Boarding....& so UPSET!

[cocoster]

poor babies~ i feel your pain. i don't know what i would do if i didn't have family living near me to coco-sit.

we should make a YT pet-sitting list by region/city. i'm in NC too and i much rather trust a YT'er than any boarding places. yorkies are too small and precious to be treated like that! besides, when you have a yorkie or two (or three), it never hurts to bring a few more in for a few days.

[Baby Madeleine]

I am so sorry this happened! I can't imagine how angry I would be if my furbaby went through what yours did. Only taking them out twice a day????? That is crazy!! Do they not know how little their bladders are????? I would definitely take this up with your vet and let him know how angry and disappointed you are!

[MyFairLacy]

I'm sorry you didn't think they were well cared for. I do agree that being taken out twice a day is not enough, especially for our small dogs. I wouldn't board Lacy most places because a lot of them close at 5 or 6 and no one is there again until 8am...and I know they won't hold it that long. I've never heard of dogs being taken out less than three times per day (which still isn't enough).

I've worked for vets with boarding and a grooming/dog boutique with boarding before. They both used the leashes that went around the neck...they thought it was safer because the dog couldn't slip out of their collar/leash and get away with these. However, I personally think the harnesses are more secure. But honestly, the number of times they are taken out per day and how they walked them should have been questions you asked before you left them. While I don't agree with the number of times they were taken out and wouldn't personally want my dog walked with a leash around her neck, they didn't do anything wrong by doing this (unless you specifically asked that they only be walked on a harness and were told they wouldn't use the leash around the neck). When I left Lacy at daycare I asked that they only use her harness...she had to okay it with the owner who said it was find, and to my knowledge they used her harness.

Also, you really can't be mad about their beds being ruined. You are really lucky they put them in with the dogs at all. Many boarding places won't put the personal items owners bring because they don't want them to get messed up (which upsets me...if I bring something I want my dog to have it). They can't be responsible for your dogs messing up items you wanted left with them.

I can definitely understand being upset that they weren't taken out more (but like I said...you should have asked how many times they would be taken out before you left them), but I don't think you should be upset at them for your dogs ruining their beds and the leash they used. I just see two sides of the story....I'm always VERY careful and ask a ton of questions before I'd leave my dogs anywhere.

[4doggiemama]

Originally Posted by cocoster

we should make a YT pet-sitting list by region/city. i'm in NC too and i much rather trust a YT'er than any boarding places. yorkies are too small and precious to be treated like that! besides, when you have a yorkie or two (or three), it never hurts to bring a few more in for a few days.

[YorkichonBella]

First of all, let me just say that you are reading me so wrong..........I didn't discribe the beds because I was upset about the "beds". If it wasn't for the beds, I would have never known the conditions they were left in. This told me that they were not taken care of. The conditons of the beds was so bad that I knew they were not checked on for a very Long time. I was upset about the babies - Not the Beds. I'm just surprised that anyone would think that from the way I described?? Second, it may be the policy @Vet to use the restraining leashes, But you would think for someone with education and training as much for Vets that it's kind of common sense Not to use these with small dogs. It could do alot of damage. In just seconds that I saw, she was gagging. It took a while for us to make sure she was ok. My complaints are common sense things that I expected a licensed Vet would take quality care of our babies. There are horror stories on here about incompetence that should never happen.

Originally Posted by MyFairLacy

I'm sorry you didn't think they were well cared for. I do agree that being taken out twice a day is not enough, especially for our small dogs. I wouldn't board Lacy most places because a lot of them close at 5 or 6 and no one is there again until 8am...and I know they won't hold it that long. I've never heard of dogs being taken out less than three times per day (which still isn't enough).

I've worked for vets with boarding and a grooming/dog boutique with boarding before. They both used the leashes that went around the neck...they thought it was safer because the dog couldn't slip out of their collar/leash and get away with these. However, I personally think the harnesses are more secure. But honestly, the number of times they are taken out per day and how they walked them should have been questions you asked before you left them. While I don't agree with the number of times they were taken out and wouldn't personally want my dog walked with a leash around her neck, they didn't do anything wrong by doing this (unless you specifically asked that they only be walked on a harness and were told they wouldn't use the leash around the neck). When I left Lacy at daycare I asked that they only use her harness...she had to okay it with the owner who said it was find, and to my knowledge they used her harness.

Also, you really can't be mad about their beds being ruined. You are really lucky they put them in with the dogs at all. Many boarding places won't put the personal items owners bring because they don't want them to get messed up (which upsets me...if I bring something I want my dog to have it). They can't be responsible for your dogs messing up items you wanted left with them.

I can definitely understand being upset that they weren't taken out more (but like I said...you should have asked how many times they would be taken out before you left them), but I don't think you should be upset at them for your dogs ruining their beds and the leash they used. I just see two sides of the story....I'm always VERY careful and ask a ton of questions before I'd leave my dogs anywhere.

[MyFairLacy]

Originally Posted by YorkichonBella

First of all, let me just say that you are reading me so wrong..........I didn't discribe the beds because I was upset about the "beds". If it wasn't for the beds, I would have never known the conditions they were left in. This told me that they were not taken care of. The conditons of the beds was so bad that I knew they were not checked on for a very Long time. I was upset about the babies - Not the Beds. I'm just surprised that anyone would think that from the way I described?? Second, it may be the policy @Vet to use the restraining leashes, But you would think for someone with education and training as much for Vets that it's kind of common sense Not to use these with small dogs. It could do alot of damage. In just seconds that I saw, she was gagging. It took a while for us to make sure she was ok. My complaints are common sense things that I expected a licensed Vet would take quality care of our babies. There are horror stories on here about incompetence that should never happen.

No, I knew you were more concerned about your babies than the beds. I just wanted to mention that it's something that happens when items are left with dogs at boarding places. Also, some dogs act really different when they are being boarded than when they are at home. For example, there was a yorkie being boarded at the dog boutique/grooming salong where I worked. The workers seriously took it out really often but it would not go outside..it would only pee in its cage. By the end of the weekend, the dog had pee all over it. It wasn't that the dog wasn't cared for...she was taken out often, fed, watered, etc...but she was peeing all over herself. And her bed of course was urine soaked as well. Normally, she would have gotten a bath before she left but the owners had said not to bathe her...so she went home a mess.

You can't just assume that they'll be cared for in a certain way. Most kennels/boarding facilities give them minimal care...they are fed, watered, and walked and that's it. So you've really got to be careful and ask a lot of questions. Most places wouldn't get my business because I require a lot more for Lacy's care. And I know you do too...I just really doubt they were mistreated but they obviously weren't cared for like you would have wanted. But it wasn't that they did anything wrong..they did what most boarding facilities do..it was just that it wasn't up to par with what most of us want for our babies.

[ckuz13]

I worked at a wonderful vet clinic and we took great care of our animals. We kept our boarding to a minimum and made sure each pet got lots of attention throughout the day. We had a night shift too. And the Vet came to the clinic each and every night about 3:00 Am. to check on all the pets. Great place. But these are few are far between. I moved to Az and worked for a brief time at another vet clinic that also did boarding for extra profit. One holiday weekend the clinic overbooked the boarding facilities. The doctor out of pure greed, took in clients that we could not find room for. He assured us that things would be fine. He moved animals around to make room for the bigger animals. Nevermind that people payed for the cages based on weight. He let some friends of his board wolf hybrids. He put them in the bathroom with a pocketdoor as a barrier. In the middle of the night the dogs got out and ate one of our clients guinea pigs. She had boarded her often and felt this was a safe place for her. When I came in the next morning I was mortified. I heard the vet tell our client her guinea pig died of stress from being in the clinic. He said he would have her cremated and pay for her ashes as a favor. He took an unclaimed urn of dog ashes off the shelf and gave them to her. She was so heartbroken. I told the rest of the staff how horrible he was to do this. And I threatend to report him and I felt this poor women should know the truth. But I was the only one who felt this way. I was told I would only make things worse by telling her what really happened. But this poor women felt guilty for going to Hawaii and leaving her beloved guinea pig. I quit and never went back to this place again. This is the first time I ever told anyone outside my family of this incident. This was 11 years ago. I never ever boarded again. I carried the guilt of this story for a long time. Please do reserch if you ever have to resort to boarding. Check the facility ask a lot of questions. Go to the back and check the cages. If they don't let you back walk out. Spend the X-tra cash for a run. Even if you have a small breed. Friends or relatives are your best bet for care..thanks

[YorkichonBella]

Thank you for sharing your story. I know this was hard for you. This was my reason too for sharing my story, to let others know what really goes on. I was upset about the care they got which was little. They are being paid. They should give quality service.

Originally Posted by ckuz13

I worked at a wonderful vet clinic and we took great care of our animals. We kept our boarding to a minimum and made sure each pet got lots of attention throughout the day. We had a night shift too. And the Vet came to the clinic each and every night about 3:00 Am. to check on all the pets. Great place. But these are few are far between. I moved to Az and worked for a brief time at another vet clinic that also did boarding for extra profit. One holiday weekend the clinic overbooked the boarding facilities. The doctor out of pure greed, took in clients that we could not find room for. He assured us that things would be fine. He moved animals around to make room for the bigger animals. Nevermind that people payed for the cages based on weight. He let some friends of his board wolf hybrids. He put them in the bathroom with a pocketdoor as a barrier. In the middle of the night the dogs got out and ate one of our clients guinea pigs. She had boarded her often and felt this was a safe place for her. When I came in the next morning I was mortified. I heard the vet tell our client her guinea pig died of stress from being in the clinic. He said he would have her cremated and pay for her ashes as a favor. He took an unclaimed urn of dog ashes off the shelf and gave them to her. She was so heartbroken. I told the rest of the staff how horrible he was to do this. And I threatend to report him and I felt this poor women should know the truth. But I was the only one who felt this way. I was told I would only make things worse by telling her what really happened. But this poor women felt guilty for going to Hawaii and leaving her beloved guinea pig. I quit and never went back to this place again. This is the first time I ever told anyone outside my family of this incident. This was 11 years ago. I never ever boarded again. I carried the guilt of this story for a long time. Please do reserch if you ever have to resort to boarding. Check the facility ask a lot of questions. Go to the back and check the cages. If they don't let you back walk out. Spend the X-tra cash for a run. Even if you have a small breed. Friends or relatives are your best bet for care..thanks

[MyFairLacy]

Originally Posted by ckuz13

I worked at a wonderful vet clinic and we took great care of our animals. We kept our boarding to a minimum and made sure each pet got lots of attention throughout the day. We had a night shift too. And the Vet came to the clinic each and every night about 3:00 Am. to check on all the pets. Great place. But these are few are far between. I moved to Az and worked for a brief time at another vet clinic that also did boarding for extra profit. One holiday weekend the clinic overbooked the boarding facilities. The doctor out of pure greed, took in clients that we could not find room for. He assured us that things would be fine. He moved animals around to make room for the bigger animals. Nevermind that people payed for the cages based on weight. He let some friends of his board wolf hybrids. He put them in the bathroom with a pocketdoor as a barrier. In the middle of the night the dogs got out and ate one of our clients guinea pigs. She had boarded her often and felt this was a safe place for her. When I came in the next morning I was mortified. I heard the vet tell our client her guinea pig died of stress from being in the clinic. He said he would have her cremated and pay for her ashes as a favor. He took an unclaimed urn of dog ashes off the shelf and gave them to her. She was so heartbroken. I told the rest of the staff how horrible he was to do this. And I threatend to report him and I felt this poor women should know the truth. But I was the only one who felt this way. I was told I would only make things worse by telling her what really happened. But this poor women felt guilty for going to Hawaii and leaving her beloved guinea pig. I quit and never went back to this place again. This is the first time I ever told anyone outside my family of this incident. This was 11 years ago. I never ever boarded again. I carried the guilt of this story for a long time. Please do reserch if you ever have to resort to boarding. Check the facility ask a lot of questions. Go to the back and check the cages. If they don't let you back walk out. Spend the X-tra cash for a run. Even if you have a small breed. Friends or relatives are your best bet for care..thanks

That's aweful!

We finally had a place open here that has luxury suites and doggie daycare. Lacy has gone to daycare there and did well. The staff seemed friendly and Lacy seemed happy. I don't like cage/run boarding...I like when they have the large suites/rooms for each animal and can give them playtime and individual attention. It really is hard to find a good boarding place...there are terrible ones, min. care ones, and excellent ones...you just have to be extra careful

[HighlandYorkies]

What a terrible story....I think it's common....it's a job to them, and not their children if you know what I mean !

I have never left my Yorkies....haven't been abroad since I bought Tara 8 years ago, and I have the 3 of them now....I took Tara to England tho' before the others came !

We had the same problem as you have just had though, with our Bearded Collie once when she was 1 yr....Ashley (our daughter) was too young to leave and went to my Mum and Dad's with Tara, and they didn't want Tasha, so we left her overnight in a brand new built kennels while we went to see a group 100 miles away.
We were disgusted at the stinking, soaking wet with urine, shaking dog we got back the next morning !
She hasn't been in Kennels since and is 7 this June.....I couldn't ever put her thu that again.
It's not as if she should have been like that.....we had left Tasha for 10 days in good kennels(no spaces for that one night tho' ) when we only had Tara and went to England on holiday with Tara.....Tasha the Beardie was fine then, she got walked 4 times a day and had a play time with toys in a fenced area, and she was bathed and groomed...even had a machine clean blanket when we picked her up ! She was wagging her tail and was happily slopping us when we picked her up.
Since the horror night, we have one night out a year ...that same gig 100 miles away, and Ashley babysits all dogs....she is 18 in Sept, and usually has a friend stay with her and the dogs....we get back at 2am.
I wish I had someone close who would dog-sit, but 4 would shock them, hee hee !

If I were you, I would write a letter of complaint and tell a local newspaper !

Debra x x x

1. TASHA
2. TAMMY 4+, CASPER 5+, TARA >8

[YorkichonBella]

Quality Care! That's what a person should be able to Assume when they are left in a professional medical environment. It is the Vets responsiblity to ensure that other personnnel will abide to these guidelines. I did ask questions and continued to call. I was told of no problems. It is not OK that most boarding facilites as you stated do minimal care. Medical Professionals should not tolerate "minimal" care. That's not what they are trained to do and take an oath to abide by. Minimal care IS WRONG! Sorry, Dear - I totally disagree with your comments.

Originally Posted by MyFairLacy

No, I knew you were more concerned about your babies than the beds. I just wanted to mention that it's something that happens when items are left with dogs at boarding places. Also, some dogs act really different when they are being boarded than when they are at home. For example, there was a yorkie being boarded at the dog boutique/grooming salong where I worked. The workers seriously took it out really often but it would not go outside..it would only pee in its cage. By the end of the weekend, the dog had pee all over it. It wasn't that the dog wasn't cared for...she was taken out often, fed, watered, etc...but she was peeing all over herself. And her bed of course was urine soaked as well. Normally, she would have gotten a bath before she left but the owners had said not to bathe her...so she went home a mess.

You can't just assume that they'll be cared for in a certain way. Most kennels/boarding facilities give them minimal care...they are fed, watered, and walked and that's it. So you've really got to be careful and ask a lot of questions. Most places wouldn't get my business because I require a lot more for Lacy's care. And I know you do too...I just really doubt they were mistreated but they obviously weren't cared for like you would have wanted. But it wasn't that they did anything wrong..they did what most boarding facilities do..it was just that it wasn't up to par with what most of us want for our babies.

[MyFairLacy]

Originally Posted by YorkichonBella

Quality Care! That's what a person should be able to Assume when they are left in a professional medical environment. It is the Vets responsiblity to ensure that other personnnel will abide to these guidelines. I did ask questions and continued to call. I was told of no problems. It is not OK that most boarding facilites as you stated do minimal care. Medical Professionals should not tolerate "minimal" care. That's not what they are trained to do and take an oath to abide by. Minimal care IS WRONG! Sorry, Dear - I totally disagree with your comments.

I didn't say it was right or wrong necessarily. But minimal care is what most boarding facilities give. That's why you can't just assume things and then get unhappy about it because it wasn't done like you thought it would be. Always ask questions and make sure things will be done the way you want them done. I never just assume anything when it comes to my babies...I left Lacy at a luxury boarding place overnight in Shreveport, LA one night. I had a list of three places and called and asked a whole page of questions before I decided on the one I wanted. I also left a two page note. Most boarding places just do not go above and beyond and that's a fact. They provide a safe place for your pet to stay, they let them potty, and they feed and water them....most are too busy to give them extra attention or play time.

I'm not saying I agree with it..i wouldn't leave my baby at a place like that. She only gets the best of the best. I'm just trying to point out facts to you so you can be more informed and make better decisions next time.

[erickajm]

I am so sorry for both of your experiences! Its hard to find quality anything anymore!

[MaxwellHouse]

The fact you couldn't get them until Monday rings a bad bell. A good vet would let you come by on Sat eve when the person that is SUPPOSED to be there could let you in the door. Maybe their help doesn't come in after hours at all. If they did, they could have let you in to hand them over and you could pay-up on Monday - or pre-pay. I don't mean to sound like such an alarmist, but it makes me wonder, if they close early on Sat, why you had to wait until Mon!!
A true kennel (which I wouldn't use, either) lets you pick up on weekends. I would demand to speak with the actual person that comes in on Sunday and you can probably tell by the way they deny you access, that that person does not exist.

I'm so sorry, I'm just so mad for you that your babies had to go through that. But I'd make some noise if I were you and rattle THEIR cages!

[MindieRose]

I worked for a vets office with boarding facilities. For bigger dogs its not that bad. They can hold it much longer. We allowed anything in the run or cage with them that the owners requested, we would just write it on their chart. We had a large fenced in area that the dogs were allowed to run for 15 minutes, 3 xs a day, twice on weekends. They were fed twice a day, or once, depending on the owners request, with whatever food the owner brought, or if they didnt bring any, were fed Science Diet.
I do think the little dogs should be let out more, but they were very strict there about policy.
Personally, when I was there taking care of the dogs, I would hold them (if they were little), snuggle them, play fetch outside, and even take pictures of them to bring home and show the kids. I LOVED it, and treated them like they were my dogs. I would even walk throughout the kennel area several times a shift, bringing hypoallergenic treats to them so they felt loved.
If any dog had to be medicated, we could administer the pills, but if they needed an injection, the vet would have to sign off on it after it was done. It was VERY well organized. If a dog messed on its bed, we would wash it. But in your case, it could have just happened that day when no one was there.

Its a lesson learned in your case. Most vets offices are glad to answer any questions you have up front. Most every office is closed on the weekend, meaning only 2 outside trips.
I dont think complaining will do anything. They have their policy and their routine probably works well for larger dogs. If you ever board anywhere again, I would suggest asking every place how often they go out, and if they are walked or have a place to run. If they only go out 3 times a day, you can always suggest they go out more than that, I had more than one client do that before, and we did as they wished. You just have to make your requests known so they can write it on their chart and they will probably be more than happy (to your face at least ) to follow what you want, within reason.