Nicola Peltz to sue dog groomer over chihuahua death

David Beckham’s daughter-in-law said she is ‘heartbroken’ after her pet Nala died suddenly after grooming appointment

Nicola Peltz, who is David Beckham’s daughter-in-law, is reportedly suing a New York dog groomer after her beloved chihuahua Nala died.

The 29-year-old actor, who is married to Brooklyn Beckham, said she was heartbroken after Nala suffered what was described as a medical emergency after visiting an unnamed groomer in New York.

The actor wrote on Instagram in June that the chihuahua was “perfectly healthy” but came out of the dog parlour “hyperventilating” and “couldn’t catch her breath” before being rushed to an emergency vet where Nala died.

Peltz is now planning to take legal action against the groomer, according to TMZ, and has said she is “investigating” Nala’s death.

“This has been the hardest month of my life,” Peltz said in the post.

“I can’t even find the words to describe my heartbreak on so many levels. Nala was perfectly healthy when she went to the groomers yesterday but came out hyperventilating and couldn’t catch her breath.

“We rushed her to the vet and she passed hours later. I’m sharing this in hopes that it might prevent this from happening to other dogs.

“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.

Peltz said she was ‘heartbroken’ by dog’s sudden death (nicolaannepeltzbeckham/Instagram)

“Please be careful who you send your dogs to because you don’t know what goes on behind closed doors. One day without Nala on earth feels like an eternity.”

In another Instagram post, Peltz said that other people had suffered similar experiences with dog groomers. She has also described herself as a “dog activist” on the platform.

“I am relentlessly investigating the situation to find out exactly what happened in that groomer’s van. I am doing everything I can to uncover the truth,” she wrote, before adding that the groomer was not cooperating with the family.

Peltz and her late dog Nala (nicolaannepeltzbeckham/Instagram)

Peltz, who is the daughter of billionaire Disney investor Nelson Peltz, married Brooklyn Beckham in April 2023, celebrating it with an extravagant £2.85m ($3.5m) wedding in Palm Beach.

In the lead up to the wedding, Peltz’s father sued the wedding planning firm Plan Design Events (PDE). He accused the company, run by Nicole Braghin and Arianna Grijalba, of failing to return a $159,000 deposit and not being able to handle the expectations of the VIP guestlist, “which “included more than five hundred people, including numerous celebrities, athletes, dignitaries and other influential individuals, who travelled from all around the globe to attend”.

The wedding planners countersued, describing Mr Peltz as a “billionaire bully” and were critical of the family for putting them through “wedding planning hell”.

Brooklyn Beckham and wife Nicola Peltz (Getty Images)

The dispute was settled out of court in September, with the company confirming the agreement in a statement to People magazine.

“As part of the settlement, PDE will make a donation in the name of Nicola and Brooklyn to the CARE Ukraine Crisis Fund,” it said.