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CALL FOR MORE INDUSTRY SCRUTINY AFTER DEATH OF DOG IN BOARDING KENNEL
The owners of a Port Stephens dog boarding kennel say they’re going to shut down, after the death of a pet in their care.
The dog’s owners are now fighting for better regulation within the industry.
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They don’t even look reputable. For the prices you pay there should be lush grass at least. If you can’t provide enough water for grass what hope have the dogs got?
That’s a bit silly. I can afford to water my lawns at home but we are on stage 3 water restrictions, so I am not allowed to water. Maybe these people have the same restrictions.
Owners of kennels say they haven’t slept since -making out they are the victims here
Not a word of apology
Easy money taking trusting pet owners dollars for such a shabby service at Xmas a peak time
Really hope these cruel boarding kennel owners get named and shamed
What a sad ending for such a noble rescued dog , his passing is felt by many , hope the family holding up ok ,they trusted these rip off operators
This also happened in the USA. Horrible, what dog boarding facilities think they can get away with!
https://www.facebook.com/The-Tragedy-at-Green-Acre-Dog-Boarding-Gilbert-AZ-1523156181236576/
Appalling. These people have a duty of care, but clearly they have no idea what that means. Are these places checked by appropriate authorities. These people deserve to loose their licence. Share and shame
The legislation to protect cats and dogs in boarding facilities, pounds and shelters (both private and council owned) is virtually non-existent. Anima over, animal activists and animal advocates Australia wide have been trying to get local governments (councils), state governments and federal government to enact some decent legislation so that cats and dogs are not treated cruelly behind closed doors. Weter poor Bear te Chow Chow who died of heat stroke as a result of negligence at Hawkesbury Council Pound, or poor Baron at Jane’s Pet Resort in Fern Bay or poor Annie who had her throat ripped out by another dog at Pelgate kennels in Cooranbong…ALL dogs and cats deserve to be treated with care, kindness, decency and humanity. As long as there is no decent legislation to protect these innocent, voiceless dogs and cats then councils and people running private pounds and boarding facilities will exploit the animals, take money and provide little or no care, cover up deaths (and these are certainly not the only dog or cat deaths in custody) and run them as a money making enterprise whereby the care of the animals is secondary to their desire to make money. There should be no differentiation..ANYONE OR ANY BUSINESS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH OF AN ANIMAL IT IS SUPPOSED TO CARE FOR SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE AND THIS SHOULD CARRY A MANDATORY GAOL SENTENCE- AS OPPOSED TO THE USUAL SLAP ON THE WRIST GIVEN TO THOSE FOUND GUILTY OF ANIMAL CRUELTY.
You cant get up one day and decide as a business I will give running a dog kennel. It is the same as taking your kids to school or day care the kennel owner has a BIG responsibility to the owner of the pet. This business is what I call a career lifestyle you surrender your time and love to other peoples pets. You have a DUTY OF CARE to make sure all pets are comfortable and their basic needs are met. If you think that shoving a dog in a cage give it some water and some food is all you do DO NOT invest in purchasing a kennel. I am a kennel owner and you have to recognize the early symptoms when a animal is sick or distressed. I live in the tropics and keeping a dog cool is hard and concerning work. I read about that terrible kennel that lost 23 dogs over night. OMG they stuck them in a air-conditioned room and just left them. I have to know about the dog and keeping a dog in air-conditioning and not acclimatizing there pet to the weather changes is dangerous. I have been in the kennel business for 10 years now and we have had a couple of incidents that required veterinary attention. Situations that were out of my level of experience. However in my opinion for a dog to die from heart stroke, distress, losing a dog and being attacked by another dog is simply unacceptable in my kennel. We have strict guidelines within our business and all staff learn the early signs. We watch everything the cat or dog does from observing there attitude to checking when they pee and poo. If there is any small abnormality ALL staff watch to see if the pet recovers or gets worse. We make a decision and if a vet needs to be called in so be it. This happens within 24-48 hours in most cases. We love all our pets and we show that love to them. We have given up our lives to care for other peoples pets so they get a break. It can be very stressful dealing with 40-50 different personalities but you have to find a release. Its all to do with a balanced life it just breaks my heart when I hear stories about dogs passing away in kennels from negligence.
hearing this about baron makes me cry as i own 12 greyhounds and the heat was bad but they have not looked after them or they wound be a live today what a horrible death dehydration they dont deserve their licence i would sue them if they were mine
Judith, you are so right.
There needs to be an enquiry as there are too many unexplained deaths. Take the Tea tree Gully fire where a hundred or so pets died. The owners of the Facility refused help in evacuating even when offered by the Pet Industry Association and by other neighbouring kennels.They got away with that scot free and they should have been charged. In my opinion. Can you take note, that in no instance was any of these kennels in question a member of the PIAA. To be a member of the PIAA we have to follow a National Code of Conduct which is an extension and in addition to the Animal Welfare Code no 5.
A lot of these unexplained deaths seem to involve kennels run by a ‘registered breeder’ and don’t seem to have had a suitable level of Staff onsite. In a lot of cases they are not even Development Approved by Council and as such they have no Instrument of Operation to adhere to. This includes ‘Uber’ type boarding or Backyard Boarders ( Yes- 10 or 20 dogs in the comfort of the minders own home)
Remembering also that Biology is unpredictable and there is always an element of risk, even in your own home with family, friends or pet sitters minding them.
We had a backyard boarder close to us- no licence (well, that saved them $400,000 in Council conditions) all cash and no responsibility. Council wouldn’t close them down until 2 dogs were bitten by snakes because he had them in his crawl space, but when the owners picked them up they were playing ‘happily’ on the front porch.
Our kennels won a NSW business award for sustainability mainly because of the insulating and thermal properties of the buildings they sleep in. Our buildings are better than any normal house for humans!
And just food for thought for you- a lot of kennels won’t take geriatric dogs and cats because they have a habit of popping off. If a cat is 16 yrs old, has a brain tumour and diabetes, it’s not unheard of that her kidneys might finally go whether in care or at home. But if it’s an unexplained death of a young or middleaged dog or cat, then the PIAA suggest to members it is more circumspect and sensible to have a necropsy performed by the local Vet to determine possible cause of death. Personally, IMO, I believe if the kennel doesn’t do a necropsy then I feel as tho they may be hiding something.
One other point- kennels do get blamed all the time for conditions that are biological and out of their control. If you have a British Bulldog or German Shepherd, guess what!!! your dog may get a hot spot! If it’s a windy day and you have a pekingese, your dog may get a yukky eye- would have happened in your backyard exactly the same as mine. Humans get colds and susceptible dogs can get a cold too, even after a vaccine. Remember when Granny got a cold after she had the Flu shot last year? Bloat is the 2nd major killer of dogs and that isn’t the kennels fault. it is negligence if they don’t get immediate Vet care but the survival rate is poor.
Facts you may be interested in, fake turf can get to 5 times hotter than grass. Good kennels have automatic water bowls. Good kennels have metal awnings, not just shade sails. Cattle troughs and plastic play pools filled with water are great for dogs as is frozen fish iceblocks. Extraction fans to take the heat out of the buildings and provide air movement and putting the dogs inside in the heat of the day. No play/grassed areas are allowed to go to bare earth-has to be fully grassed, gravelled or concreted etc -Animal Welfare Code no5
What level of adequate supervision do we need remembering that employing people is very costly especially on weekends and public holidays? Maybe if it’s too cheap there may be reason why. 40% of our turnover goes to employing Staff so we have a suitable staff ratio to number of pets. At the end of the day, for a higher level of care you’re gonna be paying a lot more money. Bit of a catch22 situation. BTW, we don’t make a whole lot of money here, average benchmark for a kennel is only 14%
Having adequate water supply, shade and regular checks and keeping the temperature of building to the Pet Industry Association suggested temperature of between 15 and 30 degrees may have prevented this awful death of a young dog. Nobody knows if the dog had any medical conditions that exacerbated the problem but to have 2 deaths in a short space of time then something is endemically wrong with this Facility.
There are so many things you have to think about looking after pets and it’s very easy to make a mistake, even not listening to your intuition if you get an inkling somethings not quite right. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. It’s also hard to find trustworthy Staff. We try to employ more mature people even tho they cost more they are more sensible and the first time we see them disrespect an animal is the last time they’ll ever work here!
Hope this gives you an insight into a kennel/cattery
Please, everyone, make sure your kennel/dog minder is Council Approved and a member of the Pet Industry Association. Rant over….
I know for a fact that pets die every day in people’s own back yard for all sorts of reason some reasons cannot be determined despite the pets being in good health and well looked after with autopsy’s showing the cause of death as inconclusive. They also die in boarding kennels despite being well cared for. Yes some die as a result of a mistake or accident . These sort of accidents can also happen while in the care of their owners. I know this only too well. I have been called to kennels as a results of a pets death and have always found the facilities clean with food , water and shade. When a pet dies regardless as a result of injury or illness not only are the pet owners devastated so too are the owners of these facilities. Their worse nightmare is having a pet die in their care. It is tragic for everyone involved. However acting like vigilantes and making death threats to kennel owners will not solve anything. It will take a proper and professional investigation to determine what happens and what recommendations should be made including if there should be a code of practice. They are already covered by various pieces of legislation regarding the care and protection of animals. and most if not all should have insurance. and most should be visited by the health department of local council .
So sad to hear of this. I had 3 dogs who used to board at a first class facility in Nathalia,Victoria and this would NEVER have happened. We are now living in Adelaide and about to get 2 dogs and will be searching for a first class kennel here in SA.I am almost in tears reading of this beautiful greyhound and the dear little dog whose throat was attacked and died. Dogs especially are people’s children and I agree, there should be government control to all boarding places in all of Australia. I financially donate regularly and quite generously to the RSPCA now in SA and Victoria. This makes me only hope they do get on board all boarding dog and cat kennels especially in our extreme summer hot days and nights for regular checks .
There may be water restrictions and grass is the last thing to waste water on.. Dogs don’t need to eat grass to survive unlike many other animals. There is such a thing as drought. I know of a dog that was boarded at Rspca years ago who was pts because he was in the wrong section so they are not going to be much use in having changes made.
Hi Michelle Great reply above and you are clearly a highly responsible kennel operator. You are very honest too as when you look after dogs you are learning all the time. I care for a very small number of dogs in my own home and was interested in something you said above – ” I have to know about the dog and keeping a dog in air-conditioning and not acclimatizing their pet to the weather changes is dangerous” what did that mean? I ask as I have my dogs in air con, they can go outside an lie the sun and come back in. I’m very careful about not taking dogs out ‘walkies’ or running when its in the 30s. So we either go out very early or late arvo/evening. Precisely because I’m always wanting to be only guard against any potential hazard I’d be grateful if you could expand on what you mean a bit more. thanks!
If your vet has boarding facilities, it is better to leave them there rather an untried boarding facilities – a great risk for your pets. They may not have the freedom they are used to so short stays are best. I used to have exotic birds which I had to re-home due to a continuing illness. When I was away, I always arranged for an experienced bird lady to come in and stay with them as they always had free flight. I was strongly against cages. I’m glad to say that they have been re-homed with a great lady who also doesn’t believe in keeping birds in cages.
Every day I am reading more and more horrific stories about pets that have died or been injured in boarding kennels, it’s just disgusting and has to stop! I am one of the lucky ones that we still have our beautiful Labrador Buddy and that he is happy and healthy. He stayed many times at Jane’s Pet Resort and on one occasion after he came home he was cowering and running away from us if we lifted our arms near him. He had NEVER acted like this before and thankfully got over it after a day or 2, but I will never know what truly happened to him there. We trust these people at boarding kennels with our beloved pets and now I am too scared to leave Buddy anywhere.