MCR Drummer Bob Bryar Sues Dog Trainer Over Dog's Mysterious Death

June 24, 2009 6:44 a.m. EST

Burbank, CA (CNS) - My Chemical Romance drummer Bob Bryar is suing a dog trainer for breach of contract and fraud after his German shepherd mix mysteriously died in his care.

According to the lawsuit the musician filed in Burbank Superior Court, he claims that he trusted Daniel Schaffer, a self-proclaimed "dog trainer to the stars," to train his dog Dixie and treat it with care when he sent the pooch to Schaffer's kennel.

Bryar says he spent $7,500 for Dixie's intensified training. Schaffer told Bryar that the formerly abused rescue dog had been "having a blast and partying all day" in the kennel, but about a week later, he reported that Dixie was killed when a drunk driver hit his vehicle, where Dixie and the other dogs rode.

Schaffer called the rocker again in the evening and told him that Dixie had been "cremated due to her condition." Two days later, he sent an urn allegedly containing the dog's remains.

However, the trainer allegedly failed to provide a police report documenting the crash and changed his story, saying Dixie, whom Bryar called the "most important thing in his life," died in her sleep. He apparently changed his story again and said she died under other circumstances.

Bryar told People magazine, "I don't even know what happened to my best friend and miss her more than anything in the world. The devastation I feel is beyond words."

He is suing Schaffer for breach of contract, fraud, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.