Please DO NOT send your dog here! We had a life altering experience with Canine Obedience College…read morethat nearly cost us our young puppy's life and severely damaged us both emotionally and financially. Our healthy 7 month old golden retriever puppy, Oliver, was dropped off on the night of Friday, August 13th for their 2 week "bootcamp" program to attempt to correct his typical puppy tendencies. By Monday August 16th, just 3 days later, Oliver was rushed to the dog 24/7 emergency veterinary by Canine Obedience College where Oliver was fighting for his life. Oliver ended up staying at the 24/7 emergency vet for 8 days and was treated for heat stroke which developed under the care of Canine Obedience College. Months later Canine Obedience College has taken no responsibility for the incident described below and has simply stopped communicating with us after attempts to come to an agreeable conclusion to the incident.We cannot express more emphatically how disappointed we are in Darryl, Lisa, and Canine Obedience College as a whole for what they have put us through and the financial damage they have caused us. Please do not put your dog at risk by entrusting their well being in the care of Canine Obedience College.
Upon being notified by Canine that Oliver was rushed to the emergency vet we scrambled to get there as soon as possible that night. We were absolutely devastated and shocked when they brought Oliver into the room to see us on a stretcher, unable to move or lift his head, and barely able to open his eyes. Oliver arrived at Premier soaking wet, latterly recumbent (unable to move), non responsive, with skin lesions, critical dehydration, and severe hyperthermia (dangerously overheated body).
During Oliver's roughly 72 hour stay at Canine boot camp the only communication we received prior to the night Oliver was hospitalized was "Did good." and "He is a cutie! Seems a little nervous right now. Drinking a lot of water." after asking twice how Olver was doing. What they neglected to tell us was that Oliver did not eat the entire time he was there (except a few treats) and that he had been vomiting since the second day in their care. Not only did they not disclose the events leading up to Oliver's near death to us, but they did not follow up on Oliver's status after the first couple of days or if Oliver ever made it home from the hospital.
Oliver was treated at Premier Veterinary Orland Park with every possible solution and treatment they could provide until Wednesday August 18th, when the medical team recommended Oliver be transferred to MedVet Chicago. MedVet is like the Northwestern of animal hospitals, at MedVet Oliver had the best possible treatments he could receive. He had been seen by every specialist in the building, tested for every possible underlying cause (all negative), and received around the clock care. Oliver had his ups and downs at MedVet, but he began to attempt to eat and drink a little bit by his 3rd or 4th day onsite. From there he slowly began to be able to sit up, stand, and even walk with all vitals improving. By Tuesday August 24th, 8 days after first arriving at Premier emergency vet, Oliver was discharged to home care on 8 different oral medications, 2 ointments, and a couple of IV bags if needed. Needless to say it was a long couple of weeks of at home recovery.
Oliver was diagnosed and treated for suspect heat stroke causing multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.
After all of these events unfolded and Oliver was home on a track to full recovery, we sent an email of the entire situation to Canine and asked for compensation for Oliver's medical care. They ignored emails until days or weeks later and multiple texts/emails were sent asking for a response. They finally responded asking for more info from the vets and we provided them with all of the reports, diagnostics, and invoices. They then referred us to their insurance company (tacit admission of guilt), who denied their claim as they did not have insurance coverage for this. They then immediately said it was not their fault and would not compensate us in any way.
To this day, Canine Obedience College has not responded to our multiple letters sent over a month ago, emails, phone calls, or texts. While legal action has been contemplated, we are a young couple trying to save up for our first home and cannot afford the risk of potentially losing even more money. We cannot express more emphatically how disappointed we are in Darryl, Lisa, and Canine Obedience College as a whole for what they put Oliver through and for the financial damage they have caused us. Please do not put your dog at risk by entrusting their well being in the care of Canine Obedience College and please feel free to share Oliver's story so we can help prevent this from happening to other dogs going forward