# 14 dogs pass away in a Doggy Daycare



## Femfa (May 29, 2016)

Very, very saddened and angered by the local news as of late here in my city. Just this weekend 14 large breed dogs were killed while in the care of a dog daycare here in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CA. 

Kennel was warned about ventilation problems: 14 dogs die of apparent heat exhaustion | Saskatoon StarPhoenix

There was a fail in the heating unit that directed air into room that the dogs were staying in. Staff knew it was hot, and left fans in the room with the door closed. All animals were left unsupervised for approximately 12 hours. The room ended up reaching 36 degrees Celsius (Almost 97 degrees Fahrenheit). Every dog succumbed to heat exhaustion. 

It kills me knowing they knew something was wrong with the unit but left anyways, and they had known for months that the unit would blow hot air despite being set on cool. You can buy temperature monitors, schedule night shifts, anything to ensure the safety of those animals while they are innocently in your care... but they refused. They didn't tell owners about any of the problems they were experiencing either, so no owner could make the choice to take the risk. It was completely negligent by the business owners, and fourteen innocent animals suffered for hours before succumbing to a literal oven. I'm heart broken for all of the individuals who have lost precious family members, two of which were service animals for young children with Autism. Sickening.


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## Mudypoz (Mar 3, 2016)

This is so heartbreaking I can't even find words! Those poor, sweet dogs :crying:
I think I'd go nuts if my dogs were among the ones killed by those negligent people. I hope they lose their business.


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## angelas (Aug 23, 2003)

They also advertise saying the dog's are constantly supervised. I'm not sure what definition of constantly supervised they use but to me it does not mean staff leaving overnight for hours.


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## voodoolamb (Jun 21, 2015)

angelas said:


> They also advertise saying the dog's are constantly supervised. I'm not sure what definition of constantly supervised they use but to me it does not mean staff leaving overnight for hours.


Constant supervision in kennels is an absolute joke. 

I was a manager at the big box petstore with the "hotel". Yeah they touted constant supervision and the paid for overnight staff to be there. Just one attendant. 

Problem being the actual employee policy stated that an employee was NOT to open the kennel under any circumstances unless another employee was present and a manger was in the building.

So when a dog started chewing up it's bed and SWALLOWING large pieces of obstruction causing fabric the night shift employee gets to call and wake a manager up at 3am and wait for them to come in while helplessly watching the dog choke. 

My store had a dog die on the table during surgery for an obstruction from that very scenario. Another store one of my coworkers transfered from had a dog die of bloat. Took the manager over 45 mins to get out of bed, dressed and to the store once the kennel attendant noticed the symptoms. Then another 20 mins to the vet. The dog didn't make it. 

So yeah. Constant supervision are nice words that probably mean squat at a lot of boarding places. 

That said this was an absolutely preventable travesty! It kills me so much of the pet service industry is unregulated


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## belladonnalily (May 24, 2013)

Unexcuseable. I live on the property with my boarding kennel. Any time we have extreme weather (hot or cold), dogs are checked constantly. We have a back up heat source and plans in place if the AC fails. And to have an employee WAIT for someone else when a dog is choking?? If an employee isn't trained to handle that on their own, they shouldn't be working there ?


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I guess this is one of those "don't believe everything you read" in the papers type of thing..I know someone who works there..They cannot be supervised 24 hours because it's zoned industrial and town laws say you can't stay on the property 24 hours..They have been working with the town to have this changed. 

TRAGIC obviously, but from what I know, they did NOT know something was wrong with the heating/ac , if they did this wouldn't have happened..

So a case of, don't believe everything you read, again tragic tragic,


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

97 degrees Fahrenheit should not have killed these dogs. 

I think most parts of this country saw well into an excess of that temperature this past summer. 

I live in an old part of town, most people have boiler heating systems. Few homes have taken on the expense of adding whole house air and many homes don't have the wiring to accommodate a window unit. That means most of my neighborhood, including myself, braved those temperatures with only a window fan.

For the better part, my dogs didn't even pant when lounging in the house.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

97 degrees with no ventilation could very well have killed the dogs. The "ventilation" is the key word here. It adds a whole different dimension to the temperature factor. Humidity, access to water, air flow. Lots of things that could have added to the temperature to send the dogs into heat exhaustion. 

I've had my dog out in the car while I'm working because I've had training that day or leaving town. 97 degree air temp with high humidity. Windows down, doors open, sun shade on, fan blowing on him. Checking on him every 1/2 hour. Within 30 minutes he went from comfortable to distressed. So add to that scenario dogs that are not acclimated to that kind of environment and you have a recipe for disaster.


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## voodoolamb (Jun 21, 2015)

MineAreWorkingline said:


> 97 degrees Fahrenheit should not have killed these dogs.
> 
> I think most parts of this country saw well into an excess of that temperature this past summer.
> 
> ...


I had a dog suffer from heat stroke in my home while I was out for the day. My hvac went out while I was gone. Inside temps probably reached the mid 90s Wonderful south eastern summers and whatnot.

I was gone maybe 8 - 9 hours? By the time I got home he was in bad shape. Couldnt walk. Covered in drool. Excessive panting. Listless. I got him cooled down in the bath tub and then straight to the Evet. They said heat exhaustion. He was put on IV fluids and kept over night. If I had been later getting home... 

Now this dog was 14 at the time and overweight so more sensitive to the heat then most I imagine, but I could definitely see those temps killing a dog. I mean every summer I hear on the news how people (mostly the elderly) are killed in their homes by the heat around here


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## voodoolamb (Jun 21, 2015)

belladonnalily said:


> And to have an employee WAIT for someone else when a dog is choking?? If an employee isn't trained to handle that on their own, they shouldn't be working there ?


Human safety trumps dog safety.

A large dog is capable of seriously injuring or killing a person. Heck even a small dog can get underfoot causing a person to trip, fall and crack their skull open. 

Human death = multi million dollar lawsuit. 
Dog Death = a sorry for your loss store gift card.

Corporate policies don't have to pass the laws of common sense, they just need to protect the stockholders.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

This is truly ones worst nightmare. People often hesitate to vacation due to their pets. My heartbreaks for these families who come back to this. At least these stories let people know what goes on in some of these boarding facilities.


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## belladonnalily (May 24, 2013)

Hmmm....I guess that is why I would never board at a large corporate kennel. But I see your point. My kennel is small and on a private farm, and we don't wait for backup. I am lucky that I deal directly with my insurance company and do everything myself along with one employee. 

But leaving dogs alone for 12 hours with a known malfunctioning heating/coing system is still inexcusable. There still would have been plenty of time to prevent this.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

I don't understand how they can operate a kennel overnight in a place that doesn't allow people on the premises. The kennel should not be there, no excuses. I use cageless kennels and they are not all the same. One very highly rated place let a puppy bother my dog so much, when I got back, my dog was hiding out. I told them I would not bring him back again. The other one, which I love but which doesn't take intact dogs, trains their staff on a regular basis in behaviors and especially in group behaviors. They have AC and fans, and it's set up for cross ventilation. When they get too many dogs, they turn people away. They have full staff all day and they increase their night staff based on how many dogs are staying. They also have cameras so the kennel owners can watch every dog from a remote location if they aren't there. I interview four different staff members and I am very impressed with their set up.


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## brookwoodgirl (May 5, 2016)

sometimes people board their dogs in vet offices, thinking they will be safer, but not all vet kennels have AC either, and certainly it is no guarantee anyone is there at night.

It's always worth asking and investigating before boarding anywhere. And there are some that give you web access to see your dog in his kennel, and that can at least give some peace of mind.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Horrifying. 

But, why is this a doggy day care and not a kennel, if the dogs are left unattended for 12 hours? Isn't a doggy day care where the dogs play together under the supervision of qualified staff members? 

This is really gruesome.


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## Casto (Jun 18, 2016)

selzer said:


> Horrifying.
> 
> But, why is this a doggy day care and not a kennel, if the dogs are left unattended for 12 hours? Isn't a doggy day care where the dogs play together under the supervision of qualified staff members?
> 
> This is really gruesome.



Good point. Sounds like weekend neglect.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

voodoolamb said:


> Constant supervision in kennels is an absolute joke.
> 
> I was a manager at the big box petstore with the "hotel". Yeah they touted constant supervision and the paid for overnight staff to be there. Just one attendant.
> 
> ...


In both cases I would have lost my job because I would have waited for no one.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

JakodaCD OA said:


> I guess this is one of those "don't believe everything you read" in the papers type of thing..I know someone who works there..They cannot be supervised 24 hours because it's zoned industrial and town laws say you can't stay on the property 24 hours..They have been working with the town to have this changed.
> 
> TRAGIC obviously, but from what I know, they did NOT know something was wrong with the heating/ac , if they did this wouldn't have happened..
> 
> So a case of, don't believe everything you read, again tragic tragic,


That's fine if they can't stay there for a straight 24 hours but they should have someone check on the dogs at least every coupe hours. When we had dogs boarded at the vet I worked at, my last trip was like midnight to check on them.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I agree llombardo, but unfortunately it is what it is..I heard the AC went off and instead of ac working, heat was coming out..


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## voodoolamb (Jun 21, 2015)

llombardo said:


> In both cases I would have lost my job because I would have waited for no one.


Easier said then done I am afraid. With the case of bloat there's no way that the kennel attendant could have gotten to the vet. The kennel is in a retail store with a set alarm system that the overnight kennel employee doesn't have codes for. Leaving the kennel area will set off the alarm. Which means the company can hold the employee responsible for any fines issued for nuisance alarms. Depending on the local jurisdiction and if the store had an previous false alarms - could be more then the kennel assistant would make in 6 months 

I'd probably lose my job over the second one too though. 

Let's just say there is a reason I no longer work for that company anymore. Health and safety of pets in their care takes a backseat to profits throughout the stores. 

The sad thing is that this half billion a dollar a year company could easily remedy this simply by paying for an extra 60 man hours a week per location.

Moral of the story: grill potential kennel choices for information about their security procedures. Don't take 'constant supervision' at their word. Ask about numbers of employees on site.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I grill the vet to. If they want my dog to spend the night due to a procedure then someone should be there otherwise the dog is better off at home with me so I can stay up all night and take care of them.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I don't rely on AC at home. We have high temperatures here, but I don't think 97 degrees. Dogs are kenneled outside, but there is either trees covering a good portion of the kennels, they have large Caves that can hold two large dog houses and is covered around -- at least one dog house is usually removed in summer time, so they can lay in there without being enclosed like a house. Or I have sun screens on top of the kennels. 

I use horse water buckets and bucket holders in most kennels. So a good 5 gallons of water that they cannot spill. Other kennels will have more than one bucket clipped to the fencing. They will put their feet in the water if they are warm. The dogs can move around and find a comfortable spot. The ones that can go inside the house, do go through their doors and go inside. 

The dogs are acclimated to the temperature in the environment they are kept in. Their coats protect against sun and cold, and the water is essential.

But yeah, dogs who are accustomed to air conditioning, will suffer in that temperature. Dogs kept in crates, that cannot move freely, cannot find a cooler place to lie, cannot drink water, are side by side with other dogs in crates adding to the heat of the room -- dogs normal temperature is 102 degrees. 14 large dogs kept in a room with a malfunctioning AC system where hot air is blowing on them -- yes, I can see that killing them. 

If the dogs were running freely in a room like this, they could also overheat by playing together too hard. But no one would leave 14 dogs in a room, loose, and leave for 12 hours. Actually, leaving them in crates or small inside kennels that long would be bad.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

selzer said:


> I don't rely on AC at home. We have high temperatures here, but I don't think 97 degrees. Dogs are kenneled outside, but there is either trees covering a good portion of the kennels, they have large Caves that can hold two large dog houses and is covered around -- at least one dog house is usually removed in summer time, so they can lay in there without being enclosed like a house. Or I have sun screens on top of the kennels.
> 
> I use horse water buckets and bucket holders in most kennels. So a good 5 gallons of water that they cannot spill. Other kennels will have more than one bucket clipped to the fencing. They will put their feet in the water if they are warm. The dogs can move around and find a comfortable spot. The ones that can go inside the house, do go through their doors and go inside.
> 
> ...


I am on board with this. I think if the dogs had not been acclimated to cold AC at home, things would not have been so dire.

When I and some coworkers used to work in cold AC and then come home to normal temperatures, we used to have a host of various health issues. Now that I work from home without AC, I tolerated this summer quite nicely despite the record breaking temperatures as long as I kept activity to a minimum.


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## brookwoodgirl (May 5, 2016)

JakodaCD OA said:


> I agree llombardo, but unfortunately it is what it is..I heard the AC went off and instead of ac working, heat was coming out..


The same thing happened to me when I had my furnace's annual service. When the guy left, he had hooked up the wiring backwards, so that when the AC went on, the furnace came on. I had to get them back out and they (a national company whose name I won't mention) wanted to charge me for the "repair", which I refused to pay for, pointing out that they screwed it up.

But perhaps that is what happened at this pet boarding facility. Regardless, it seems irresponsible to have such a large facility, so many dogs boarded, and no one single employee there in the evening. And their brochure (as reproduced in a prior post) certainly is misleading as to the level of supervision. I feel so bad for the owners. I lost my dog recently to cancer, and my grief was unbearable. To lose a cherished dog for neglect and incompetence, would I think drive me over the edge.


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## brookwoodgirl (May 5, 2016)

selzer said:


> But yeah, dogs who are accustomed to air conditioning, will suffer in that temperature. Dogs kept in crates, that cannot move freely, cannot find a cooler place to lie, cannot drink water



This is the reason why I am not a big fan of crates. I crate, for an hour or so, at most when I run to the store or an appt. But when I raised puppies when I had to work, I gave them the run of the tiled puppy proofed kitchen, with newspaper, toys, water, a bed, etc. They all housetrained just fine with me coming home at lunchitme to give them a half hours walk, and accidents were few. Meantime, they could move around, find comfortable places to lie, could romp and play a bit with toys and develop their muscles. When my 14 week pup is lying on his back, his feet in the air, stretched out, he's taking up twice as much space as a crate of his size necessary for housebreaking would allow. I know dogs adapt, and for some it is necessary, but it just isn't for me.


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## brookwoodgirl (May 5, 2016)

llombardo said:


> I grill the vet to. If they want my dog to spend the night due to a procedure then someone should be there otherwise the dog is better off at home with me so I can stay up all night and take care of them.


I had a vet get very nasty with me when I asked to see his kennel area where my dog would recuperate after surgery. (This vet was recommended to me by a friend with a toy dog, but he clearly wasn't comfortable with my GSD). Turns out, the second vet I saw, who treated the police GSDs, didn't recommend surgery, and nursing at home was all he required.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

brookwoodgirl said:


> This is the reason why I am not a big fan of crates. I crate, for an hour or so, at most when I run to the store or an appt. But when I raised puppies when I had to work, I gave them the run of the tiled puppy proofed kitchen, with newspaper, toys, water, a bed, etc. They all housetrained just fine with me coming home at lunchitme to give them a half hours walk, and accidents were few. Meantime, they could move around, find comfortable places to lie, could romp and play a bit with toys and develop their muscles. When my 14 week pup is lying on his back, his feet in the air, stretched out, he's taking up twice as much space as a crate of his size necessary for housebreaking would allow. I know dogs adapt, and for some it is necessary, but it just isn't for me.


Not everyone can potty train the way I do. I have doggy doors with kennels on the outside and an inside area, that, when I have potty training puppies, I use and x-pen, with or without the lid to keep the inside area small. Usually, I will put the litter outside on cedar chips at about 5-6 weeks old (weather permitting) and at 8 weeks old, I will bring them back in, but remove all the cedar chips inside, and have them outside in the kennel, through the doggy door. It's like a light bulb goes off, and they carry themselves outside to potty. I can make the area very small with the x-pen if necessary. And that makes them want to go outside, and keep the inside clean.

GSDs are generally clean dogs. They want to be clean. The crate is something that can be used because of this. Unfortunately, people tend to fill the dogs up and leave them too long -- yes they do often hold it. But if they were not cooped up, they would not stay clean for 4-5 hours or more. Crating can help enormously with pottying in the right place, but does nothing for the other aspects of house training: not chewing on inappropriate objects, not counter surface or garbage raiding, not forging through doorways or spilling people on stairways, and listening to the owner when there are visitors at the door. You still have to house train the dog. But the crates do have a place. They can keep bitches that want to kill each other from killing each other. They can provide a safe place for dogs when being loose in the house can be dangerous for them or others. They are great for traveling. And, when a dog is recovering from injury or illness the crate and being crate-trained can be instrumental.


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## brookwoodgirl (May 5, 2016)

selzer said:


> Not everyone can potty train the way I do. I have doggy doors with kennels on the outside and an inside area, that, when I have potty training puppies, I use and x-pen, with or without the lid to keep the inside area small. Usually, I will put the litter outside on cedar chips at about 5-6 weeks old (weather permitting) and at 8 weeks old, I will bring them back in, but remove all the cedar chips inside, and have them outside in the kennel, through the doggy door. It's like a light bulb goes off, and they carry themselves outside to potty. I can make the area very small with the x-pen if necessary. And that makes them want to go outside, and keep the inside clean.
> 
> GSDs are generally clean dogs. They want to be clean. The crate is something that can be used because of this. Unfortunately, people tend to fill the dogs up and leave them too long -- yes they do often hold it. But if they were not cooped up, they would not stay clean for 4-5 hours or more. Crating can help enormously with pottying in the right place, but does nothing for the other aspects of house training: not chewing on inappropriate objects, not counter surface or garbage raiding, not forging through doorways or spilling people on stairways, and listening to the owner when there are visitors at the door. You still have to house train the dog. But the crates do have a place. They can keep bitches that want to kill each other from killing each other. They can provide a safe place for dogs when being loose in the house can be dangerous for them or others. They are great for traveling. And, when a dog is recovering from injury or illness the crate and being crate-trained can be instrumental.


That's an ideal way for a breeder - or owner- to potty train. If using a kennel with a door to the outside, it's true, the pups will practically potty train themselves. 

I do use a crate. I have one in my car, and all my dogs travel inside a tied down crate for safety. I keep another in the house. And I have light fabric crates that I use for dog to rest or be stashed in at shows. But I don't use really use the crate for potty training, mostly for stashing a puppy for fifteen minutes or an hour or so, when I'm not comfortable leaving a pup loose. I potty train just by taking the pup out obsessively until he gets the idea. Never really had a destructive dog, but I exercise a lot, and have plenty of dog toys in the house. Somehow it mostly works. Once the teething stage is over, I usually put away the house crate, don't need it for those brief periods I might be away, and just have the car crate, and the fabric ones for shows or if I travel somewhere that I might need a crate - maybe at a friends' house or a hotel or vacation rental.


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## Femfa (May 29, 2016)

llombardo said:


> That's fine if they can't stay there for a straight 24 hours but they should have someone check on the dogs at least every coupe hours. When we had dogs boarded at the vet I worked at, my last trip was like midnight to check on them.




This is what I don't understand. They knew the room got hot - or, at the very least as claimed, that the room was hot prior to leaving for nearly 12 hours. I knew someone who worked there a few years ago and she quit within three months because she detested the environment and conditions. 

If employees knew the room was very warm before leaving, management should have been informed and checked on the dogs periodically through the night to ensure all dogs were comfortable and that the A/C eventually turned on. I don't think anyone in their right mind pays people to leave dogs over night somewhere just to have them be uncomfortable or possibly suffering. I can't imagine any of the staff would feel comfortable leaving their own dog in those conditions, I know I certainly wouldn't.


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