I left my dog at doggy daycare in Preston and when I came back he was missing part of his ear
A heartbroken dog owner has spoken of their horror at dropping their beloved pooch off at a doggy daycare centre in Preston only to return to find part of his ear missing.
WARNING: Contains graphic images
The owner, who did not want to be named, said their German shorthaired pointer dog named Odin injured himself recently at Frankies Doggy Daycare at Redscar Business Park in Preston.
The owner said: “Odin injured his ear at Frankies Doggy Daycare, he ripped a chunk of his ear off (found on the floor), and daycare have no idea how it happened.
“There was no evidence of a dog bite, none of the staff witnessed it and CCTV 'wasn't working' at the time.”
The owner also claimed that no canine first aid kit was available at the time and a sanitary towel alongside a human triangle bandage was used in an attempt to give first aid and stem the blood.
They added: “Accidents do happen but it's the way they're dealt with that's important. The approach taken to dog safety has been reactive, not proactive.
“We were told by the owner that incidents have to happen first, before they know what provisions are needed to deal with it. this never should've happened, let alone HAD to happen to make them realise what first aid provisions were needed or what equipment was unsafe.
“The have quite rightly refunded outstanding credits and have paid for Odin's vet bills.
“I really hope there have been lessons learnt from this.
“The staff who helped Odin did the absolute best they could with the means they had available and in the situation they were put in. It was by no means their fault.”
Speaking to the Post, the owner added: “Odin’s okay but will always have a chunk of his ear missing, and it could’ve been so much worse if we hadn’t been able to get to him or it’d been an artery not just a vein.
“They (Frankies Doggy Darecare) apologised via text but I don’t feel it was sincere.”
Frankies Doggy Daycare response
The owner of Frankies Doggy Daycare said that the safety and welfare of every dog in their care is the absolute priority, and they are deeply upset that an incident of this nature has occurred.
He said: “The safety and welfare of every dog in our care is our absolute priority, and we are deeply upset that an incident of this nature has occurred which resulted in a dog that has been attending our daycare for two years tearing off a small (approx 2cm) piece of his ear.
“We recognise how distressing this has been for Odin and his family, and wish him a speedy recovery.
“Many members of staff bring their dogs with them to work which is testament to the faith they have in the safety and running of the daycare.”
He added: “We want to clarify some of the concerns raised as there is a lot of misinformation being spread socially.
“The interior of our premises is not constructed from old wooden pallets. While pallets are used as a secure base structure in certain areas, the interior itself is made safe and appropriate for dogs, and is regularly checked to ensure there are no hazards.
“Neither the manager nor staff had made any notes on the daycares Opening/Close Sheet regarding maintenance so can only assume the damage causing the injury happened during the morning session.
“During our last Council inspection in March we were again awarded a higher standard 5-star rating with the only recommendations being that two panels of wood were painted and the location of an extension socket raised. No issues regarding the safety of the premises nor the welfare of dogs in our care.
“The staff on shift are Ofqual qualified with two members of staff holding a Level 3 qualification in Animal Care & Welfare and the third a Level 2. All staff on shift were also Animal First Aid Trained with the manager holding a Level 3 Canine First Aid qualification.
“With regards to CCTV, 5 cameras were and are in full working order however 1 further camera was installed incorrectly.
“We have already shown the available footage to Odin’s owners when we invited them to the daycare to look around following the incident.
“Sadly, the incident itself happened in a blind spot not covered by the cameras, which has made it harder to fully determine exactly what occurred.
“We also acknowledge that, in the immediate aftermath, our daycare manager did not follow protocol as per our Policies and Procedures. This was potentially part due to her newness in the role and the understandable panic of the situation.
“Canine first aid kit was available but unfortunately did not contain adequate supplies for this injury. Nevertheless, we take full responsibility as owners of the business, and have already requested that the council conduct a full inspection of our premises.
“We are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness. We immediately removed any items we felt may have caused the accident and carried out a full inspection the same evening prior to opening the following day to ensure the safest environment for the dogs.
“We are reviewing all of our procedures, including CCTV coverage and staff training, to ensure incidents like this do not happen again.
“We have proactively contacted all our customers regarding this and have made the incident report available to all attending members”