Calif. family sues Petco after 10-year-old boy dies from ’rat-bite fever’

A San Diego family is suing Petco after the death of their 10-year-old son from a bacterial infection they say he contracted from his pet rat. ooAttorney John Gomez told The Associated Press on Tuesday that his firm filed the lawsuit Monday in San Diego County seeking an unspecified amount for the suffering endured by the Pankey family, whose son, Aidan, died June 12, 2013, hours after he was rushed to the hospital with severe stomach pains.

The San Diego County medical examiner’s office ruled that the cause of death was streptobacillus moniliformis infection, commonly known as rat-bite fever, after exposure to an infected rat.