Georgia Business Owners Get Wrongly Accused in Social Media Witch Hunt

In the digital rush to condemn animal abuse, a Georgia pet grooming business found itself caught in a storm of misdirected anger—all because it shared a similar name with a North Carolina facility where actual abuse occurred.

A Tale of Two Critters

Kayla and Deon Wooten left their full-time jobs in 2023 to pursue a dream: creating “a safe, trustworthy environment” for pets at Classy Critters Grooming & Boarding in Rome, Georgia. They renovated the facility, built relationships with customers, and established a reputation for quality care.

Then came the phone calls. And the messages. And the reviews.

“Please do not tag us in posts, videos or make ugly comments on my previous posts,” the Wootens pleaded on Facebook as their business was suddenly flooded with vitriol. “We are located in Rome, Georgia. We are NOT affiliated with the business in North Carolina.”

Three hundred miles away in Mooresville, North Carolina, a different business—Classy Critters Pet Resort & Spa—was the actual site of disturbing animal abuse that had gone viral on social media. Videos showed a groomer spinning a dog by its neck, slapping it, and punching another dog five times. The footage, posted on July 18, 2025, by a concerned co-worker’s sister, quickly sparked outrage.

By July 23, authorities had arrested 28-year-old groomer Kirsten Rhea Taylor on four felony counts of animal cruelty. The North Carolina business owner fired Taylor, calling her actions “totally unacceptable.”

But by then, the damage to the unrelated Georgia business was already done.

When Algorithms Don’t Distinguish

The confusion stemmed from a simple but devastating similarity: both businesses had “Classy Critters” in their names. For algorithms and angry social media users, that was enough to establish guilt by association.

While the North Carolina business was under investigation by Iredell County Animal Services and sheriff’s deputies were executing search warrants, the Georgia owners were desperately trying to separate themselves from a controversy they had nothing to do with.

The distinction between the businesses is clear:

• Classy Critters Grooming & Boarding operates at 3091 Callier Springs Road in Rome, Georgia
• Classy Critters Pet Resort & Spa is located at 116 ABJ Way in Mooresville, North Carolina
• The Georgia business has been owned by the Wootens since July 2023
• The businesses are completely separate entities with no affiliation

Yet in the heat of righteous anger about animal abuse, these crucial details were overlooked.

The Human Cost of Digital Confusion

For the Wootens, who left stable jobs to renovate and run their pet care facility, the mistaken identity crisis threatened everything they had built.

Loyal customers tried to help. One wrote on the Rome business’s Facebook page that her dog was “living her best life” during boarding and thanked Kayla for making their vacation relaxing. But such positive testimonials struggled to break through the noise of misdirected outrage.

The Georgia business’s website emphasizes its “more than 86 years of combined experience” and guarantees care for dogs of any breed, size, or coat. Meanwhile, their phone lines and inboxes were flooded with messages meant for a business hundreds of miles away.

A Double-Edged Sword

The case of the two Classy Critters businesses is an example of social media’s double-edged nature. The same platforms that helped expose genuine animal abuse also became vectors for harm against innocent business owners.

While the North Carolina groomer faces serious legal consequences for her actions, the Georgia business owners face the challenge of rebuilding their online reputation—damage caused not by any wrongdoing on their part, but by the internet’s tendency toward quick judgment and insufficient fact-checking.

For social media users this is a reminder that before joining a digital pile-on, taking a moment to verify basic facts—like which state a business operates in—can prevent collateral damage to innocent parties.