Canine Boardwalk

We will never forgive Canine Boardwalk for the heartbreaking death of our beloved German Shepherd mix, ***We left [redacted] under [redacted] care on March 17, About hours later, she was missingAfter days of frantic searching, the mobilization of many friends and family, and multiple pleas for assistance from ***, our dear dog, ***, was found in the middle of I-by a stranger who thought her body might match the description on one of our fliersHer body was flattened and mutilated beyond recognition from being run over by so many carsCanine Boardwalk let her run collarless, without dog tags, and off-leash at PtIsabelUnder no circumstances would we have allowed [redacted] to be let off leash at the PtIsabel dog park, which is full of foxtails (grass seeds that can be lethal to dogs), unfenced, and located near two major freewaysOnly we could confirm ***’s identity, and the experience of viewing her body will haunt us for the rest of our livesWe were not able to give her a proper burial or even remove her body from the highway Now, I understand that people make mistakesDogs, even ones as docile and loving as [redacted] was, are still animals and can be unpredictable around strangersThis is especially true of special-needs dogs like ***, who suffered from occasional seizures***’s death, as gut-wrenching as it has been, could have been just a tragic experienceBut it was more than tragic; this entire experience has been deeply traumatic because [redacted] and the staff of Canine Boardwalk handled the situation in the most callous, uncaring ways imaginableFrom the moment they misrepresented themselves about who’d be walking [redacted] and where they’d take her to their reluctance in helping us search for [redacted] to the excruciatingly slow reimbursement process to get our money back for our missing dog expenses (we had to email them repeatedly for this), Canine Boardwalk made a tragic experience a deeply traumatic oneBecause Canine Boardwalk avoided taking responsibility for their actions our pain has been magnified to agonizing levels As you can see from the date of this post, ***’s death was just a few months ago, and the way we lost her has made the mourning process unspeakably difficultWithout Canine Boardwalk’s negligence and ***’s unprofessionalism, [redacted] would be alive todayTheir business practices are unsafe, and we believe the way they run their business endangers dogsIf Canine Boardwalk wants to stay in business, then they need to develop clear policies and procedures to ensure that tragedies like this do not happen againWe want to make sure that other dog owners do not experience the same kind of heartbreak and trauma that we didPlease think very, very carefully before you give them your businessThere are other dog walking businesses run by compassionate, responsible people who would probably appreciate your support just as much as Canine Boardwalk would, and these other businesses would probably provide care with better professionalism and more respectPlease consider supporting them instead ***, we love you so much and miss you every day, every hourMay you be romping happily with all the other dogs way out there over the rainbow bridgeRIP

We will never forgive Canine Boardwalk for the heartbreaking death of our beloved German Shepherd mix, [redacted]. We left [redacted] under [redacted] care on March 17, 2016. About 24 hours later, she was missing. After 4 days of frantic searching, the mobilization of many friends and family, and multiple pleas for assistance from [redacted], our dear dog, [redacted], was found in the middle of I-80 by a stranger who thought her body might match the description on one of our fliers. Her body was flattened and mutilated beyond recognition from being run over by so many cars. Canine Boardwalk let her run collarless, without dog tags, and off-leash at Pt. Isabel. Under no circumstances would we have allowed [redacted] to be let off leash at the Pt. Isabel dog park, which is full of foxtails (grass seeds that can be lethal to dogs), unfenced, and located near two major freeways. Only we could confirm [redacted]’s identity, and the experience of viewing her body will haunt us for the rest of our lives. We were not able to give her a proper burial or even remove her body from the highway.
Now, I understand that people make mistakes. Dogs, even ones as docile and loving as [redacted] was, are still animals and can be unpredictable around strangers. This is especially true of special-needs dogs like [redacted], who suffered from occasional seizures. [redacted]’s death, as gut-wrenching as it has been, could have been just a tragic experience. But it was more than tragic; this entire experience has been deeply traumatic because [redacted] and the staff of Canine Boardwalk handled the situation in the most callous, uncaring ways imaginable. From the moment they misrepresented themselves about who’d be walking [redacted] and where they’d take her to their reluctance in helping us search for [redacted] to the excruciatingly slow reimbursement process to get our money back for our missing dog expenses (we had to email them repeatedly for this), Canine Boardwalk made a tragic experience a deeply traumatic one. Because Canine Boardwalk avoided taking responsibility for their actions our pain has been magnified to agonizing levels.
As you can see from the date of this post, [redacted]’s death was just a few months ago, and the way we lost her has made the mourning process unspeakably difficult. Without Canine Boardwalk’s negligence and [redacted]’s unprofessionalism, [redacted] would be alive today. Their business practices are unsafe, and we believe the way they run their business endangers dogs. If Canine Boardwalk wants to stay in business, then they need to develop clear policies and procedures to ensure that tragedies like this do not happen again. We want to make sure that other dog owners do not experience the same kind of heartbreak and trauma that we did. Please think very, very carefully before you give them your business. There are other dog walking businesses run by compassionate, responsible people who would probably appreciate your support just as much as Canine Boardwalk would, and these other businesses would probably provide care with better professionalism and more respect. Please consider supporting them instead.
[redacted], we love you so much and miss you every day, every hour. May you be romping happily with all the other dogs way out there over the rainbow bridge. RIP.