Dangers at doggy daycare

[Stacy]

I don't think we have a very big Kansas City area group of people on here, but if you're here and you're not part of the Goldendoodles of Kansas City facebook group, I've been following this all day. It was posted this morning.

Our hearts are so very broken today. Yesterday I dropped Douglas off at doggy daycare on my way to work. When I went back to pick him up, they couldn’t find him at first, but then discovered him under an empty plastic pool that flipped over on top of him. He was dead. Looking back on the video, the owner said he was under there for over 4 hours in 100 degree heat! How do you loose track of a 70 lb. golden doodle for 4 hours?!?!?

And just like that, our world is shattered. He was just an incredible dog, and we will miss him every minute of everyday. We are just lost. RIP Douglas Aloicious von Crestone.

Douglas's mom has declined to give the name of the daycare at this point, but has disclosed that it is located in Olathe, KS and later goes on to say, when someone commented that they thought it was odd that the dog couldn't flip the pool back over:

That’s what we thought! But the pool was an extra large one, shaped like a dog bone in that area, and after it flipped, other big dogs jumped on top of it. And nobody took it upon themselves to flip it back over for over 4 hours when they realized my dog was missing.

I think I know the facility she is referring to, there aren't that many doggy daycares in Olathe that I can find and only one with pictures of bone shaped dog pools, but I don't want to speak out of turn. I just know that I would want to know if it was a place where I took my dogs. I know that not all accidents can be prevented, but the idea that there was a dog "missing" for 4 hours and no one noticed until the owner came for him disturbs me more than I can say. 

[DonMarie and Picco]

Terrible story!  I think some take on way too many dogs and obviously can't take care of them.  I don't know if there are regulations but maybe there should be, just like human daycare. (And I'm a person that doens't like lots of regulations)

I've only used daycare once for a couple hours and when I picked up Picco, he didn't look too happy.  I watched him for a couple minutes and I think he was overstimulated by too many dogs (about 10 all same size) and constant play.  He was happy to see me!  I never took him back.  It's not for all dogs!

[Stacy]

The dog's owner confirmed today that Douglas died at Fetchers Play, Stay, and Grooming in Olathe. 

http://www.fetchersplaystay.com/

It looks like a really nice place. A place I might have taken my dogs. There is supposed to be a news article on KCTV5 tonight at 10. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yeah, I already did a little sleuthing and saw the pictures of the bone shaped pools; there were actually two shown on the website.

[Stacy]

I found them too, I just didn't want to "out" them if they had a secret plan or something. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's usually financial. The victims need to keep things civil in the hopes of recovering damages.:)

[Amy and Annabelle]

So sad We get a lot of grief from family because we now bring Annabelle with us when we travel. Hotels and everything is planned around her. She was so stressed out when we boarded her a couple of years ago, we will never do it again. Then 3 months ago there was a kennel fire here in Michigan that killed at least 30 dogs. It was at full capacity because of spring break. So honestly, I just won't even think about doggy daycare or boarding her.

[DonMarie and Picco]

I agree! Depending on the fee at the hotel, it is usually cheaper than boarding fees. I can't board Picco because he won't eat without us around. I tried for a 5 day trip and came back to a rack of bones! They said he was gand fed the best they could and knowing my doodle, I belived them. We like taking him since he is an angel at other houses and hotels but I don't want to put him on a plane so we have to drive!

[Amy and Annabelle]

When we boarded Annabelle, she didn't eat or poop. She was a mess when we picked her up. We finally got her to eat and she pooped all the way home and all the next day. I took her to the vet to make sure she was ok from 5 days of not going. It took us less than a minute to decide we were never doing that to her again. I also agree about air travel. We are retired, so we have the time to drive.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Another option is to have someone you know and trust stay at your house with your dog. I rarely travel and I'm never away more than 3 or 4 days when I do, but I've always had relatives or close friends stay at my house with my dog when I'm away, and it works out well. 

I've also known a few people who do dog sitting in their homes. I would only consider that if I knew the person.

[DonMarie and Picco]

It's been really hard to find anyone to stay over. The one service that a friend uses and recommends is expensive and needs almost 1 yr advance notice.   We had a friend with a dog take him in for a couple days but now that their dog is really old they no longer want him more than 1 night. 

Do you have any dog sitting relatives in the southwest???  :-)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Sorry, no. :)

[ginny]

Have you heard of rover.com?  I've never used it but several people I know have good luck with it.  Their website lists pictures, rates, etc.