Legal advice

[JBM]

Not my dogs but a friend who doesn’t know what to do next
Dogs were kept at boarding for 2 nights
-dog food was left with them (enough for two nights)

On collection dog food was barely half gone (not fed enough)
They were soaked through almost as they had been out all night long as the day of collection it was dry
Had to be taken to the vet as the Doberman was skinny (dehydrated) and had an infection in his back paws
Paws are worn horribly ONLY his back paws
Very confused
Other dog is perfect but hungry
Both been to vet

Have messaged to see if they’re an explanation
Only thing owner of the kennel said on collection was “he’s limping”

Going to demand boarding fee and vet costs
But wondering on the course of action if they refuse.

Will be making a post to make sure at least people I know will boycott them

 

[bonny]

What does the owner think had happened ?

 

[cobgoblin]

Did the vet have anything to say?

The back paws are odd. I would wonder if he had been trying to escape and had managed to lodge his front end up somewhere whilst the hind legs were scrabbling against a wall.

 

[nagblagger]

I would be heart broken and racked with guilt if that had happened to mine.
Raise concerns to the licencing board with all communication, if it has happened to yours, you need to prevent further harm to others.
Of course leave an honest review on their website, other dog owners need to be warned.

 

[Shady]

Did one or both escape maybe
Doberman got dragged back and planted ?
I would ask if they had video cameras up and if so demand to see footage
Sounds like something very unpleasant happened , poor thngs
The infection would worry me a little as it's in the pads. Hopefully nothing else is going on health wise

 

[JBM]

We aren’t 100% sure as we suspected an allergy to cleaning products used but that would be affect all paws not just the back ones

Vet thinks it’s strange too
He hates water and being wet so I have a strange feeling because of his size they were scared of him and didn’t bring them inside at night like they were supposed to and he tried climbing the dog run at night to get inside
Because he wasn’t fed enough or very hydrated after either
He’s supposed to get 6 cups of food a day and with the food left I’d say he got 1/3 of that
They did receive a message on the first night that the dogs were outside and were reluctant to come inside (but did) that in itself was strange they’re both inside/couch dogs and the husky didn’t want one of the women working there touching her when we were putting harnesses on to leave
He also has some hair missing on his front leg so definitely could’ve got caught somewhere
But alarming they didn’t take him to a vet or notify us sooner (I was away with them on the trip)
It’s an absolute nightmare and owners feel awful as first time they left them to go on a trip
Both super friendly dogs and Doberman is only a year old

 

[gunnergundog]

I see you have posted here as well as in Tack Room. My questions remain the same:

Was this the first time at this kennel?
Had they been kennelled previously, albeit elsewhere? If so, for how long and how did the set up differ to where you left them this time?
You were told that they were were happy out, but were they happy in, which is where they would have spent the majority of their time.
Were they kennelled together or separately?
So many variables. If first time kennelled, not at all amazed at loss of weight, lack of eating, wearing of nails etc. Dogs need to be prepared properly to be kennelled away from home, especially if this is not how they are normally kept - ie house dogs.

 

[JBM]

I see you have posted here as well as in Tack Room. My questions remain the same:

Was this the first time at this kennel?
Had they been kennelled previously, albeit elsewhere? If so, for how long and how did the set up differ to where you left them this time?
You were told that they were were happy out, but were they happy in, which is where they would have spent the majority of their time.
Were they kennelled together or separately?
So many variables. If first time kennelled, not at all amazed at loss of weight, lack of eating, wearing of nails etc. Dogs need to be prepared properly to be kennelled away from home, especially if this is not how they are normally kept - ie house dogs.

I replied

 

[CorvusCorax]

Scraping on the back paws would tally with running the fence, jumping, twisting on a hard surface and running back again repeatedly/obsessively. Seen it a lot in kennelled dogs.

Sone dogs do get stressed in kennels/go off food. If they're not used to kennels they'd be better boarded in a home or with a pet sitter coming to the house.

Also very few dogs act exactly the same way in a strange environment and strange people the way they do at home.

 

[CorvusCorax]

PS 'happy out' means something else in Ireland, just means 'generally happy'.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Sounds completely dodgy to me and something is not sitting right..
i would most definitely take it further.

Hope the woofers are going to be ok

 

[CorvusCorax]

One of my dogs (all are used to kennels) is apparently made of china and constantly comes back from kennels with chewed pads, the shits and once, he split the end of his tail. I send him there with a bottle of charcoal tablets and a bottle of wound powder.

Owner is always very apologetic and offers to bring him to vet but he's just a stressy dog and he soon brightens up after a day at home. Shit happens.

 

[gunnergundog]

PS 'happy out' means something else in Ireland, just means 'generally happy'.

Live and learn! Divided by a common language!

 

[ycbm]

My cats stay in their own home and still reduce their food intake if we're away. Reduced eating wouldn't seem to be at all surprising to me.
.

 

[SkylarkAscending]

I rarely leave my dogs in kennels - hence the poor sods were stressed when it used to happen (it doesn’t any more) despite the fact they grew up living in kennels.

I would take these experiences as what happens when you leave a dog in kennels with insufficient conditioning for them. Some dogs will eat - some won’t. Some dogs pace/dig endlessly- some won’t

 

[JBM]

It’s the undisclosed injury that is the main problem
I understand that stress is normal but basic care should be taken when a dog gets injured

 

[CorvusCorax]

Unfortunately I am a bit of an expert in the field of skinned pads and they don't get fixed in two days. There's very little you can do apart from rest/try to keep dry, powder and if possible, cover. A lot of dogs would not let a stranger look at/turn over their foot, particularly if it was sore.

 

[AmyMay]

It’s the undisclosed injury that is the main problem
I understand that stress is normal but basic care should be taken when a dog gets injured

But the ‘limp’ was mentioned upon collection…

 

[JBM]

Unfortunately I am a bit of an expert in the field of skinned pads and they don't get fixed in two days. There's very little you can do apart from rest/try to keep dry, powder and if possible, cover. A lot of dogs would not let a stranger look at/turn over their foot, particularly if it was sore.

Wasnt expecting them to be fixed but they did none of the things you’ve mentioned to make them better
He is perfect with vet and people so wouldn’t have been a problem

But the ‘limp’ was mentioned upon collection…

well we could see him at that point

 

[SkylarkAscending]

The dog was in kennels for 2 days - am I missing something here? The “injury” would have been barely noticeable on day one and visible by day two…. when the dog was collected. Kennels didn’t have time to take the dog to a vet or treat????

 

[CorvusCorax]

Wasnt expecting them to be fixed but they did none of the things you’ve mentioned to make them better
He is perfect with vet and people so wouldn’t have been a problem

well we could see him at that point

I'm talking about this happening over a period of time longer than two days. You clearly have an answer for everything so good luck with the legal action.

 

[Clodagh]

One of my dogs goes lane with skinned feet after a days shooting, she’s retired now but honestly it’s so easy to do. You keep saying ‘the injury’ as though he’s cut himself or something. Skinned pads would not show up on an adrenalised dog.

 

[JBM]

I think you guys are missing the point I don’t think he needed to be rushed to a vet by them or treated there I just think we should’ve been notified that he was injured that’s all
Even after stating his injuries they have not said he was stressed or was unhappy and continue to state he was happy and fine While he was there

I’m not asking for them to treat him or saying they skinned his paws themselves

But he couldn’t have been happy the whole time he was there and also injured his paws stressing out so something isn’t adding up

 

[JBM]

One of my dogs goes lane with skinned feet after a days shooting, she’s retired now but honestly it’s so easy to do. You keep saying ‘the injury’ as though he’s cut himself or something. Skinned pads would not show up on an adrenalised dog.

Did she require 5 days of antibiotics and a pain killer?

 

[SkylarkAscending]

I think you guys are missing the point I don’t think he needed to be rushed to a vet by them or treated there I just think we should’ve been notified that he was injured that’s all
Even after stating his injuries they have not said he was stressed or was unhappy and continue to state he was happy and fine While he was there

I’m not asking for them to treat him or saying they skinned his paws themselves

But he couldn’t have been happy the whole time he was there and also injured his paws stressing out so something isn’t adding up

They told the owners he was lame, therefore stating the injuries? I’m genuinely trying not to be obtuse here, I just don’t know what else they could have done?

 

[SkylarkAscending]

Did she require 5 days of antibiotics and a pain killer?

Standard intervention from a vet to cover every possibility I’m afraid - skinned pads should not need antibiotics as a rule, they were being absolutely sure (as you would hope a vet would be!)

 

[Clodagh]

Did she require 5 days of antibiotics and a pain killer?

Sometimes. Always pain killer, antibiotics not so much as I knew she did it and treated them as soon as I got home every time.

 

[Clodagh]

What do you actually hope to achieve with legal action? A refund? Compensation? An apology from them?

 

[JBM]

I will leave the thread here
It’s obvious we have different expectations of communication from kennels
I do still feel something needs to be done so this doesn’t happen to someone else’s dog and don’t understand really understand how some people seem not to care much about it
And yes I do feel they are liable for the vet bills as they didn’t communicate any problems or discomfort from the dogs and still maintain that the dogs were happy the whole time

 

[AmyMay]

They would only be liable for a vets bill if they were negligent.