Warning About Boarding Pets in a Kennel

[almacdonald]

Your story makes me physically ill. I cannot believe how the kennel treated living, breathing, feeling beings, both you and your poor dogs. My heart goes out to you for your loss. I would be completely devastated if something like that were to happen to my pets. I'm in disbelief that they wouldn't be more attentive, phone you when something happened the first time, and do everything to kiss your behind to make things right. Thank you very much for sharing your experience so that other pet owners will think to be very cautious before entrusting their pets to anyone.

Please don't give up in your fight against this kennel. Contact the organization that acredits kennels and share your story. Tell with your co-workers and friends, call your newspaper, radio and television stations and the Better Business Burreau and the ASPCA. What they did (or maybe didn't do in this case) is animal cruelty and it cannot continue happening. Try talking to the vet that handled Moose. Hopefully they can discourage other pet owners from using that boarding facility.

Not to over shadow your loss, but I would like to share my experience with another kennel to help people realize that not all boarding kennels are responsible places. One summer I worked for a small pet store/boarding kennel. I didn't have much to do with the boarding kennel, only checking dogs in or signing them out. The care was done by the owners. I ended up quitting this job because I didn't want to be associated with this company and the way they treated people's pets. Granted, each dog was kept separately (inside for the majority of the time,) pets were not regularly given fresh water or the food that their owners brought in. The kennel owners thought it was too much of a hassle and just fed them whatever food was available (bags torn open during shipping etc.) She also wouldn't allow the dogs to have blankets or toys that their owners brought to comfort them as she said that the dogs would make a mess of them/soil them etc. The dogs were left unattended in outdoor enclosures to "do their business" for an hour or so. While I was there, 1 dog managed to dig his way out. I was beside myself with worry for this little guy. The store owner didn't seem too phased by it. Luckily a vet down the street found the dog. I dont' remember whether we were allowed to call the owner or not. This is one of the reasons I am very leary about leaving my dog at a kennel. I know not all kennels are like this this. My boyfriend's aunt and uncle take their dog to the doggy country club and he LOVES it. They get their own rooms and individual attention every day.

My advice to people who require boarding services is to go for a tour of the facility, not on an evening after work, but show up unexpectedly on a busy weekend. Make sure the kennels aren't crowded and that the animal's needs are being met.

Sorry again to hmp2z for your loss. Hopefully no one else will have to endure the same emotions you are going through. And sorry to everyone for making this is so long.

 

[CJRN]

I am very sorry for you & your dogs.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Your story is so sad! I agree you should be taking it further if you can.

This is why I hate leaving my boys behind - we always care for them the best

 

[kimmikayb]

I am so sorry. This had me sick. Nothing can bring your babies back but you can try to make sure it doesn't happen again. Call the Better Business Bureau. Report them to any agency you think will help. Write a letter to the editor of the paper. Go to pet boards and report what happen. I'm sure if you can, but I would spread the name of this kennel far and wide. How absolutley horrible.

Makes me want to open my own kennel.

 

[cats7494]

I am so sorry for your loss! I agree with other posters that you should not give up the fight against this kennel! It just sickens me that they did not accept responsiblity for your babies!
I am so sorry!

 

[lisajl]

I'm so sorry that this happened to you.
My husbands niece owned a kennel in Ga. Let me tell you, it was horrible! I gave her and her partner a piece of my mind when I saw what they were doing.
They shut it down about 6 months later.
It was horrible!! They were putting too many dogs together in too small of cages.

I believe they were just trying to get as much money as they possibly could.

Now where I live, there is a woman who is a client of our Veterinary Clinic.
She has a small kennel and that is where I leave my dog.
She knows where I take my dog, ummm...yea..where I work, she also knows to call just to make sure if she even THINKS anything is wrong.
She does that for everyone!

Again, I am so sorry about your puppies. There is nothing that can replace them.

Lisa

 

[marlasmom]

I am aghast at this. I agree - publicize this everywhere you can.

FWIW Furry Friends where we take our dogs lets them all play together - at least the ones that can be trusted to play nice. Our dogs love it, but I can see it could be dangerous.

 

[disneymom3]

That is just terrible. I am sooo sorry! I do hope that you find it in you to be able to continue to fight this for other dog owners in the area. I would def be calling the local news stations!

 

[Jockaroo]

I am so sorry that your family is facing this tragic situation. I can't imagine the grief and anger you must be feeling now. Thank you for having the strength to share your story. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

 

[mrsstats]

That is just so horrible. I can't even being to imagine the pain you are going thru. I know my DH would be tearing that place apart. I have only left my "fur babies" once and hate to think about doing it again. This is what I would fear most. My heart goes out to you.

 

[Rajah]

OMG, this is horrible!! I, too, would be calling TV stations, newspapers, and the BBB or something similar to get some negative press on them

 

[Blondie]

What a horror story, I am so sorry!

Thanks for bringing to our attention the need to get everything in writing.

 

[lucas]

I'm so sorry! This is horrible!! It definitely should be reported.

 

[YorkieMommyKandis]

That is absolutely horrible and I am so sorry that had to happen to you!! I am an animal lover and agree that you MUST do something to get this place shut down. Report them and sue for anything that you can. I am sure the judge could award something for your pain and suffering (not that it would make you feel better but to make them understand this is serious). There is a level of service that one would expect (like whatever it takes to keep your pets alive for example), agreement or not. You have to do something about this so that it will not happen to others.

 

[ohiominnie]

I am so sorry for your loss. That is just horrible!!
I have not read all of the responses, so forgive me if I'm repeating someone. Do you have Angie's List in your area of NC? We have it here and it is WONDERFUL to be able to check and see what other people's experiences have been with service providers. I know I checked Angie's list before boarding our former dog and found a kennel that came highly rated and everyone had glowing things to say about it.

If you have it in your area, I'd be tempted to join it. If for no other reason than to warn other people about this kennel. Sounds like you won't get an apology from these goofballs, so the least you can do is warn other people.

I do think that if you are referred by a current Angie's list member there is a discount (although the cost of it is not much and it's worth it's weight in gold and has steered us away from companies that are not reputable) If you're interested in me looking into the discount and referring you, let me know (PM me please). I believe out of it I'd get a bag of M&M's, so I'm definitely NOT doing this for any sort of big kickback.

Again, sorry for your loss.

 

[hmp2z]

Thank you for all of the very supportive comments. As you can imagine, we are having a REALLY tough time with dealing with the loss of our 2 babies. It happened in April, and I still think about it every day & can't let it go.

The dog in my signature is our latest adoption, Hannah. She is 9 years old, and was heartworm positive when we adopted her. Poor girl had a really tough life before, and was on death row, so I felt glad to be able to help someone. Our dog Molly was 6 years old, and I had always looked forward to making her retirement years loving & comfortable, so adopting Hannah was my tribute to Molly.

Most people have posted about what could be done about the kennel, so I'm going to borrow (again) from my post on the Resorts board so you can see what we've tried, with no success:

- Contacted the BBB, which couldn't do anything, because, though the kennel admits what they did (even leaving our Molly lying there on the floor for 5 hours!), and admits that our dogs both died in their care, they refuse to say that what they did was wrong or inappropriate in any way. So we reached an impasse there.
- Contacted the local media consumer watchdog shows, who said that they weren't interested in covering our story; I guess they have better ones, though I've seen stories like a family complaining that the house they bought had a dirty driveway
- Contacted the ABKA, who didn't respond
- Contacted the FDA, who licenses kennels in NC - they said that there is no problem with leaving dogs in group situations unattended, and they cannot find that the owner did anything wrong. But if that is the case, then why are my 2 dogs dead?
- Contacted the ASPCA, who said that NC is out of their jurisdiction
- Contacted the local police department, and were told that for it to be animal cruelty here, there has to be a deliberate intent to kill or injure the animals. Since the woman runs a kennel, they said obviously she doesn't intend to kill the animals in her care. Ha...
- Contacted the veterinarian's office, to warn them about this kennel, only to be told that it would be illegal for them to discourage any of their clients from attending that particular kennel.

The lawyer we spoke with said that we shouldn't release the kennel's name, because they could then turn around & sue us for slander. Ironic how the law is to zealous in protecting the kennel owner's rights, not our rights or those of our 2 dead pups...

When it happened, we were in shock. Then we started thinking what we wanted the kennel to do, to make some sort of reparations. We requested 3 things: an apology, a change of their policies so that dogs are never left together unattended, and for them to pay Moose's veterinary bill, which was substantial ($1500). It wouldn't have been so high if they had contacted us in a timely fashion, so that we could make a decision about whether to put Moose to sleep & end his suffering sooner. Because they just prolonged his life by a few days through their failure to notify us, that drove the costs way up.

We never got an apology, and their policies continue unchanged. However, they are legally liable for the veterinary bill, because the owner is a certified moron. When she took Moose to the vet, she was panicked and so signed the Consent to Treat form, saying that she would be financially responsible for the treatment. Afterwards, she tried to backtrack and make us pay for it, but, unlike other kennels that we've used, she never had us sign anything saying that, if our dogs had to be taken to the veterinarian, we would be responsible for any fees incurred. Since she never had us sign anything like that, the contract was solely between her & the veterinarian. Sadly, she still hasn't paid (over 3 months later), and the veterinarian is having to take the kennel to a collections agency.

I know this sounds bitter, and that's because I am. I can't even tell you how this has devastated us. We don't have children; our dogs are our children.

I also wanted to say that I don't want to give the impression that all kennels are bad. I know that there are many people in the animal care business who are very compassionate, responsible, and loving. I also know, now, how fragile those little lives are, and how easy it is for one mistake to turn into a nightmare. I posted our story because I hope that, should this ever (G-d forbid) happen to anyone on these boards, you would have done what we failed to do: get everything in writing, so that you have some legal recourse. We thought we were being responsible pet owners, using an ABKA accredited facility that we'd inspected. We had no idea what would happen when we left our dogs there.

I'm going to post their pictures, so you can see Molly & Moo, if you are interested:

Moo on the left & Molly on the right, playing with a tennis ball

Pretty Molly, licking out a Chinese food takeout container

Thank you for all of the kind messages,
Heather W

 

[Tuffcookie]

I, too, am appalled over this situation at the kennel. For the sake of any other future victims, you must file a civil suit against this place!
When I kennel my dogs the only thing I sign is a piece of paper giving them permission to seek medical attention at their vet, if deemed necessary, & the date I will return. It never occurred to me to get it down in writing that they would be in separate cages, etc. That just seems like common sense to me.
Your babies may have been rescued from a shelter but I'm sure in your eyes they were priceless. Hugs to you!

TC

 

[ZachnElli]

Wow, I'm shocked! I'm so sorry for your losses! I can't imagine your pain!

 

[DawnCt1]

How awful. I think that you should send a letter to your local newspapers and name the kennel. I would also see if they have a consumer advocate at that newspaper who could attempt to extract some kind of punishment from them. Also, notify the ASPCA, they may have have some advise. I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[doxdogy]

I am so very sorry that this has happened to you. I can only imagine the pain and later anger you experienced. It is a shame that there isn't much you can do legally to them.