ComplaintsforRuffger's Dog University

• Initial Complaint

  08/06/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We boarded our two 14-year old dogs, Ginger and Homer, at this facility. They walked in by leash and Ginger had to be carried out. She had an obvious eye infection and loss of weight. They both looked sickly and dehydrated. We were not told of their declining condition by this company. No alarms were raised to us about either one of them when we called. We had left the name of a friend to be called for emergencies per Ruffger's application. Had we known how much they were declining, we could have had them picked up. They should have been seen by a vet or at the very least consulted about their loss of weight and Ginger's eye infection. After picking them up, we took Ginger immediately to our vet to be checked. Her bloodwork showed extremely high kidney enzymes, indicating kidney failure. The vet explained that Ginger was probably suffering and would most likely suffer more due to the high test levels. The doctor suggested euthanization as most humane so we reluctantly & sadly did it.

  Business response

  09/28/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/08/17) */ Mrs. *******, we have been in contact with you since you reached out to us after your stay. Our last email to you was on August 3rd, 2021, which we have not received a response to. We understand the loss of a dog can be difficult, and certainly don't want to make it anymore difficult for you, but your complaint bears some inconsistencies with our records (phone logs, internal notes and camera footage), as we've indicated in emails to you. We have consulted with our medical experts and provided the test results to 2 different contacts to review. Both have indicated there is a high likelihood this was a pre-existing or ongoing issue, which began long before the stay at Ruffgers. As we expressed in our last email to you, it is best that we sit down, ensure we all have the same facts in front of us, and bring your veterinarian in on the conversation to garner their insight, as they were the attending vet. Our offer still stands, and we look forward to the opportunity to review the complaint in its entirety. -Ron XXX-XXX-XXXX Consumer Response /* (3000, 8, 2021/08/18) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I do not accept this response. I sent Ron K. at Ruffger's Dog University the reports from our vet and our vet's contact information ******* **** in ******** Ruffger's has not provided any records or photos to us. There are no inconsistencies with my complaint. I do not know who their "medical experts'' are but they should have been consulted when my dogs were in the care of Ruffger's, since their decline was so obvious. We were told they were "doing good" when we called for the status of our dogs during their stay. We provided Ruffger's with all our vet records and before and after photos of Ginger. As I have already told Ron at Ruffger's, we do not think that they "caused" Ginger's illness. Our complaint is that we paid them $1200 to care for our two dogs but both dogs were returned to us in poor condition without prior notification of how ill they were. The staff at Ruffger's failed to notify us that Ginger and Homer were losing weight and that they were not eating and drinking and were also dehydrated. If someone had notified us or the emergency contact person we provided then we could have had that person pick up both dogs. What they really should have done was consult with their own vet when Ginger and Homer were not eating and to examine Ginger's eye. At the pickup time, it was obvious that the dogs were sick, especially Ginger. She only weighed 12 pounds prior to her stay and lost almost 3 pounds while there. She had an obvious infection in her eye and had to be CARRIED out of the facility. If we (or Ruffger's vet) had been told of her poor condition then she might have been saved from euthanization. Since the loss of Ginger, I have talked with another Ruffger's customer ***** ************** who had a very similar experience at Ruffger's with his dog. **** showed me before and after pictures of his dog, in which you could see substantial loss of weight. **** posted his story on his Facebook page and had numerous comments. Some of those comments were from former Ruffger's employees. These former employees expressed poor performance and treatment for boarded animals, which included neglect, while they had worked there. I can probably find the names of these people if needed. **** had to take his dog to a vet, as well. He may be filing a complaint with the BBB, too, as he asked me for the information. I do not want more owners and their pets to go through the pain that people like us have had to go through after boarding at Ruffger's. We spent a lot of money boarding our dogs with the expectation that they would be well cared for. More money was spent on getting vet care for both dogs. My other dog, Homer is still not back to his normal self or his normal weight. We would like to have a refund of at least half of the money ($600) it cost to board Ginger and Homer. Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2021/08/23) */ Mrs. *******, The last email we received from you was on August 2nd, in which none of the information we requested to review was attached. We responded on August 3rd and reiterated our requests, as well as the invitation to sit down and go through all the facts together. We have not received a response to that email. Instead, you have chosen to slander our good name on various social media and online sources. Despite this, our offer to review the entirety of the situation with you and your veterinarian stands. However, we will no longer subject ourselves to your online bullying tactics. Consumer Response /* (4200, 12, 2021/08/23) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) A reply email was sent to Ron at Ruffger's on 8/3/21 from *************@yahoo.com to ***@ruffgers.com The Vet report was attached to that email with our vet's contact info. Ron can set up the meeting with the vets, so there is no middleman. There is no libel or bullying because everything is true.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩