My dog has just died at a boarding kennel

[Orc]

Looking for advice. We are on holiday and my dog has just died at a boarding kennel.

We have been using this kennel for years. They phoned me at 9.45 to say he had shallow breathing. And that they would normally take him to the vet straight away but they were short staffed and could not.

So they phoned my emergency contact, my sister, who lives 40 minutes away. By the time she had got there he had died. They said “ideally we like emergency contacts to live closer”, whilst also admitting that they had failed him.

I am so shocked and angry. We trusted them. I also feel like I have let him down as I was not there when he needed me.

I’m not sure how to process this but I feel like they could have done more to help him. What should I do?

DSis is taking him to the vet so we can find out how he died.

edited to add: he died about an hour after they first called. My sister did tell them it would take her 40 to 45 mins to get to them. The kennels are a 15 min drive from the vet.

Not helpful. read the room

I agree with this, although being understaffed is a really shitty excuse. I'm so sorry OP

Oh how awful for you all. What a horrible shock.

Huge hugs.

That's terrible OP, I'm so sorry this has happened to you and your poor dog.

The kennels shouldn't be allowed to run with inadequate staff, that's a massive failure from them.

I'd wait to see what the vets says and whether the delay made any difference before doing anything else.

Either way you should leave reviews about what happened so that other owners can make a choice about whether to trust them with their pets.

How was this in any way helpful or sensitive?

Agree .What a shitty comment!!
OP am so sorry 😞

So sorry 😔

I am so very sorry .
A heartbreaking situation.
This happened to a friend , but her dog was with a relative that was too elderly to get him to a vet.
Waiting for the post mortem is obviously the first step.
I use a lovely kennel and have done for 20 years , I would expect them to have called a vet , any vet out to them if they were unable to take them.

Sending you love and strength at this sad time.

Our dog kennels are wonderful and my dogs love going as they are spoilt and are very well cared for .
I like the setting and how secure the dogs are , it is family run for over 50 years.
Regardless of this , your comment is inappropriate and you should apologise.
Anyone over the internet could literally be anyone , most dog sitters are absolutely fantastic and provide personalised care, some do it for easy money and there have been real horror stories in the press .

I think given the timings involved, unless it was something very acute like an allergic reaction, then your poor dog probably would have died anyway even if they had got him to the vets.

It's understandable to feel the way you feel right now, but don't make any rash decisions that ultimately achieve very little, liked paying for a post mortem, that could cost you a lot financially.

I’m so sorry for your loss but I think given the vets is 15 minutes away and would probably have caused him some distress to be moved plus a bit of a wait to see a vet once there then in all likelihood the outcome would have been the same whether or not he saw a vet or your sister lived closer.

How old was he?

I’m so sorry this has happened. I know how devastating it is as had similar.

My childhood cat meant the world to me. When I was 15 we had our first and only 2 week holiday to the West Country. Our cat was 11 years old at the time. Morning we set out I saw a horrible neighbour chase her over a a low front garden wall. She came in limping. My parents did nothing, they should have taken her to a vet.

The second week of the holiday my mum used the phone box to check in on her . Cattery said they had called the vet out but vet was unable to examine her as she had become vicious and she had died without treatment. I can only think she died from having a broken bone. I was heartbroken.

I’m so sorry OP. Sending all my sympathy.

Im the same as you, im a cat person. But so sorry to read this OP.

I think the kennels have behaved terribly and have not given you the duty of care that you should have had. How can they not have taken your dog to the vets due to short staffing!?! They should have called one in if they couldn't take him.

So sorry. It is really heartbreaking to lose a dog.

Surprising/frustrating the kennel does not have an emergency vet they can call out.

Can the kennel owner give you any more details? Was the dog fine yesterday/did it eat and drink normally? Is there anyone else there you can speak to if you don't trust the information you are getting.

Is there anymore info you want to share on the age, breed and health of your dog in case it helps anyone give more detailed advice?

We don’t know why the kennel were short staffed. More than one person could have called in sick on the day, a member of staff could have had to take another dog to the vet - how many staff do you employ to cover all eventualities?

OP so sorry for your loss - it is heartbreaking but I would wait until you have the vets report and the kennels report before you do anything or assume anything.

I’m so sorry, that’s awful. Designating someone as an emergency contact doesn’t negate the kennel’s responsibility to get veterinary attention for an unwell dog in their care, it just means there’s someone else who’s able to make a decision on your behalf if they can’t contact you. I hope the post mortem gives you some answers and peace of mind.

By the time they had got the dog into the car and settled, driven to the vets, parked, got inside and actually seen the vet would have been close to an hour anyway from the time they called you. Seems unlikely any different outcome would have occurred.

Sorry for your loss

Even if they did call an emergency vet - what if they were out on another emergency?

Oh no. So sorry for you xx❤️

Thanks for the kind replies. I didn’t see the one that got deleted, luckily.

He was a rescue so we don’t know how old he was, but not that old, probably around 7 or so. They said he was jumping around happily yesterday. Then this morning his breathing was shallow. They called a second time to say it was worse (my sister was already on her way). We are getting a post mortem. It is £400, which doesn’t seem that much in the scheme of vet bills and maybe insurance will cover it.

I am so sorry you dog passed away when you were on holiday, I get how upsetting that is.

As a kennel owner, one of us would take the dog to the dog's own vet whilst someone else would phone the owner to let them know what is going on. There are 3 of us who work here and I have another pet sitter who I could call on in an emergency to transport.
My home boarder friend would always ring the emergency contact, so we all do things differently.

We take an emergency contact number for them to pick up a dog in an emergency, ie. We have 5 day powercut, which has only happened once, not to take them to the vet.

What breed was he?
We have one who presented with shallow breathing the evening of the day of arrival. To cut a long story short, the owners were asking for us not to take him to the vet and to reassess in the morning. We reluctantly did that and I sat up all night with him. He was uncomfortable but didn't appear to be massively in pain. Their brother came the next day to take him to the vet. He had bloat and his stomach had twisted, he had to be put to sleep.
I was upset because I should have trusted my instinct and taken him to the out of hours vet, rather than respecting their wishes.
If I was to have the time again, I would do it differently.
Unless the kennel owners are hard hearted, they too will be upset by the loss of your dog ☹️

Personally I wouldn't give a shit about any of the reasons for them being short staffed. If I've left someone responsible for my pet and also I'm paying them, then I expect (reasonably so) that my pet would be taken care of.

I know OPs lovely dog may still have passed even if seeing a vet, but I would very damn well expect that a kennel would take my dog to the vet. It's a huge failure on their part and if they can't run a decent service, they should be closed down.

Thank you, it’s interesting to hear what maybe should have happened. They said someone had called in sick so they had 2 members of staff. My sister felt when she arrived they were quite defensive and tried to suggest she was not a suitable emergency contact.

He was a saluki lurcher, lovely boy 😥

Oh no, that's dreadful!

However, I would say that the kennel has neglected your dog. The least they could have done is phone a vet for advice. Plus I'm sure that hour or so round trip would have been within their reach, even if short staffed.