I wonder if anyone has advice for a friends daughter. She left her 2 dogs at a boarding kennels for 2 weeks, in the last week the kennels rang her father to advise him that one of the dogs (a JRT) had escaped. He rang local dog warden etc and the kennel said they would look for the dog. Another call the next day revealed that the missing dog was in fact their SBT not the JRT and that it was found dead in the road :( They don't know what to do about it and the kennels aren't very forthcoming!..any advice???

Dreadful. 

Some years ago a friend in Berkshire put her 2 dogs in a kennel for a long weekend while she got married.  She heard nothing until her Mother went to collect them on Monday.  THEN she was given the older dog back and a 2" square of fur from the other dog.  Mother was told that the young bitch had died, they had buried it in their field and the fox had dug it up - all since Friday morning!
They could get no solicitor to take their case because the kennel had offered the money for a new dog - just like a new armchair!
I just hope that things have changed.... :(

Unfortantly when you leave a dog in someone elses care things can happen.  At least they have advised someone from the start but I guess it may be worth going to a solicitor for advise if one will take the case on.  I would hope no dog would escape from kennels because common sense says have two doors between the dog and outside world (ie in on the kennel and another on the block!)

Anyone know the name of the judge who is a solicitor???  He's acted for dog people before?

I think there's a solicitor called Trevor Cooper whose handled lots of dog cases but i'm not sure if thats the one you mean.

Are you thinking of Peter Rolph ??  web link here ::   http://www.steeleraymond.co.uk/legal_services/201_dog_law.php

karen

> and a 2" square of fur from the other dog.

What a terrible thing to do.What has happened to common decency?They should have kept the bitch until the family arrived back and then found out what they wanted to do about an autopsy and burial arrangements.If they were not at fault,the autopsy would prove it and they would incur no cost.What they did was not right.

I am assuming the kennels have insurance so a claim would be in order plus of course advising the local council of said escape and subsiquent death. The kennels will be investigated with a view to withholding their license until better facilities or procedures are in place to prevent such an incident occurring again.

The kennels will be investigated with a view to withholding their license until better facilities or procedures are in place to prevent such an incident occurring again.
Not my experience having worked in boarding.  As long as the most basic requirement is fulfilled, mainly covering food hygiene and disposal of waste, then a license is granted regardless.
Insurance covers replacement cost of the animal and as long as that is offered, that appears to be the end of it. :(
And I've knew one kennel that operated for years without a license at all when the local council said that the facilites weren't safe eg broken glass windows, broken concrete floor that couldn't be cleaned properly etc!  The owner was a good talker, a restauranteur actually, and the dog owners thought he was wonderful because he told them that their dog as so lovely that he kept it in the house with him!  He would tell all the owners the same so they wouldn't look in the kennels but if you saw his home full of antiques, then you knew that no dog had ever been in there! :(

Thankfully I have never had to leave my dogs in kennels, but I would have thought that if you leave your dog with someone and you are paying for that service there must be a duty of care and also of safety. I would have thought that there should be some redress.

if you leave your dog with someone and you are paying for that service there must be a duty of care and also of safety.
10 years ago that wasn't the case.  You signed as you left your dog in kennels that they accept no responsibilty.  Most people don't read what they're signing!  I hope that it may have changed now.

When I was grooming, my insurance covered Vets fees if I damaged a dog, which I didn't do in 20 years although some groomers on here have admitted to.  And it covered the cost of replacement as well as Vets' fees if I damaged it and it died.  That's it - lump of meat! :( :(

Blimey, you would certainly believe that you were leaving your dog in safe keeping though wouldn't you.  (sorry, meant that about the boarding kennels not your expertise as a groomer)

I agree with both.  I wouldn't expect either boarding kennel or groomer to harm a dog! :)

Did you also know that you need no training or experience for either job?  Anyone can put an advert in the paper and call themselves a groomer. :(

And in my early days grooming, I had a man try to bring me a matted Cocker every 6 months until I directed him to the local sheep shearer groomer who was happy to clip it off everytime.  He then turned up out of the blue with a fist full of leaflets - he was opening a boarding kennel in his garden - he was in the country with a bit of land.  When I asked how he would look after other peoples' dogs when he couldn't look after his own he said "I've been on a weekend course in Norfolk so I know what to do!  And I'll give you £10 commission for every person who books their dog in for a week!".  My reply was "I'd be delighted to be able to recommend a local kennel to my clients for no commission.  As it is, I send them all 40 miles away to the kennel that I use for my dogs so you can stick your leaflets where the sun don't shine!"

I have herd stories of boarding kennels selling dogs and then telling the owners the dog died or escaped :(