A San Diego family in mourning in suing Petco after they say their 10-year-old boy died from rat-bite fever he contracted from a pet purchased from the retailer.
Aidan Pankey died just hours after coming down with flu-like symptoms two weeks after buying a mate for his pet rat at the Carmel Mountain Petco.
San Diego County medical examiners would later rule his death was caused by streptobacillus moniliformis, or rat-bite fever, and now his family wants unspecificed damages from the national chain for failing to prevent his tragic death.
Attorney John Gomez told The Associated Press on Tuesday that his firm filed the lawsuit Monday in San Diego County for the suffering endured by the Pankey family after Aidan died June 12.
‘He was a bright, energetic, friendly, happy kid who actually had a prior rat, who was a female, and he had this idea in his young head of having his female rat get married,’ Gomez said.
Aidan’s grandmother Sharon Pankey took the boy to the Carmel Mountain Petco location to buy him a second rat after seeing how happy the first one made him.
Read more: dailymail.co.uk
