cynoclub/iStock/Thinkstock(SAN DIEGO) — A trial is underway in San Diego involving a lawsuit against Petco after a boy died from a disease contracted from a pet rat bought at Petco.
10-year-old Aiden Pankey died in 2013 from rat bite fever two weeks after his pet rat bit him.
In opening statements, attorneys for the Pankey family said they were sold a diseased rat by Petco that should have been tested. “Petco is still selling rats to kids and kids are still getting sick,” prosecutors said.
Petco’s defense attorneys fought back, saying “Petco cannot single handidly remove a bacteria that is natural to an animal.”
The Pankey family say the lawsuit is not about money but that instead it’s about protecting children.
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