent years.
In 2010, a six-month-old Shih Tzu puppy named Daisy died at Pets At Home, the largest retailer of pet supplies in the UK, after allegedly being left in a drying cage. The store, which has 457 outlets, suspended members of staff and launched an investigation.
Last year, a Scottish woman claimed that her three-year-old pedigree Chow Chow Bonnie died from heatstroke at Glasgow grooming salon Dogs R Divas where she had gone for a wash and trim. She had to be put down after suffering brain damage and organ failure.
An investigation was launched by the Scottish SPCA.
In recent years several petitions have been launched in the UK calling for the dog grooming industry to be regulated, particularly around the use of dryer cages and other forms of heating.
One, in 2012, was launched following the death of a 12-year-old Lhasa Apso called Dusty who had to be put down after suffering ‘horrific’ burns at the KayJac Clippers salon in Grays, Essex.
The dog had been left under a dryer when a groomer went off to take a phone call. The salon owner and the groomer were ordered to pay £1,000, do 120 hours of community service and pay £250 in compensation to Dusty’s owner by Basildon magistrates. The court heard that neither woman had any qualifications.
Earlier this year, a UK parliamentary petition was launched calling for regulation and legislation as well as a minimum standard for qualifications and a legal requirement for insurance but was closed early because of the General Election.
An RSPCA spokesman told the Mail: ‘We would like to see the industry regulated to better protect animals . . . it’s important to do research and find a reputable groomer.’
HoundSpa owner Debra Gittleman, who also owns a dog training company, did not respond to requests for comment this week.
According to her LinkedIn profile, she studied French literature and equine studies in Marseilles and also spent a year studying English at the University of Cambridge. She states that she is a board member of the Westchester Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and has over 35 years experience in dog grooming, training and daycare.
Given the high-profile status of the Peltz Beckhams, this case is likely to receive plenty of media attention in the months ahead.
‘This case,’ say Nicola’s lawyers in documents filed this week, ‘is about holding responsible those who abuse animals in their care and shedding light on the lack of protections for pet owners and their beloved dogs and pets.’
Any legal damages received in the wake of Nala’s death will also be given to charity, said the source who spoke to the Mail.
‘It’s not about money,’ they added. ‘This is about highlighting the failings in the system and making sure that other animals don’t suffer and die.’
