Dozer
Long story short, Karma K9 is a bad business.
Here are the details of our experience. We dropped our dog, Dozer, off on July 8th for a two week class. On one the of the report cards we noticed he was dirty, but otherwise ok. We texted the owner to ask if it was possible that Dozer could stay from the Wednesday we were to pick him up until the Monday after because we were having to go out of town unexpectedly. We didn't get a response.
My wife called and spoke with Patrick on Monday July 22nd to say that we weren't going out of town and that we would be able to pick Dozer up anytime he was finished with his training. Patrick told her that he was signed up for the three week course and he would be finished next week anyway. She explained that no he wasn't. We were only paying for the two week course and could come get him whenever was convenient. He said well, we've timed it out as if he were in the three week course and would be ready on Monday July 29th. We agreed that we would come pick him up Tuesday July 30th.
Admittedly, we were running a little late due to traffic from our side of town. Patrick called and tried to reschedule. We said no. We would be there within 10 minutes. Upon arrival Patrick quickly went through our debrief session, took our last payment for the class and brought us into the training bay.
When they brought Dozer in we noticed some scratches and bite marks. He was also filthy. Which typically we wouldn't mind, but we were paying $1600 for this training. We were expecting a clean, well mannered dog. As we learned how to "work" him, my wife and I commented to each other about the abrasions. Both Patrick and Valorie assured us that he was fine and sometimes dogs play too rough. Valorie even mentioned that she had given him several medicated baths and he hated the blow dryer.
Not wanting to ruin this experience for our 6year old or cause a scene, we left with our dog.
After having to stop at several pet stores to get a cot for him as this was part of the $1600 training that we weren't told about, we finally made it home. As my wife bathed him that night the water turned dark brown as the dirt fell off of him. It wasn't until then that we noticed just how bad the abrasions were. His wounds were matted and he had more cuts and abrasions than we could see when we first picked him up. She immediately emailed Karma K9 including pictures. Basically my dog has been in a dog fight or even worse looked as if he were used as a bait dog. Remembering that Patrick said some dogs just play really rough. And Valorie who said they always had supervised play, I became infuriated. Someone watched as my dog became a mangled mess. She even contacted the person who referred us to Karma K9 asking what stare her dog came home in. She said her dog didn't have any marks on him.
The next day Patrick called. My wife explained how upset we were with Dozer's condition. He offered to pay for his vet bill. My wife told him we checked with other people and this was not the way their dogs came home. He said no. It was unusual that the dogs go home with such injuries. He explained that It happened with a new trainer who let the play go too long and get too rough. She asked about the other dog. He said oh, they are fine. So it was just my dog that got mauled. He apologized...sort of. The kind of apology that you give when you are trying to placate someone. It wasn't at all sincere.
When I called and spoke with Jason, it was much the same. He blamed the injuries on Dozers sensitive skin, which our vet said he doesn't have.
My wife took Dozer to the vet on Thursday. They had to shave his fur around his injuries to really clean them. He had to be placed on antibiotics. The vet said he has several tooth marks that punctured the skin. She shared that her dog was also in a play group where the other dog was getting too rough. The person supervising them immediately separated them. My wife called me and said we needed to get our money back. It was ridiculous that we took our dog to someone who was supposed to care for and train him and then get a mangled mess of a dog back.
When I called Jason, the owner, it was a different story. We would not be getting our money back. Dozer had sensitive skin. To which my vet said, no. He is a white dog. Injuries show up more, but he doesn't have sensitive skin. Jason said our vet, a doctor of veterinary medicine, doesn't know what she is talking about. At the conclusion of that conversation, Jason suggested that we would get a full refund in exchange for signing a non-defamation contract.
When my wife emailed him back to say we would accept his offer and would sign the contract once we were issued the refund, he replied that his attorney was drawing up the paperwork but that he sent pictures of Dozer and the spots he had to two different vets that said he has sensitive skin. Whatever you do, do not take your dog to Karma K9. read more