Author: Susan Thixton
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 and dog training facility. Over the
Christmas holiday one year, a new family brought me their two Cocker
Spaniels to board for two weeks. The wife dropped the dogs off and
instructed me to clean the dog's ears daily. Knowing that not all dogs
enjoy an ear cleaning and since I was not familiar with my new guests,
I questioned her how well the dogs would accept the cleaning. She
assured me they would be fine. On the first attempt to clean the ears I
received the worst bite of my professional career. I thought the dog
crushed my finger - had it not been so painful, it was almost comical.
One of those moments where the dog had my hand locked between his jaws
and I had to use the other hand to pry open his mouth! He made a very
strong point that he didn't want to have his ears cleaned.
Fast forward two weeks to when the owners were to pick up the dogs this
time it was the husband who picked them up (wife dropped them off). As
soon as he came in the door I informed him that the dogs never got
their ears cleaned and that the male bit me badly on my first attempt.
His reply "oh yeah, I'm sorry, they bite us all the time when we do that
too!"
The point to my sharing these stories is this - when you take your pet
to a Groomer or Vet or Kennel or where ever - PLEASE tell the pet care
provider things that you know about your pet's behavior and/or
personality. Had the dog Day Care known the Beagle was a fence climber
- they could have (should have) taken precautions to make sure the
little guy did not escape. Had the owners of the cockers shared with me
that they bite when their ears are cleaned - a quick little muzzle put
on them would have kept their ears in good health and my fingers in
better health! I've got a million more stories just like the two above
- and my only guess is that some pet owners are a little bit ashamed of
their pet's behavior sometimes - so they don't want to tell a pet
professional about it! My advice to you is to get over the
embarrassment and tell the pet professionals that work with you and
your pet anything and everything they might need to know. This
information will keep your pet safer and healthier - and allows the pet
professional the means to do their job to their best ability.
Unfortunately, there are pet care providers that just don't care
enough. I cringe when I think about the heartbreak reckless or careless
behavior could cause. I can't tell you exactly how to avoid these types
of pet professionals, but I can give you some suggestions from someone
who took care of pets for a living.
1. The pet business should be clean, clean, clean! To me, if a business
owner doesn't care enough about the cleanliness of the facility, what
else don't they care about? The kennel or grooming shop or daycare
doesn't have to be 'state of the art' - but it does need to be clean.
2. Meet the staff. Try to meet and talk with as many employees as
possible. That is difficult from the business owners perspective - they
have work to do. However these are the people that will be caring for
your baby - try to meet as many as you can.
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. Depending on your state - some pet care businesses are guided by
local Animal Control licensing. If that is the case in your state, call
the licensing agency and ask about any reports of abuse or misconduct
with this business. At the very least, check with the BBB.
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