Jemma McKenna alleges four-year-old Billy obtained a gruesome five inch gash when a metal clip at the front of his harness repeatedly rubbed his chest during his two week stay at Pets Animal Hotel in Lymm, Cheshire.
The 31-year-old, from Warrington, Cheshire, claims staff at the kennels should have noticed the pooch was seriously injured – but they allege Jemma told them to leave Billy’s coat on – and said he was “happy and in good spirits”.
“But the accident itself, while avoidable, isn’t the issue.
“It’s the fact the wound went unnoticed for so long. My dog was injured, suffering and smelled strongly of infection and they didn’t notice.
“Had staff taken the coat off at any point and found the injury I wouldn’t be as angry as I am.
“I don’t understand how you could not notice the smell and the fact he was bleeding from his chest.”
Jemma paid £270 for her Staffordshire pit bull terrier named Billy to stay in premier room at the Pets Animal Hotel, a luxury boarding kennels in Lymm, Warrington, for a fortnight in January while she went on a family trip to Tenerife.
He had previously been there for shorter stays but this was the rescue dog’s first prolonged period away from home since he was adopted from Cheshire Dogs Home in September 2014.
Billy usually wore the woven plastic harness – used to keep him from pulling on the lead – over a dog coat but on the day Jemma dropped him off she had accidentally put it on underneath.
Jemma picked Billy up from the kennels on February 7 after arriving back to the UK late the previous night and claims when she got home and took his coat off there was a huge gaping open wound on his chest.
Billy was rushed to the vets and needed two operations to cut away the dead and dying flesh as well as antibiotics and painkillers – with the treatment costing about £1,000 in total.
Jemma claims the vet told her his injuries had definitely been caused by the harness and were at least a week old and said if he had not been a pit bull with a muscular chest he would have died.
She said Neil was forced to take time off work to look after the pooch, who has been left permanently scarred and set back in his behavior training.
Jemma said: “When I went to get Billy I touched his chest and when I walked out noticed there was something all over my hand – it was only afterwards I realized this was blood and pus.
“In the car on the way home he was acting strangely, rolling around in the footwell to try and get the coat off.
“Then I noticed the stench – it knocked us both sick and as a nurse I knew it smelled like rotting flesh and infection. It took me three weeks to get the smell out of my car.
“When we got home we took his coat off in the garden and I just saw this five-inch open wound. The flesh had started dying and the vet had to cut away as much as they could then piece it back together to sew him up.
“Later he needed more surgery because the tissue around the wound was dying and had started to turn black.
“I am disappointed I trusted someone to care for my dog and they didn’t do that. Had he been in my care this wouldn’t have happened.”
Fran Jennings, owner of Pets Animal Hotel, said: “Billy came to stay with us in January this year during a spell of very cold weather. He has stayed with us several times in recent years.
“When he came he was wearing a warm fleecy coat. The specific instruction of Billy’s owner was that the coat must remain on Billy during his time with us.
“The dog coat completely covered the car harness hidden underneath. At no time did the owner ever mention that Billy was wearing the harness. Had the owner made us aware of the harness, this would have been removed.
“He was exercised each day using our own slip leads and left us seemingly happy and in good spirits.
“Following his stay, Billy required treatment as the harness had injured him. This was due to the owners failing to inform us that the harness was under his coat.
“We are absolutely devastated about what happened to Billy.
“This was an accident, not abuse, and valuable lessons have been learned. All our staff have been trained to remove coats regularly from dogs during their stay to ensure the pet is healthy and that cannot happen again.
“We are guilty of nothing more than complying with the owner’s specific instructions, and as a gesture of goodwill we paid for Billy’s veterinary fees.
“This case has been investigated by Warrington Borough Council who said no further action needed to be taken. It was reported to the RSPCA who took no action and until a few days ago we considered the matter to be resolved.
“Pets Animal Hotel is a fully licensed, reputable and long established kennels. For over 25 years our first priority has always been the health and welfare of animals in our care and we are devastated by the way we have been portrayed on social media and feel this is malicious and undeserved.”
A spokesman for Warrington Borough Council said: “Visits to the Pets Animal Hotel premises are made annually by both the Warrington Borough Council animal licensing officer and an independent veterinary surgeon.
“From 2009 to present there have been no other complaints in respect of animal welfare.
“We received this complaint back in February 2016 and it was investigated at that time. The outcome of the complaint was inconclusive, the owners of the business were given general advice. No further action was taken.”
A spokesman for the RSPCA said: “We are very sorry to hear about the injuries this dog has been reported to have sustained, which must have been extremely painful for the dog and upsetting for the owner.
“Anyone with any concerns about animal welfare should call us on 0300 1234 999 but please remember the RSPCA is a charity and can only act within animal welfare laws when there is proof an offence has been committed.”
(The Sun UK - July 27, 2016)
