The RSPCA has confirmed it’s investigating the death of a second dog at a Port Stephens boarding kennel.
It’s the same facility where a three-year-old greyhound died last week, believed to be from heatstroke.
text will be replaced
The RSPCA has confirmed it’s investigating the death of a second dog at a Port Stephens boarding kennel.
It’s the same facility where a three-year-old greyhound died last week, believed to be from heatstroke.
The legislation to protect cats and dogs in boarding facilities, pounds and shelters (both private and council owned) is virtually non-existent. Anima over, animal activists and animal advocates Australia wide have been trying to get local governments (councils), state governments and federal government to enact some decent legislation so that cats and dogs are not treated cruelly behind closed doors. Weter poor Bear te Chow Chow who died of heat stroke as a result of negligence at Hawkesbury Council Pound, or poor Baron at Jane’s Pet Resort in Fern Bay or poor Annie who had her throat ripped out by another dog at Pelgate kennels in Cooranbong…ALL dogs and cats deserve to be treated with care, kindness, decency and humanity. As long as there is no decent legislation to protect these innocent, voiceless dogs and cats then councils and people running private pounds and boarding facilities will exploit the animals, take money and provide little or no care, cover up deaths (and these are certainly not the only dog or cat deaths in custody) and run them as a money making enterprise whereby the care of the animals is secondary to their desire to make money. There should be no differentiation..ANYONE OR ANY BUSINESS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH OF AN ANIMAL IT IS SUPPOSED TO CARE FOR SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE AND THIS SHOULD CARRY A MANDATORY GAOL SENTENCE- AS OPPOSED TO THE USUAL SLAP ON THE WRIST GIVEN TO THOSE FOUND GUILTY OF ANIMAL CRUELTY.
Judith, you are so right.
There needs to be an enquiry as there are too many unexplained deaths. Take the Tea tree Gully fire where a hundred or so pets died. The owners of the Facility refused help in evacuating even when offered by the Pet Industry Association and by other neighbouring kennels.They got away with that scot free and they should have been charged. In my opinion. Can you take note, that in no instance was any of these kennels in question a member of the PIAA. To be a member of the PIAA we have to follow a National Code of Conduct which is an extension and in addition to the Animal Welfare Code no 5.
A lot of these unexplained deaths seem to involve kennels run by a ‘registered breeder’ and don’t seem to have had a suitable level of Staff onsite. In a lot of cases they are not even Development Approved by Council and as such they have no Instrument of Operation to adhere to. This includes ‘Uber’ type boarding or Backyard Boarders ( Yes- 10 or 20 dogs in the comfort of the minders own home)
Remembering also that Biology is unpredictable and there is always an element of risk, even in your own home with family, friends or pet sitters minding them.
We had a backyard boarder close to us- no licence (well, that saved them $400,000 in Council conditions) all cash and no responsibility. Council wouldn’t close them down until 2 dogs were bitten by snakes because he had them in his crawl space, but when the owners picked them up they were playing ‘happily’ on the front porch.
Our kennels won a NSW business award for sustainability mainly because of the insulating and thermal properties of the buildings they sleep in. Our buildings are better than any normal house for humans!
And just food for thought for you- a lot of kennels won’t take geriatric dogs and cats because they have a habit of popping off. If a cat is 16 yrs old, has a brain tumour and diabetes, it’s not unheard of that her kidneys might finally go whether in care or at home. But if it’s an unexplained death of a young or middleaged dog or cat, then the PIAA suggest to members it is more circumspect and sensible to have a necropsy performed by the local Vet to determine possible cause of death. Personally, IMO, I believe if the kennel doesn’t do a necropsy then I feel as tho they may be hiding something.
One other point- kennels do get blamed all the time for conditions that are biological and out of their control. If you have a British Bulldog or German Shepherd, guess what!!! your dog may get a hot spot! If it’s a windy day and you have a pekingese, your dog may get a yukky eye- would have happened in your backyard exactly the same as mine. Humans get colds and susceptible dogs can get a cold too, even after a vaccine. Remember when Granny got a cold after she had the Flu shot last year? Bloat is the 2nd major killer of dogs and that isn’t the kennels fault. it is negligence if they don’t get immediate Vet care but the survival rate is poor.
Facts you may be interested in, fake turf can get to 5 times hotter than grass. Good kennels have automatic water bowls. Good kennels have awnings, not just shade sails. Cattle troughs and plastic play pools filled with water are great for dogs as is frozen fish iceblocks. Extraction fans to take the heat out of the buildings and provide air movement and putting the dogs inside in the heat of the day.
What level of adequate supervision do we need remembering that employing people is very costly especially on weekends and public holidays? Maybe if it’s too cheap there may be reason why. 40% of our turnover goes to employing Staff so we have a suitable staff ratio to number of pets. At the end of the day, for a higher level of care you’re gonna be paying a lot more money. Bit of a catch22 situation. BTW, we don’t make a whole lot of money here, average benchmark for a kennel is only 14%
Having adequate water supply, shade and regular checks and keeping the temperature of building to the Pet Industry Association suggested temperature of between 15 and 30 degrees may have prevented this awful death of a young dog. Nobody knows if the dog had any medical conditions that exacerbated the problem but to have 2 deaths in a short space of time then something is endemically wrong with this Facility.
There are so many things you have to think about looking after pets and it’s very easy to make a mistake, even not listening to your intuition if you get an inkling somethings not quite right. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. It’s also hard to find trustworthy Staff. We try to employ more mature people even tho they cost more they are more sensible and the first time we see them disrespect an animal is the last time they’ll ever work here!
Hope this gives you an insight into a kennel/cattery
Please, everyone, make sure your kennel/dog minder is Council Approved and a member of the Pet Industry Association. Rant over….
These deaths are so sad for the owners of these dogs. We have used Jane’s Pet Resort many many times and have found them to be fantastic with our pets. Their knowledge about animal behaviour and training helped us on many occasions and we have referred many people to them. We have always found them to be professional, dog loving people and far from neglectful. My dog used to run up the path to get into the place – he loved it! I am sorry to hear this news and would hope that the incident is investigated properly and their business not be destroyed if they are not at fault.