ComplaintsforPlayful Pooch Doggie Daycare

• Initial Complaint

  05/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My 3 dogs contracted kennel cough & have been on antibiotics to treat. The 3rd dog saw a veterinarian who diagnosed my 1 yo puppy with pneumonia a week ago from this kennel who may not survive her bordatella based pneumonia from this kennel. I've acquired $11,000 in medical costs from my dog being @ ***** ***** in Pittsburgh pa for 6 days, nearly dying a few times. This company has no accountability for any of this and should be shut down. My veterinarian who saw all of my dogs & treated them for bordatella agrees. Dr ***** ********* @ mars animal depot in mars, pa is livid. If my dog survives, she may have long term consequences from being gravely ill for a week. They need to take financial accountability or I will hire a lawyer and have their license revoked. Regards, ******** ******

  Business response

  06/11/2023

  We never want to hear anything like this happening and take the health of our dogs very seriously. We sincerely hope that ***** is ok. When we heard *****’s sister, *****, cough during daycare, we immediately removed her and her sisters from playgroup and called you to explain why they were removed. We followed our protocols, as any dog coughing needs to be taken out of daycare. No other dogs in our facility were coughing to indicate anything was going around. We explained kennel cough to you and explained that a vet can prescribe antibiotics. When you picked them up you indicated that you would be bringing ***** to the vet, and they may put her on antibiotics. We suggested that you also ask the vet about ***** and ****** since they are around ***** all the time. We asked that you keep us updated on how ***** was doing, as it is important for us to know any health issues among our pooch community, and we tried calling you the next day.
  
  We take the sanitization of our facility very seriously and follow the procedures recommended by the Department of Agriculture. The day before *****, *****, and ******’s last visit with us, we had the Butler County Dog Warden at our facility for our routine biyearly surprise inspection and easily met all standards. The dog warden commented on our cleanliness and how orderly our paperwork is.
  
  Kennel cough (Bordetella) is a common airborne upper respiratory infection. We require all dogs entering our facility to provide proof of vaccination against kennel cough. Most facilities also require this, although it is not required by Pennsylvania state law. The Bordetella vaccination can reduce the severity of kennel cough, but it does not eliminate the possibility of transmission. There is no foolproof way to avoid the spread of kennel cough. Like a child daycare, we do have things go around from time to time. Most cases of kennel cough are mild, but symptoms may be more pronounced in puppies, older dogs, and immunocompromised dogs. Unfortunately, ***** is an extreme case where pneumonia resulted from kennel cough.
  
  We encourage you to talk to the other dog daycare you also utilized that same month. We feel confident they will say the same as us, and that their liability forms, protocols, and knowledge of kennel cough will match ours. Again, we are very upset to hear that ***** ended up with Bordetella based pneumonia and hope she is now at home, healthy, and happy. In addition to the release and waiver you signed, we take appropriate precautions seriously and did so here. Playful Pooch’s dedication to the health and safety of our dogs is very important to us. It is why we are so diligent on vaccinations and the cleanliness of our facility.

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