I am posting for a friend as she does not have an account.
On the morning of Feb 17th, I left my small dog at River's Edge Pet Lodge for two days while I prepared to go and leave town to attend my brother's memorial. My previous experience at this facility had been very positive and I had checked with some people who had their pets there with the new owners and it still seemed safe. But it is not.
At 8:00 am on February 19th after I had paid and tipped staff for the stay, my little dog was brought out with a very injured hind leg. He was so hurt that he had his leg raised up as close to his body as he could get it. The attendant Trinity was very kind and explained that when she took him out of the kennel on the morning of the 18th, he was in his current state. So for that day she kept him in his kennel to rest, only taking him out three times for meals and to relieve himself. She also had explained how she had checked his hip to see if that was causing the problem. She also said he had not yet had breakfast and it was just past 8:00 am.
I asked if there were notes from the 17th to explain what had happened. There were no notes and I had not received a call at any time letting me know my dog was injured.
Since there were no notes, I asked to have Kelly call me as she was the young woman who had received Teca when I brought him in. She was the only person I recognized from the previous owners and she greeted my dog with a terse, "you haven't been here in a long time". (That was unusual because he was always warmly greeted on any precious visit. At that time I also told Kelly that besides his regular food I had separate packages of his treats labeled for each day.
Obviously that was never done as both packages were still with his things which I had brought for the two days.)
I called a friend who had vet tech experience and she came and looked at my dog without touching him. She could see where his leg was swollen at the joint which is his knee. She advised I keep him resting that Sunday. I did that and did not allow him to walk. Rather I carried him wherever he needed to go. I called my Vet's office early that next day and arranged for an emergency appointment. They did X-rays and ascertained no breaks or tumors, infections or other problems. Of course X-rays do not show ligaments but it seemed likely it was a CCL injury. A small tear could heal with rest but a bigger injury might require surgery.
When Kelly called me the first time she said that nothing had happened that there were no other small dogs so my dog spent the whole day outside in the small dog area by himself. He was fine when he went in for the night.
Kelly later called another day and said she had only been in until noon on Friday and someone else had been there in the afternoon. I heard no concern for my dog at any time. Kelly also called me Dearie which I found very patronizing and let her know what my name is.
After about a week I finally called the owner and explained the scenario that took place, She never expressed any concern for my dog and her whole response was that she would speak to the staff. It was obvious to me that the staff had no written directions place for any emergencies that should happen to any of the dogs who were supposed to be in their cared. Nothing was in place for documenting what happened, for calling the the pets's person or for any followup from the Owner either. It felt like if the owner acted like nothing much had happened, I would just go away and stop causing so much bother.
I called back a few days later and asked to see any video footage from cameras so I could tell the Vet what happened The first question is, of course, how did it happen. Michelle the owner said they only have cameras in the front office. They do not need them in the back because they are always out there, Well, clearly that makes no sense since no one could tell me what happened or even when. However, since she was as cold and rude as the time before I did not bother to point out her contradictory statements.
I purchased a crate for may dogs safety and I spent the next two weeks carrying my dog and making sure he completely rested that leg. He was on pain medicine the whole time. Yesterday at a re check the Vets said the next step to his recovery is to get a surgeon's consultation since he is still only using three legs to stand or walk. read more