ComplaintsforGreen Beagle Lodge, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  04/04/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My 1.5 yr old Bernadoodle has been going to daycare at Green Beagle in CH 3 days per week for the last year. I had some concerns during his time there as there seemed to be staff turnover, some lack of training and they often mischaracterized my dog as "large" when he weighs 29 pounds. I received a phone call on March 15th around 5:30 pm that he had been injured and couldnt walk on his back leg. I was told no one witnessed his injury and that it happened in an enclosure. I picked him up right away and took him to the vet the next day. He was in a lot of pain and unable to walk. Xrays showed that his hip had been dislocated. He required surgery to keep the hip in place and repair damage. The surgeon said that he had no signs of congenital issues and that it was a result of some sort of trauma that involved injury to the joint capsule and his round ligament. In speaking with the manager, he continue to say this severe injury occurred in an area that no one saw or heard his cries. They told me it is a stand alone "pavilion" building with enclosures and he was in an enclosure because they had people picking up their dogs and they were consolidating groups. In past communication with them, I was told that he was playing outside and only in an enclosure from **** for "rest" . His activity is severely restricted now and I have asked the facility to pay for his injuries in full. They are refusing and saying that they have pet insurance for his injury with a *** of $750. I paid almost $6000 in vet bills, for my pup, who was under their care, and they plead ignorance in how he was injured. They were being paid and trusted to care for him and they continue to say they have no idea how he was injured while in their care. People should be made aware of their practice of keeping their daycare dogs in unsafe enclosures and being unwilling to take responsibility for their safe care. He was injured as a result of their negligence.

  Business response

  04/06/2023

  The Green Beagle Lodge is an off leash play facility, focusing on active play and canine socialization in a supervised play group environment. This includes dogs running, jumping, chasing, fetching toys, and swimming in our outdoor play yards and often in an energetic and athletic manner. One of the core tenants of our business has always been safety for all our four-legged guests and this is the core of our staff training. This focus includes adherence to state mandates on staffing ratios and particular attention to symptoms our guests could exhibit detailing emergencies, illnesses, or injuries.
  
  On the day of this incident ***, the dog involved, was playing in a play yard and resting in our Daycare Pavilion; this rotation between play yards and rest area followed his usual schedule for daycare. Our yards and our resting enclosures have been utilized safely by hundreds of dogs this year alone. There was no indication that either of these were an unsafe space for playing or resting. On March 15th, 2023, our staff saw no indications that *** had been injured until after a rest period in our Daycare Pavilion. Often dogs will not show symptoms of an injury until after the occurrence, sometimes up to 30 minutes to an hour later. While staff were condensing rooms in the Pavilion to prepare to clean it, they took *** out of his resting enclosure and noticed right away he wasnt bearing weight on his right hind leg.  Staff alerted management immediately upon this discovery and took him to our triage area to evaluate.  While ********* his right leg from his toes to his hip, our one of our ******** Managers realized the issue was originating from his hip region. The Manager asked the yard staff if they had noted any problems while *** was in the yards and there was no indication that he had injured himself.
  
  Our on-duty *********** Manager called **** owner to alert her. When she arrived to pick him up, the ******** Manager who had palpitated the injured leg went out with *** to speak with the complainant and explain to her what occurred.  The Complainant was very thankful that we alerted her and noticed it. The Complainant stated she had called her vet and made an appt for *** to be seen the following day and we asked the Complainant to please keep us updated and recommended some ice and cage rest him for this evening. The Complainant now wants us to accept full responsibility for the veterinary costs under gross negligence. However, we believe this was purely an accident that led to an injury first unseen but appearing later in the evening. We accept that this accident happened while under our care, but it was still an accident and in no way was due to carelessness, willful misconduct, or gross negligence. The Complainant signed all contractual agreements including the Daycare Agreement acknowledging and agreeing to the Lodge's limited liability, which are available for review. Even though we have these contracts in place we also extend a limited ******** Warranty for odd incidents such as this for guests that do injure themselves. Under this ******** Warranty, Green Beagle Lodge offered the maximum amount of $750. This was turned down twice and then this complaint was posted hours after our last correspondence.

  Customer response

  04/07/2023

   
  Complaint: 19894502
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the waiver signed was for injury due to another animal.  I was repeatedly told webcam showed him running and no signs of injury prior to his containment in an enclosure that was not monitored nor had cameras.  The surgeon reported that he would have been unable to run on his leg once this injury occurred.  It was a traumatic injury that included tearing of his ligament and joint capsule.  The manager and pet coordinator repeatedly said he was fine before going in the enclosure and lame when they came to remove him. They were being paid to care for him and keep him safe. My bill was almost $6000 and they are offering me $750 for their negligence.  I trusted them and yes accidents happen but they have no idea how he was injured as they have said over and over and yet it occurred in their enclosure and under their care.  Severe trauma is what the surgeon said and they want me to accept that it was somehow my dogs fault? I was paying for daycare and the fact that this occurred while he was in an enclosure and unmonitored is negligent on their part. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  04/10/2023

  Unfortunately, we do not have cameras that monitor each pet while they are resting in an enclosure.  In the agreement, we do discuss possible incidents or occurrences, but the blanket liability disclosure states; You (the client) understand that the Green Beagle Lodge is a supervised off leash facility with fenced in outdoor areas for dogs to ************. During that time, your dog is within control and care of the Green Beagle Lodge and the staff will exercise their best efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of your dog. Notwithstanding our best efforts, it is always possible that your dog may be injured. Because we know that sometimes accidents can happen, we developed our ******** Warranty to try to assist in times of need. During our recent ********** of *********** inspection our facility passed its safety inspection, including our Daycare Pavilions enclosure system.  We would welcome a discussion with you and your veterinarian to explore all possible mechanisms of injury to resolve this issue.

  Customer response

  04/10/2023

   
  Complaint: 19894502
  
  I am rejecting this response because: The waiver paragraph is explicitly about altercations with other dogs which I was repeatedly told was not the case with *******  The next sentence in the waiver states " The Green Beagle Lodge staff is trained to intervene as quickly and as safely as possible".  The whole paragraph is about injury in altercation with other dogs or if you didnt disclose a health problem to them.  This situation occurred while my dog was there during daycare hours.  When I asked why no one had heard his cries that surely occurred when he was injured, I was told he was in a "stand alone building"  in an enclosure not monitored by webcam or by personnel.  The manager had told me people were picking up their dogs at the end of the day and he was put in that enclosure as they were moving dogs around and consolidating groups. He had to be referred to a specialist orthopedic surgery center for his surgery as my vet, Park Vet, didnt have someone to do the surgery asap.  His operative report did state " There were no avulsion fragments, visible nor changes consistent with a pre-existing hip joint issue. The joint capsule was completely avulsed from the caudodosal, dorsal and craniodorsal areas of the acetabular rim and the gluteal muscles were elevated from the ilium dorsal and craniodorsal to the acetabulum.  There was mild SALT elevation (r/o trauma).   I am unsure what else the surgeon can contribute and since he is not his regular vet, I can ask for further comments but am unsure of his availability.  He did tell me he wasnt sure what happened to the "little fella" and that he couldnt have walked on the leg once the trauma occurred.  I am asking for Green Beagle to take responsibility for this great expense and very detrimental accident that occurred during their care.  He is such a sweet boy and he really is at a loss as to what has happened to his world and mine.  He is anxious and barks all the time now.  I have had to take time away from the office to be with him.  I am requesting you to look at this from my standpoint and if this happened to your animal while in the care of another or your child even then I am hoping the establishment would offer you compensation for their error and the resulting fall out.  I believe this may have occurred as an accident but it was a preventable one.  You have too many dogs coming there now and too great of staff turnover. He came there for over a year and I saw many different faces that didnt even know his name when they came to the car to get him.  I dont know what happened to him but I brought you a whole and healthy young dog and he was severely injured and our world has turned upside down because of it. I am asking Green Beagle Lodge owners to take responsibility for more than the offered  $750 from an insurance policy,  for a surgery and care that cost me almost $6000.  This business is successful only as far as their common decency and commitment to the community and the people  they serve.  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

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