An outdoor holiday activity turned into a tragedy for a Gig Harbor woman.
Maverick, the 9-month-old dog of Vyctoria Sanchez, was reportedly electrocuted and died Friday evening while looking at Christmas lights at the Washington State Fair, Q13 reported.
Maverick was a service dog in training, according to Q13.
"Words can't describe the brokenness, helplessness, anger and sadness I feel," Sanchez said in a social media post Saturday.
Maverick started yelping when Sanchez, her friend and the dog were near an inflatable abominable snowman at the fairgrounds, Q13 reported.
"I've never heard a sound like that before," Sanchez told Q13. "He was crying and pleading, and he fell down."
The Washington State Fair sent this statement to the Gateway Tuesday afternoon:
"Our hearts are with the owner who lost her dog at our Holiday Magic event Friday evening. After investigating the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident, we found the source underground. We have done a comprehensive review of the grounds and added additional enhanced safety measures, to ensure the safety of our guests and staff. Following the incident, we did everything onsite we could, to assist and comfort the dog owner. We brought in a Puyallup police chaplain to speak with her as well. Additionally, we have reached out to her since the incident. As always, safety is our top priority."
The spokesperson for the fair added that the source where the incident occurred has been disconnected for the remainder of the event and is no longer energized. A review of the footprint of Holiday Magic found no other safety issues.
Sanchez didn't immediately respond to the Gateway's requests for comment.
Sanchez told Q13 that her friend felt an electric jolt before Maverick, a German Shepherd mix Sanchez recently adopted, was electrocuted.
"He fell to the ground and started crying for me to help him and that's when fair staff immediately called medics to come over there because he wasn't moving. He was just crying. And I wanted to help him so bad," Sanchez told Q13. "They gave him a child's oxygen mask and about three minutes after that going on they said he didn't make it."
Sanchez told Q13 she believes the fair should have done more to make sure all areas of the facility were safe before opening their event to the public.
"It was a huge safety hazard and they didn't even recognize it until my dog was dead," Sanchez said.
Sanchez told Q13 she never wants to return to the fair.
"It could have been a child. It could have been somebody's family, and it took my dog passing for them to realize that part in their area was completely not taken care of," Sanchez said.
