An innocent purchase at a San Diego, Calif. Petco retail store led to the tragic death of a 10-year-old boy. Now the boy's family is suing Petco for wrongful death.

What transpired is almost unbelievable. Aidan Pankey wanted a male rat to partner up and mate with his female rat. Aidan's grandmother was kind enough to purchase the male rat for him. Inadvertently, that turned out to be the biggest mistake of her life as that same rat later killed the Aidan.

The rat was carrying streptobacillus moniliformi infection, more commonly known as rat-bite fever. The rat bit Aidan and proceeded to transfer the bacterial infection to him. Almost immediately after his was bit, Aidan started complaining about a serious stomachache. The Pankey family brought him to the hospital, but doctor's couldn't do anything for the boy. Aidan died just hours after the incident on June 12, 2013.

The Pankey's attorney, John Gomez praised Aidan.

"He was a bright, energetic, friendly, happy kid who actually had a prior rat, who was a female, and he had this idea in his young head of having his female rat get married," Gomez remarked.

Gomez also said that the family hopes the lawsuit spreads awareness about pet purchases and safety protocols.

"It's a means to ensure this doesn't happen again," Gomez said. "Apparently there was some breakdown in procedures. They want tighter controls."

Of course lawsuits always have a financial component to them. The amount of money the Pankey family is seeking has not been made public. Hopefully, they get enough compensation.

Naturally, Petco Animal Supplies Inc. kept their comments brief, but reconciliatory in tone. The company said that it's "in the process of investigating these claims and will respond appropriately when we have more information."

Additionally, they apologized to the Pankey family and ensured that its customers are number one.

"We are deeply saddened by the Pankey family's tragic loss," Petco said. "The health and safety of people and pets is always a top priority, and we take the family's concerns very seriously."

Petco says that pregnant women and young children ages 5 and under "should consider not having a rat as a pet." If they insist of buying one as a pet, meeting with a doctor to examine the risks of ownership is advisable.

Would you ever consider buying a rat after hearing about this incident? Let us know in the comments section below.