The Saddest Outcome…

I have been doing this for a long time. By “this,” I mean I have done every aspect of this job. I have been a kennel tech at BHV, I have worked the front desk, I have been the manager, and now in my new role.. the owner.

Connection with clients is by far my favorite. Having them trust us with their companions is the best feeling in the world. What I hate is when I hear stories about other facilities that do not live up to the standards of BHV. Not just up to OUR standards, but also creating doubt about BHV and the other hard-working facilities that exist in Austin. I know there are facilities out there that work just as hard as we do, and we are by no means shading you. We know and you know who you are.

The story I am about to tell you, the owner has cleared me to speak about and wants to share her story regarding her recent experience at a very well-reviewed facility in Austin. Due to other factors, I am going to keep her name and the facility out of this blog post.

Our client began bringing her puppy to us last year. Her puppy has been well documented as a great player, a non-escape artist, who was just feeling herself as a puppy. Due to our spay and neuter policy, they had decided to wait to spay her at the direction of their vet. This is not an uncommon situation, as many vets advise their clients to wait on these surgeries for the proper development of the pup and to help eliminate common health issues. Unfortunately, due to our communal play, we have to require spay/neuter by 8 months for a variety of factors. No big deal.

The client and I chatted about it, and she was going to wait just a couple more months and bring her pup back in September. The client had tried other facilities in town, and due to past experiences, she took her to a fairly well-known boarding facility that also has a few other spots in town (all under different names). Well, she received a call while out of town that her pup escaped and unfortunately didn’t make it.

We spoke for 2 hours today. How could this happen? What was the setup? She blamed herself. I blamed myself. It was intense. Not only was this such a young life that had boarded and done daycare with us in the past with no issue, but the story the facility was asking her to believe was challenging to believe at best. Apparently, her dog escaped her closed kennel, turned a doorknob, unlocked a door, and escaped during the night. LIKE?? WTF?

What she did mention to me was she wished she knew what to look for when visiting different places. I know I did a small blog post below about this before. But for me, when I heard this story there were multiple red flags as we sat and dissected the information she had been given. First of all accountability. Like… a door was opened without setting off an alarm? Were there no interior or exterior cameras?

How are you to know what is good and not good if a place is highly reviewed? I had to think about this for a bit. Reviews are in their very essence the way we vet most businesses these days. I can look at reviews for boarding facilities and decipher what I am concerned about with a client complaint in a business, and what is just a customer not satisfied. You can also tell how an owner responds.. IF they respond. Is their tone..well..shitty? If you see a review that concerns you, ask them about it. If they don’t know the story, ask to speak to the owner and ask them. Some of you may know me, and I will tell you everything. Good and bad.

Accountability is a HUGE factor in gaining a client’s trust. BHV is not without fault. We are people and there are human errors that can occur with feeding occasionally, we contact you and let you know, and immediately fix the error. Scuffles can happen, dogs can get stressed etc.

When situations arise, we work hard to figure out the “why” and “how” and go through the steps to fix them. However, when you travel, at the very least you expect to come home to your healthy puppy still alive. I don’t have the answers really of what to look for in a good boarding or daycare facility. I know that “things” can happen. However, any good boarding facility spends the money to make sure their facility is safe. This should be the base requirement.

They need to make sure it has safety protocols in place to contain the animals they are being paid to take care of. They have, at the bare minimum, some sort of security. Burglar alarms, door sensors, fire systems, and cameras should just be the norm. You need to be able to approach them and ask them questions. They should be able to approach you to let you know how your dog is doing. Basic security and basic communication.

Unfortunately, none of this will bring this puppy back. Even with due diligence, negligence can happen. I just hope this family can find some closure and stop blaming themselves. I also hope, by writing this, we reach someone who remembers this story and asks a billion questions of a facility before leaving their family member in their care. I think too often we trust blindly, thinking that there is no way the worst can happen. Too often, a facility can continue to collect money without being honest with their clients about the lack of safety in their facility.

Finally, RIP sweet P. Your mom will make sure you are remembered… and so will we. 💔