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Wag Hotels, a Popular Pet Boarding Chain, is Neglecting Dogs According to SFChronicle and Firsthand Account from SCIL Supporter!
We are beyond disappointed to hear that a popular pet boarding chain, Wag Hotels, is neglecting dogs. A SFChronicle article published last week detailed the horrors that some of the dogs in their care had to endure. One dog had to have its leg amputated due to a bacterial infection. Since the published article, we have heard from others that had negative experiences with Wag Hotels.
This story came from a supporter of ours, Cristina, in San Francisco:
"We sent our 2-year-old golden retriever to Wag Hotel in SF for the fourth of July (2022) weekend since our regular boarding place was already full. We had purchased a single room for him, where we had access to a 24/7 video camera set up in his room. We also paid extra for him to have evening walks before they sent him to bed. Since I had 24/7 access to his video camera, I was watching it and noticed that he was never taken out for his evening walk. Additionally, I saw they had never let him out for over 15 hours, where I could see him pacing by his door."
"I watched him for over 15 hours and he was never let out to go to the bathroom or play. I called them 3 times that night stating that I was really upset he had been neglected in his room for over 15 hours and that he needed to be taken out immediately to go to the bathroom since he would never go in his room. I spoke with the overnight employee three different times who proceeded to tell me that they would let him out soon, but they never did.
At one point the employee stated they did not know what room he was even in, which made me very nervous that he was never being let out. The employee also told me over the phone that they were very short staffed this weekend. I proceeded to call them again in the morning stating they never let him out and that they needed to let him out immediately, which again they never did. I got off my 24 hour shift and immediately went to pick him. When I got there and we went outside he immediately went to the bathroom. I explained to the manager how upset I was and that what had happened was unacceptable."
This is another sickening example of animals suffering due to neglect or abuse while at pet boarding, grooming, or training facilities. Ideally, these businesses would be regulated, but unfortunately there are major political and fiscal hurdles before the state will ever move towards needed regulation. In the meantime, we urge those that have their pet injured while under the care of one of these businesses to go to their local law enforcement and make a complaint. Additionally, urge local governments to consider strict permitting parameters for these businesses to operate in their respective jurisdictions and revoke permits when numerous complaints are filed.
If you do not have a SFChronicle account, you can click on the three links below to read the long, but well written article. We split it into three parts due to file size.
Part one
Part two
Part three
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