Molly's weekend experience at the jail

[Teresa]

or better yet.. Why they will NEVER return to that Pet Hotel again, and probably not to the same vet.
I'm just now to the point that I can write about this and I'm still not to the point of being able to write the letter to the vet's office (that will go along with everything that Randy has said to them so far and he isn't finished yet).
When I made the reservations for the dogs last week I told them we would be picking them up on Monday unless I called them and we had to get them on Tuesday morning. We told them the same thing on Friday morning and discussed this in depth. The girl checking them in, who has been there more than 6 years and who we have always loved, even told us she was making a note on their card so they would definitely be bathed on Monday. She said she would just put them down as being picked up on Monday so no one would be confused and if we called that would be fine. We have always been pleased with the care the dogs have gotten there. It isn't the most expensive place and not the most luxurious, but they care for them and we have always felt comfortable leaving them. I was really tempted this time, since it had been a couple of years since we have had to leave them anywhere, to leave them at one of the Pet Resorts here in town that has gotten some awesome reviews and that some people I know have really been pleased with. bit decided to go with what was familiar.
When we took Schatzi and Molly in, Schatzi had on a collar (since it was just a short time) and Molly had on her harness. Molly's harness is a typical nylon harness, but it is pretty wide since it is made for a bulldog and it's design is a little different so it will fit her short stocky body. She only has it on when we take her for a walk, never any other time since it just isn't soft enough for that and there is no reason to keep it on her.
Well, the first thing that happens is we break our necks to get home on MOnday in time to pick up the puppers and I call about 20 minutes before we are going to be there which is about 30 minutes before they are going to close to let them know we will be there to pick up the dogs so they can have them ready and the paperwork ready to make it faster for them. I'm informed that they aren't supposed to be gotten until Tuesday and haven't had baths and aren't ready. I explained the conversation from when we dropped them off and am told that the card said they were there until April 3 and they weren't ready. I am NOT happy. Randy is really not happy. We made one stop in 6 and a half hours so we would be on time to get them and we really wanted them home. I wasn't sure how Schatzi was doing since it had been so long since she had been away like that and didn't want her there any longer. Randy talked to the person we left them with who manages the hotel. She said she doesn't remember conversations well (even though we had it three different times) and was no help at all. Finally she said she would stay and bathe them but it would be 45 minutes. Randy decided if she was going to bathe both dogs, do nails, glands, ears, etc in 45 minutes, they wouldn't get too clean, so he told her to just wait until the next day. I was so frustrated I was in tears.
Part 2
Tuesday morning Randy gets a call from one of the vets (ours was on vacation) telling him she needed to shave some of the hair on Molly's neck.  She said she had an area that had been rubbed by her harness and it would heal better if the hair was away from it. Randy thought they must have put Molly's harness on when they took her out and just didn't have it on straight. That is easy to do, so though he was a little puzzled, wasn't too upset. He gets there to pick up the dog and Molly has an area of her neck shaved  or more like her chest shaved that is about 3 inches wide and 10 inches long. It is red and weeping. It seems that these IDIOTS left Molly's harness on her the whole weekend. They never took it off from Friday morning until Tuesday morning when they gave her a bath. Not only was the skin raw, it was infected. She ended up with a shot of antibiotic and 10 days of antibiotic to take at home, plus a cleanser to use on it twice a day. Randy said they told him that because we had it on her when we left her there, they thought we let her wear it all the time. I keep thinking back to other times we have left her. I think they may have had us take it off and they put on one of their leashes, but this time they didn't do that. They just attached their leash to her harness and took her.
I will get pictures of her soon, but right now she will not let me do that. If I try to take them, she puts her head down and covers up the area. I'll try tomorrow when Randy is home. I need to get them for documentation and to send to our vet with the letter I am going to write him. Since he owns the practice and the hospital he needs to know this. He is also a patient of mine, and I have often commented to him and his wife about how much I love the Pet Hotel. Not anymore. I can't even say I would give them one more chance to do it right. These are my babies and they can't do this type of thing to them. I did tell Randy I can just imagine the dressing down the people in the Pet Hotel got from the vet who DID see Molly on Tuesday. We are supposed to take her back next Tuesday for a recheck. Right now Randy says it would not be a good idea for him to do that, and that I probably need to be the one to do it. I hope he calms down enough and can do it since he was the one who picked her up.
Anyway, that was their experience, so they are now getting lots and lots of loving and treats and having a mamma that feels very very guilty tell them she is very sorry over and over. I've told both of them that next month when Meghan graduates they will go to a Palace. I'm going to go and check out a couple of places next week for them.

[TerriL]

Oh Theresa, that is just heartbreaking!  I simply do not know what to say.  Thank goodness that they are both home safe and sound with you and Randy.  You absolutely need to take this as far as you feel you necessary!  Not just for the sake of your sweet babies, but for anyone else who entrusts there furkids with these...people...and believe me, there are other words that fit them better! 
Please let us know how Molly is doing tomorrow.  Molly, sweet girl, let your mama take your picture! 
Hang in there and just keep cuddling them....after that horror show you ALL need each other!  Hugs to you!!!!!  Gentle belly rubs to both the furkids!

[Brekkesmom]

Oh, my!  Your poor, poor girls!  I can imagine how you feel!  It is a good thing Brenda and I petsit for each other, and it's been eons since we both were gone from town at the same time.  We know each other's routines, have had the same vet for over 20 years, and the vet's office always lets us leave a letter for one another, asking for needed treatments while the owner is away, and promising that the owner will settle expenses upon her return.  We feed the same dry & wet food and each knows where the other's treats are kept, along with leashes, carpet cleaners, and family phone numbers...  Do you have friends, family, dachsie acquaintances with whom you can do petsitting trade-offs?

[doxielady5569128]

That is just outrageous!!  There is no excuse for what happend to your babies!   You have every right to be outraged.    I'm just glad your babies are home safe and sound now.   Hope Molly's chest heals quickly.  How painful!   You would think it would be common sense to remove her harness.  Poor thing! 

[Kari]

OMG!! I am so sorry that this happened to the puppers! You have every right to be angry! I hope that you ream them up one side and down the other for letting that happen to Molly!

[papbouv]

Very sorry to hear about Molly's terrible ordeal I was wondering if the vet will even see the letter you are composing,some desk people open the mail and it never gets shown to the right person.Of course they may be screen the mail so the Boss will not have to see comments that do not reflect well upon them? Just a thought know some Doctors have no idea what goes on in their offices because some staff try to shield the Doctor???
I do hope that is not the case this time hope they are not expecting you to pay for Molly's treatment I also would be way upset can't believe some people now days have no common sense at all.
Try very hard to get pictures also enclose copies of the pictures in the letter hope you hear directly from the vet that owns the place he should be calling you and telling you how sorry that happened to Molly.
Hope Molly is doing better soon.
Papbouv

[Dee Dee and Hallie]

Oh my, I am so sorry Theresa! You left the kids with somone you trusted very much, no reason to think this would happen so don't kick yourself. I have to say, I do not trust Hallie with anyone, not vets or boarding kennels, groomers...anything can happen behind closed doors and unless they have something physical to show for it like Molly, they cant tell you what went on. I feel so bad for you it's no wonder you and Randy are fit to be tied!

Like Julia mentioned, is there ANYone you can trust to come take care of them in your home? At least they'd be in familiar surroundings. I have seen too many things in kennels to ever really trust them. You did the best you could, I'm really sorry it turned out like this. At this point the memory of it is probably much harder on you and Randy than Schatzie and Molly, that is some comfort! Let us know what comes of this I hope you at least get some satisfaction in the end. They are home and safe now that is the most important thing.

[Roberta]

Oh my goodness, and you poor souls to rock up and find her like that. I am afraid Nick and I would have been the same.
Give the two abig hug and loves
Roberta

[Barb]

OMG - I can't believe that - well, yes I can..... poor Molly and poor Schatzi - who knows what might have happened to her and there is no evidence.  Go at them with both barrels loaded - they deserve it.  In this particular instance, one strike is out - I wouldn't take them back to stay either.   I know you and Randy must both boil when you even think about it.  So sorry this had to happen - it makes it scary to go anywhere and leave your kids in someone else's care.  Please keep us posted on the next chapter - I want to see what they say when you take them next Tues !

[PattyInAK]

You got a sh*tty deal and I would complain loudly if I was you.  And who cares if your "former" vet is a patient of yours, business is business, and he needs to straighten his people out.  If he doesn't see what they did as wrong, then that says a lot about him.  Poor Molly!  How did Schatzi fare?  I think Randy should go in and talk to them while he is still fired up. 

[Brekkesmom]

Hmmmm - is there any way you can hand the letter to your vet in person?  I would think that would get his attention quickly!  I really never thought about the office staff "shielding the doctor, but it seems like a good idea to hand-deliver it!

[Valerie]

OMG!!!!!!  How terrible- I would be so upset too- that is terrible that your babies were treated so poorly.  I hope you can write a letter to that vet. 
Hope Molly feels better soon- poor baby.

[Jeri]

Or your poor babies!  I'll bet you just wanted to hold onto Molly for dear life until you both felt safe!  Please let us know when you hear from the vet. 

[Sandishooligans]

What a horrible experience.  I hope that by your actions (letter, etc...) that this negligent care will NOT happen to another dogger.  Grrrrrrrrrr.  I hope Miss Molly is getting better.  Poor baby.

[Teresa]

My plan is to either give the letter to the vet next week when one of us take Molly for a recheck or else give it to his wife when she comes into the office in a couple of weeks. Since I often speak so highly of the people that work for Dr. Creel to his wife, that may not be a bad way to do it if I have to. I am still wanting Randy to take Molly in for the recheck and see Dr. Creel since he is the one who owns the practice and the kennel and is our primary vet. That way he can tell him what happened. I do have a feeling that the vet that treated Molly most likely documented things pretty well. I did mean to post earlier that they didn't charge for any medication or the vet visit, or either girls bath or nail trim (since they didn't do them on Monday when they were supposed to) or the extra night they had to stay. They did charge for the three nights they were originally scheduled to stay there for.
Molly seems much happier today, but a little itchy. Randy and I need to clean her off pretty good and then I'll get some pics. She'll probably feel much better then, too. IT was impossible for me to do it by myself yesterday, since she wanted to either play with the cloth I was using or would refuse to let me get to the area I needed to.
I'm still trying to figure out what dog owner leaves a harness on their dog all the time since they somehow had the idea that we did this with Molly. The more I think about it, I just can't see anyone doing that since harnesses aren't made to be worn all the time. Collars are fine for that, but not a harness.
I am considering a Pet sitter that I've found out about to come and check on the girls and take them for walks or else a place that our good friends have used for years. They are as picky about their dogs as we are and have assured us that we wouldn't have a problem there-especially if we told them what our last experience was.

[cheryl186]

 :cussing:HOW HORRIBLE!!!  Give them "what for" and definitely try and hand deliver your letter to the Vet.  Hugs, kisses, prayers and belly rubs to Molly and Schatzie.  Go after them with "both barrels"!!!

[papbouv]

Have seen the reception keep thinngs from Human doctors figure it may happen at vets too???
Papbouv

[Doxherding Karen]

It's interesting what you said about harnesses.  When I adopted Merlin and Beau, they were wearing hug-a-dox harnesses and The Ingrams didn't say anything about taking them off, so I left them on for about six weeks.  Then I bought nylon harnesses for them and returned the cloth ones.  They were fine. 

Guinness is only 6 1/2 pounds, and he is constantly cold and shivering, so he wears a vest 24/7 for warmth.  In the winter he wore what I call his horse blanket - blue with a black collar that velcros under his belly - on top of his sweater and he's still cold.  He wore his polar fleece vest to death, and now has a grey and yellow argyle knit.  He looks like Joe College!  It's so ratty, I'm going to replace it also!

[Teresa]

I guess I'm thinking of the harness because of Molly being larger and the harnesses for her have to be thicker and heavier. They do not have a lot of give and it is almost impossible to find one that fits a bulldog correctly. I wish they could make a Hug-a-dox that was strong enough for a bulldog. You are right, though, about the smaller dogs wearing them often, especially the hug-a-dox and other ones. This one just wasn't made to be worn a lot and if they had looked closely they would have been able to see that. Also, if they weren't sure, they could have asked, especially since they are usually so paranoid about giving the owners the dogs leashes and collars back when they drop them off. I know that it will be a long while now before Molly will be wearing her harness again and in the meantime I'm going to try to find something else. This was the one recommended by the bulldog board I go on sometimes, but maybe they have other suggestions. She did let me get some pics last night, so I will try to post them later today.

[Doxherding Karen]

Just for a laff -

What do you get if you let Schatzi the dachshund in the trash compactor? :thinik: 


Molly the bulldog! 

Merlin the Magician