Dog Topia

Mr***'s complaint is without merit and does not represent the way we take care of dogs at Dog-Topia Mr [redacted] emailed to board his dog at the last minute We told him we require a trial day to make sure that dogs are happy and content here before they board We only offer the free trail day on Mondays but he wanted to board right away so we happily offered to give him a free day since he needed to board right away The day his dog came we did receive a visit from the fire station We are visited by the fire department, without warning, once a year to make sure all is well If we did receive notice they were coming we would obviously put all the dogs outside to avoid a commotion When the fire men walked in the dogs went crazy and Mr***'s dog received a small scratch As he stated, we called him immediately to let him know It was a very superficial cut and obviously wasn't something considered a problem by the owner b/c he brought him in to board the next day Mr***'s dog is one year old and hasn't been boarded before Our facility is 10,square feet and the dogs run around with other dogs, inside and out, at their leisure from 6:am to pmMr***'s dog was dropped off on the 7/ On 7/we emailed him to let him know his paws were getting irritated because he was playing so hard When a dog hasn't been engaged in so much activity or this type of environment their pads often will get a tad bit irritated due to callous development It is just like us developing blisters on our feet if we are more active and standing more Our actions were very responsible We noticed this was happening, let the owner know, separated his dog for the rest of the time he was here so he wasn't able to run around outside unless we took him out for potty breaks and put ointment on his paws each day to help moisturize them We took care of his dog in the most responsible, caring and attentive way we possibly could have When a person decides to bring their dog to dog daycare and boarding they play very hard with a lot of other dogs It is like children playing on a playground We take our responsibility to keep these dogs safe very seriously We wouldn't change anything we did We cared for this dog as if it were our own, noticed when there was an issue, contacted the owner to let him know we noticed an issue and made sure he was properly taken care of until the owner returned This dog was happy, safe, loved and well cared for the entire time it was here If an owner wants a dog to have no chance of incident it should be boarded in a facility where they are kept in crates for the entirety of their stay

The first time I dropped my year old Boston Terrier off at Dog-Topia for less than hours to test it out for himOn this day, 7/15, I received a phone call that my dog had been bitten in the face by another dog because of an unexpected fire marshal visitWhy the dogs were not kenneled during this time is beyond meI took it as a one time occurrenceI boarded my dog there from 7/to 7/When I picked him up at approximately 5:on 7/he was exceptionally hot, lethargic, had a scratch on his chest and two open, untreated blisters on his right pawI had received notification that he had "irritated" his paw but the nature of the injuries were not made clear to meThis is obviously from him being unsupervised on hot pavementThese are burn blistersHe is now walking with a limp

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: The injuries my pet received are not a result of playingThey were caused by gross negligence on the part of this establishmentThese blisters were caused by my pet being outside on hot pavement in 90+ degree temperatures.
Sincerely,
*** ***

We are sorry Mr. [redacted] doesn't accept our response.  There is no other response to give.  The accusation that we allow dogs to burn their paws on a hot surface is outrageous.  In 13 years we have never sent a dog home with their paws burned, it simply does not happen.  We have pools, the outdoor play area is covered in water and the dogs go in and out at their leisure.  If what he is insinuating were true, every dog here while his dog was here would have gone home with the same problem.  None did.  As we stated in our first response, this was his dog's first time ever boarding in a facility for several days.  Dogs paws are similar to our human skin.  When they play hard, their activity levels are increased and outside more than normal their paws can begin to irritate.  That irritation can turn into a blister.  It is the natural response so the skin develops callouses.  That is exactly what happened.We responded in a way directly opposite to negligent.  We identified his paws were irritated, emailed the owner to let him know, restricted  his activity, kept him inside except for potty breaks, applied cream to his paws to help moisturize and cradled him like a baby.We are not sure why Mr. [redacted] wants to characterize Dog-Topia as a place that would hurt animals.  Mr. [redacted]'s dog over exerted himself, as young pups can do.  We identified that and took the very responsible steps to make sure he could no longer participate in such rowdy play with the other dogs.  We will not be refunding the stay.  We did nothing wrong.  When anyone comes to a facility such as ours there is a release that is signed by the owner acknowledging inherent risks associated with the interaction of other dogs.  I've included that and the email we sent alerting the customer to the fact his paws were becoming irritated.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I did not sign any waiver indicating that I would not take legal action should there be physical harm done to my dog. Nor was I provided a copy of any such waiver. As I've stated repeatedly, and provided pictures, severe, broken, untreated blisters on a 1 year old dogs paws are not "normal." These had to have taken several hours to be as severe as they are. Your staff is obviously untrained and to continue to tell me this is normal is not going to solve the issue. Response rejected. Again. Take ownership of your negligence. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Mr. [redacted]'s complaint is without merit and does not represent the way we take care of dogs at Dog-Topia.  Mr. [redacted] emailed to board his dog at the last minute.  We told him we require a trial day to make sure that dogs are happy and content here before they board.  We only offer the...

free trail day on Mondays but he wanted to board right away so we happily offered to give him a free day since he needed to board right away.  The day his dog came we did receive a visit from the fire station.  We are visited by the fire department, without warning, once a year to make sure all is well.  If we did receive notice they were coming we would obviously put all the dogs outside to avoid a commotion.  When the fire men walked in the dogs went crazy and Mr. [redacted]'s dog received a small scratch.  As he stated, we called him immediately to let him know.  It was a very superficial cut and obviously wasn't something considered a problem by the owner b/c he brought him in to board the next day.  Mr. [redacted]'s dog is one year old and hasn't been boarded before.  Our facility is 10,000 square feet and the dogs run around with other dogs, inside and out, at their leisure from 6:15 am to 7 pm. Mr. [redacted]'s dog was dropped off on the 7/18.  On 7/20 we emailed him to let him know his paws were getting irritated because he was playing so hard.  When a dog hasn't been engaged in so much activity or this type of environment their pads often will get a tad bit irritated due to callous development.  It is just like us developing blisters on our feet if we are more active and standing more.  Our actions were very responsible.  We noticed this was happening, let the owner know, separated his dog for the rest of the time he was here so he wasn't able to run around outside unless we took him out for potty breaks and put ointment on his paws each day to help moisturize them.  We took care of his dog in the most responsible, caring and attentive way we possibly could have.  When a person decides to bring their dog to dog daycare and boarding they play very hard with a lot of other dogs.  It is like children playing on a playground.  We take our responsibility to keep these dogs safe very seriously.  We wouldn't change anything we did.  We cared for this dog as if it were our own, noticed when there was an issue, contacted the owner to let him know we noticed an issue and made sure he was properly taken care of until the owner returned.  This dog was happy, safe, loved and well cared for the entire time it was here.  If an owner wants a dog to have no chance of incident it should be boarded in a facility where they are kept in crates for the entirety of their stay.