Kennels 'forgot' pug in van.

Red-1 said:
I left a message on their post on FB. Looks like the dog was at the actual wedding then driven home by the kennels.

Devastating.
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Yes I think they were employed to bring the dog to the wedding then provide care for the rest of the day/honeymoon
 
ester said:
Yes I think they were employed to bring the dog to the wedding then provide care for the rest of the day/honeymoon
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Well in which case they will have a form of contract with them and will be able to take legal action. I know this won't bring their beloved dog back but at lease it will prevent this happening again if the company are made accountable.
 
Seen the statement from the owner, it seems to raise more questions than it answers...

I feel worried that it was normal procedure for the owner to drive the van in, leave the dog in the van and then alert a member of staff to go and get the dog. Surely it would ne normal procedure for the driver of the van to get the dog from the van and take it to other staff members? That procedure is what the owners says...

COUNTRY BOARDING KENNELS RESPONSE:
Dear dog owners and lovers,
I am Renate; the co-owner of Country Boarding for Cats and Dogs, alongside my husband Jeremy. On Friday 8 July, an incident happened in which a dog died in our care, which has devastated us all here at Country Boarding. We care deeply for all the animals we look after and to have something like this happen has left us completely heartbroken.
We know that customers are reading about the incident on social media, without the full picture. We wanted to provide more details here so customers know exactly what happened and so you know what we’ve done to ensure something like this can never happen again.
- Friday 8 July incident
The exact details of the incident are as follows: Jeremy picked little Luna up from her owners’ wedding venue and brought her back to the kennels at 3pm. When he arrived back he was urgently called in to fix a system issue which was affecting customers in reception. This distracted Jeremy from notifying a staff member to come and collect the dog, as would be the normal procedure.
Two hours later, I found Luna in the van at 5.00pm. I found she was unresponsive at that time despite trying I could not revive her. I cradled her and held her, and with the help of a member of staff laid her in a dog bed. We were so heartbroken for this little dog and so wished for her to come alive again. Those sorts of miracles seldom happen, and so my next thought concerned her owners. I tried to contact them without success and several messages were left. It was their wedding day which of course is also what has made this all the more so upsetting.
I felt it necessary to wait with Luna here at the kennels overnight, in case any of my messages were picked up and the owner wanted to come straight away. We made contact in the morning and the owners came within the hour to pick up their dog. Since then, we have been in contact with the owners about the next steps, which is a private matter and whilst we know we can’t bring Luna back, we will work with them to ensure we help and support them in any way we can.
Whilst it sounds an unimageable mistake to make, humans make mistakes and all we can do now is learn from this incident. The blame for this incident lies entirely with us, as the business owners and not with our wonderful employees.
- The steps we have taken since the incident
We know that customers will be concerned about something like this happening again and we want to reassure that our staff at the kennels take pride in the care we offer our dogs and cats. This is an isolated incident with the transport of animals.
From now on, Jeremy will no longer be involved in transportation or care of animals in any capacity at Country Boarding.
We offer animal transportation for the ease of our customers; however this additional service is not part of our core offering because it requires specialist licences to drive the vans, which is harder for us to staff with the requirements needed. In future, we will also offer the option for customers to use a specialist pet transport service if they would like.
We have already been in touch with North Herts Council and we expect to meet with them next week to discuss the incident. We will co-operate with their investigations and implement any changes needed.
- Kennel procedure during hot spells
We would like to reassure customers of our procedures during hot weather. Our kennel blocks have the benefit of being cool during hot periods and so when dogs are inside their accommodation they are not exposed to excessive heat. We take the dogs out for exercise and toilet breaks on a regular basis during the day and when the temperature rises above 26 degrees, we start the day earlier and walk dogs when it is cooler. Later in the day we refrain from lots of running around and allow the dogs a short toilet break instead or play in the shade with paddling pools out and the hosepipe in action.
I work tirelessly with the team to deliver high quality care for the dogs and cats boarding with us. We are so distressed by this incident, and it will take some time for us to process what happened on our watch. We will learn and take steps to ensure something like this can never happen again.
If you have any questions or concerns at all, please feel free to contact me at office@cbkennels.co.uk.
Renate Burrowes
 
Red-1 said:
Seen the statement from the owner, it seems to raise more questions than it answers...

I feel worried that it was normal procedure for the owner to drive the van in, leave the dog in the van and then alert a member of staff to go and get the dog. Surely it would ne normal procedure for the driver of the van to get the dog from the van and take it to other staff members? That procedure is what the owners says...

COUNTRY BOARDING KENNELS RESPONSE:
Dear dog owners and lovers,
I am Renate; the co-owner of Country Boarding for Cats and Dogs, alongside my husband Jeremy. On Friday 8 July, an incident happened in which a dog died in our care, which has devastated us all here at Country Boarding. We care deeply for all the animals we look after and to have something like this happen has left us completely heartbroken.
We know that customers are reading about the incident on social media, without the full picture. We wanted to provide more details here so customers know exactly what happened and so you know what we’ve done to ensure something like this can never happen again.
- Friday 8 July incident
The exact details of the incident are as follows: Jeremy picked little Luna up from her owners’ wedding venue and brought her back to the kennels at 3pm. When he arrived back he was urgently called in to fix a system issue which was affecting customers in reception. This distracted Jeremy from notifying a staff member to come and collect the dog, as would be the normal procedure.
Two hours later, I found Luna in the van at 5.00pm. I found she was unresponsive at that time despite trying I could not revive her. I cradled her and held her, and with the help of a member of staff laid her in a dog bed. We were so heartbroken for this little dog and so wished for her to come alive again. Those sorts of miracles seldom happen, and so my next thought concerned her owners. I tried to contact them without success and several messages were left. It was their wedding day which of course is also what has made this all the more so upsetting.
I felt it necessary to wait with Luna here at the kennels overnight, in case any of my messages were picked up and the owner wanted to come straight away. We made contact in the morning and the owners came within the hour to pick up their dog. Since then, we have been in contact with the owners about the next steps, which is a private matter and whilst we know we can’t bring Luna back, we will work with them to ensure we help and support them in any way we can.
Whilst it sounds an unimageable mistake to make, humans make mistakes and all we can do now is learn from this incident. The blame for this incident lies entirely with us, as the business owners and not with our wonderful employees.
- The steps we have taken since the incident
We know that customers will be concerned about something like this happening again and we want to reassure that our staff at the kennels take pride in the care we offer our dogs and cats. This is an isolated incident with the transport of animals.
From now on, Jeremy will no longer be involved in transportation or care of animals in any capacity at Country Boarding.
We offer animal transportation for the ease of our customers; however this additional service is not part of our core offering because it requires specialist licences to drive the vans, which is harder for us to staff with the requirements needed. In future, we will also offer the option for customers to use a specialist pet transport service if they would like.
We have already been in touch with North Herts Council and we expect to meet with them next week to discuss the incident. We will co-operate with their investigations and implement any changes needed.
- Kennel procedure during hot spells
We would like to reassure customers of our procedures during hot weather. Our kennel blocks have the benefit of being cool during hot periods and so when dogs are inside their accommodation they are not exposed to excessive heat. We take the dogs out for exercise and toilet breaks on a regular basis during the day and when the temperature rises above 26 degrees, we start the day earlier and walk dogs when it is cooler. Later in the day we refrain from lots of running around and allow the dogs a short toilet break instead or play in the shade with paddling pools out and the hosepipe in action.
I work tirelessly with the team to deliver high quality care for the dogs and cats boarding with us. We are so distressed by this incident, and it will take some time for us to process what happened on our watch. We will learn and take steps to ensure something like this can never happen again.
If you have any questions or concerns at all, please feel free to contact me at office@cbkennels.co.uk.
Renate Burrowes
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So, all that equates to "we forgot about someone's precious dog entrusted to our care and left it to die a dreadful death, please don't hold us accountable ". Nice.
 
I hope they got permission from the owners to discuss the situation publicly, I'd not want my dogs passing to be talked about in detail without my say so. What system issue could be that crucial that he couldn't let the dog out first? Its obviously a mistake but how many times has he done this and it just so happened that this time it was on an extreme weather day.
 
I still don't understand why anyone transporting the animals (& therefore trained and licensed?) would exit a vehicle at ANY point leaving animals inside. Never mind during the heatwave that we've been having.

Since when does an IT/system issue inconveniencing customers trump an animals life?

It should be imprinted that as soon as the van arrives at the boarding facility that the animals are seen to as thr very first and top priority.

Any customers there would be pet owners and as such appreciate the need to take care of animals in the heat which would have taken as little as 10 minutes.
 
fiwen30 said:
That statement is sentimental marketing drivel. I hope they’re run out of town.
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It certainly is! All that sentimental twaddle would make me want to remove my dog from the kennels, even if the poor dog hadn't died. If my dog were there now I would be collecting it immediately, or if that were not possible arranging for someone else to do so. If my dog were booked in later in the year, I would be cancelling the booking.
 
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Smitty said:
I cannot be bothered to read that statement past the point of something needed fixing in reception.

Surely the animal comes first, or did I just learn that from parents and Pony Club.

You cannot, surely, just forget a dog was in the van.
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Someone must have notified Jeremy of the software problem, he should have asked that member of staff to deal with the dog, if he genuinely thought the IT problem couldn't wait.
 
I think I must be the only person in the world who feels sorry for all the parties involved
The couple who have lost their dog, and also the couple who own the kennels.
I can imagine that it's perfectly possible for all parties to be devastated.
It's a horrible set of circumstances.
 
I'm usually very much of the "people make mistakes" mindset and not for trial by social media etc. But this is more than a mistake, made in the flash of a moment or a strong emotion or fear response. It is a failure of policy and priority made consciously.

"Customers" do not come above dog welfare... and that is the conscious decision that was made. The tech issue could have waited. The tech issue could have been sorted with a pug under one arm if necessary. Hot day priority, any day priority... get the dog out of the vehicle. Basic. Surely.
 
Red-1 said:
Seen the statement from the owner, it seems to raise more questions than it answers...

I feel worried that it was normal procedure for the owner to drive the van in, leave the dog in the van and then alert a member of staff to go and get the dog. Surely it would ne normal procedure for the driver of the van to get the dog from the van and take it to other staff members? That procedure is what the owners says...

COUNTRY BOARDING KENNELS RESPONSE:
Dear dog owners and lovers,
I am Renate; the co-owner of Country Boarding for Cats and Dogs, alongside my husband Jeremy. On Friday 8 July, an incident happened in which a dog died in our care, which has devastated us all here at Country Boarding. We care deeply for all the animals we look after and to have something like this happen has left us completely heartbroken.
We know that customers are reading about the incident on social media, without the full picture. We wanted to provide more details here so customers know exactly what happened and so you know what we’ve done to ensure something like this can never happen again.
- Friday 8 July incident
The exact details of the incident are as follows: Jeremy picked little Luna up from her owners’ wedding venue and brought her back to the kennels at 3pm. When he arrived back he was urgently called in to fix a system issue which was affecting customers in reception. This distracted Jeremy from notifying a staff member to come and collect the dog, as would be the normal procedure.
Two hours later, I found Luna in the van at 5.00pm. I found she was unresponsive at that time despite trying I could not revive her. I cradled her and held her, and with the help of a member of staff laid her in a dog bed. We were so heartbroken for this little dog and so wished for her to come alive again. Those sorts of miracles seldom happen, and so my next thought concerned her owners. I tried to contact them without success and several messages were left. It was their wedding day which of course is also what has made this all the more so upsetting.
I felt it necessary to wait with Luna here at the kennels overnight, in case any of my messages were picked up and the owner wanted to come straight away. We made contact in the morning and the owners came within the hour to pick up their dog. Since then, we have been in contact with the owners about the next steps, which is a private matter and whilst we know we can’t bring Luna back, we will work with them to ensure we help and support them in any way we can.
Whilst it sounds an unimageable mistake to make, humans make mistakes and all we can do now is learn from this incident. The blame for this incident lies entirely with us, as the business owners and not with our wonderful employees.
- The steps we have taken since the incident
We know that customers will be concerned about something like this happening again and we want to reassure that our staff at the kennels take pride in the care we offer our dogs and cats. This is an isolated incident with the transport of animals.
From now on, Jeremy will no longer be involved in transportation or care of animals in any capacity at Country Boarding.
We offer animal transportation for the ease of our customers; however this additional service is not part of our core offering because it requires specialist licences to drive the vans, which is harder for us to staff with the requirements needed. In future, we will also offer the option for customers to use a specialist pet transport service if they would like.
We have already been in touch with North Herts Council and we expect to meet with them next week to discuss the incident. We will co-operate with their investigations and implement any changes needed.
- Kennel procedure during hot spells
We would like to reassure customers of our procedures during hot weather. Our kennel blocks have the benefit of being cool during hot periods and so when dogs are inside their accommodation they are not exposed to excessive heat. We take the dogs out for exercise and toilet breaks on a regular basis during the day and when the temperature rises above 26 degrees, we start the day earlier and walk dogs when it is cooler. Later in the day we refrain from lots of running around and allow the dogs a short toilet break instead or play in the shade with paddling pools out and the hosepipe in action.
I work tirelessly with the team to deliver high quality care for the dogs and cats boarding with us. We are so distressed by this incident, and it will take some time for us to process what happened on our watch. We will learn and take steps to ensure something like this can never happen again.
If you have any questions or concerns at all, please feel free to contact me at office@cbkennels.co.uk.
Renate Burrowes
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This can not be a 'private matter', they are a licensed kennels. They didn't even call a vet when she found the dog collapsed. To know your dog died because of some technical issue which had more priority than the care of your dog must be a absolutely heartbreaking.
I think the best thing that could happen is this statement is publicised far and wide, then they will die a death from their own admission callous stupidity.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Did the computer problem take 2 hours to resolve? If not why didn't Jeremy go back to the van? If it did would a few minutes to deal with the dog first have made any difference to the IT outcome? It would certainly have improved the outcome for the dog!
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This honestly. Surely you would get the dog, who you are being paid TO TAKE CARE OF off the van and into kennels, and then go and try to solve IT problem.

I'm sorry, I think they are digging very deep holes here. There is no excuse at all for this sad event. Just non.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
It certainly is! All that sentimental twaddle would make me want to remove my dog from the kennels, even if the poor dog hadn't died. If my dog were there now I would be collecting it immediately, or if that were not possible arranging for someone else to do so. If my dog were booked in later in the year, I would be cancelling the booking.
Click to expand...

It was this bit that turned my stomach - ‘We were so heartbroken for this little dog and so wished for her to come alive again. Those sorts of miracles seldom happen’.

Yeah, the tortured bodies of dogs who have been slowly cooked to death seldom come alive again - love the implication that it occasionally happens??!

That dog was in Jeremy’s care from the moment it was put into his vehicle. I see there was no mention of a change in procedure whereby the driver is responsible for their load - not just telling a member of staff to unload. Perhaps actually caring for the dogs was above his station.
 
Cinnamontoast said:
She’s throwing her husband under the bus there, isn’t she? In like a big way!
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I'm not sure there is anything she could say that would do anything other than that. He left the dog in the van and told no one.

I think she threw the kennels as a whole under the bus, TBH, by accepting that it is a general practice to leave a dog in the van and tell someone else to get it out. They don't seem to plan on changing that.

I read some Trustpilot reviews, someone mentioned the hot cattery. I must admit, on the video it seems to be a wood and glass construction, with a glass roof. They have strung bubble wrap up, presumably as insulation. The review said how hot it was in there, which I can well believe.

Another review comment was that the VIP kennels were nice, but the others had sacking up to stop the dogs from looking out. Another review comment was about them not calling the vet. Of course, there could be malicious, but I certainly would not be leaving my dogs there in a hurry!

If my dog were there, I would be arranging collection ASAP.

I have been very sad for the couple. From what I can see they were being very thoughtful and responsible. Losing your dog is bad enough, but to do so on your wedding day would be a constant reminder.

I believe the kennels should refund them the cost of the wedding. I bet they don't!
 
Cortez said:
I don't see how paying for the wedding will do anything, but then I'm not a big fan of using money to "make things better". I think they should have whatever licenses they hold revoked and be prosecuted, but that's just me.
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I don't think paying for the wedding would help anything but I do think that they should pay for a new dog, even if the couple aren't ready to consider another one yet. And there should be some compensation for all the upset and missed honeymoon.
 
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