Puppy Killed By Choke Chain Under Supervision of Dog Day Care Business
Posted By Freelance Writers Date: 28/04 Posted Under: Animal Welfare, Dog NewsA family have hit out about the dangers of choke chains after receiving the heart breaking news that their beloved family pet had been hanged to death having been left in the care of a professional animal care service.
Sharon Maxwell left her Huski x Akita, Takara, with a service called Doggie Daycare, whilst she attended her day job.
But just a few weeks into the pet care arrangements she received the horrendous news that her dog had died.
The dog, which belonged to Sharon’s 13 year old son, had twisted and choked after being left alone in a back garden.
The owner of Doggie Daycare has paid Sharon close to one thousand pounds in compensation for the death but the Maxwell family are keen to alert other owners to the potential dangers of choke chain incidents.
She is quoted:
“The money is totally irrelevant to me. I only want to tell other dog owners about the dangers of using choke chains. If anybody, I would have thought a professional dog handler would have known that.
They can be lethal, and dog owners should really only use a harness to restrain their dogs. I only ever use a harness and I’ve never used a choke chain on a dog, never mind a puppy, because of the dangers.
The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do is tell my boy his puppy was dead. He was devastated and left in tears.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I was so shocked. When I turned up they explained what had happened to Takara. To say I was angry is an understatement.
The Maxwell family were informed that Takara was walked and then left unattended in the back garden of the dog care business, in East Lothian, Scotland.
The pup is then believed to have jumped up and gotten her choke chain entangled on a gate before twisting herself to a tragic death.
The death was looked at by a local council dog warden who cleared company of any wrong doing.
Since the incident, Doggie Daycare’s website has been updated to read:
“Doggie daycare will not accept responsibility for the death, injury or illness of your dog. You are strongly advised to insure your dog for all eventualities.”Please note that your dog may be unsupervised for periods during their stay.”
Doggie Daycare said they have now stopped using choke collars adding: “We care for hundreds of dogs every year and this was a freak accident.”
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Monday, April 28th, 2008 at 3:14 am and is filed under Animal Welfare, Dog News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
i think every dog should always be under suppevision at all times.
A truly shocking example of what happens when these sort of companies use people who possibly like dogs, but do not know how to handle them.
I like motorbikes and jet fighters but do not know how to handle either.
sad that ‘Doggy Day Care’ do not seem to apologise for the dogs death, but call it a freak accident?
If they care for hundreds of dogs, are all the employees trained?
No wonder lots of councils make these home carers get licenses.
home boarding can be dangerous for dogs and people if poorly trained or untrained associates are caring for the dogs.
depressing that they leave a dog unattended with a choke chain on.
Completely agree with the comments about people not knowing how to handle dogs. I run a dog walking business, previously worked in a daycare, but see so many companies run by people trying to make a quick buck, thinking its oh so easy to do the job!
Terrible! Why did they even accept a choke chain to walk the dog on?
The use of a choke chain at any time, except under direct supervision is not advisable. The use of a harness would be much safer. Pet owners must insist and have their pets in a harness before dropping their pets of at a doggie daycare.