I read an article recently about a Dog Day Care Facility who had a dog escape during the middle of the day and no employee noticed. When the dog’s owners returned at the end of the day no dog. The article did not share if there was a happy ending to the story, but what the article did share was that, after the fact, the owners told the day care the dog was a fence climber.
I used to own a boarding kennel. Over the Christmas holiday one year, a new customer brought me two Cocker Spaniels for boarding. The wife dropped off the dogs and gave me instructions to clean their ears daily. Since I was not familiar with these dogs and knowing that not every dog enjoys getting their ears cleaned, I questioned the owner how easily the dogs would accept this. She assured me they would be fine. On the first attempt I received the worst bite of my professional career. I thought the dog crushed my finger. It was one of those moments where the dog had my hand firmed locked between his jaws and I had to use my other hand to pry open his mouth! The dog made a strong point he didn’t want his ears cleaned.
Forward two weeks, the husband came to pick up the dogs. As soon as he walked in the door I shared with him what happened. His reply”I’m sorry, they bite us too – we muzzle them to clean their ears.”
The point to sharing these stories is to encourage you share information about your pet’s behavior and personality with pet care providers. If the Day Care had known the dog was a escape artist, they could have taken precautions to make sure he did not escape. If I had known the cockers would bite with ear cleanings, I could have taken precautions and kept their ears in better health and my hand in better health. I could share a million more stories like these – my only guess as to why they happen so often is that sometimes pet owners might be a little ashamed of their pet’s behaviors. My advice to you is to forget about the embarrassment and share with your pet care professionals what they need to know to help keep your pet safe.
Sadly, there are some pet care providers that just don’t care enough. I cringe when I think about the outcome of reckless pet professional behavior. I cannot tell you exactly how to avoid reckless pet care businesses, but I can give you some suggestions.
1. The pet business should be clean. I firmly believe that if a pet business owner doesn’t care enough about the cleanliness of the facility, what else don’t they care about? The pet business does not have to be ‘state of the art’ in design – but it does need to be clean.
2. Meet the staff. Not just the person at the desk – try to meet, look in the eye, and talk with as many of the employees as you can. That’s a little difficult – especially from the business owners perspective – but those are the folks that will be caring for your baby, try your best.
3. Get references – and call those references. There is nothing better to calm the nerves of a nervous pet owner than to talk with other pet owners who have experienced the care provided by this pet business.
4. In most states pet care businesses are guided by local Animal Control licensing. Call the licensing agency and the Better Business Bureau and ask about any reports of abuse or misconduct with the pet business you are considering.
About the Author:
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