Dog dies while boarded at PetSmart Potomac Yard location

[Anonymous]

This is so sad. It makes me feel more anxious about leaving my dog anywhere.

https://tinyurl.com/3n6cnc37

[Anonymous]

OMG. This is a nightmare. I couldn't even finish reading the article.

I was so happy when an acquaintance I totally trust started doing pet sitting so that I don't have to worry. Used to board my dog at a place I trust far more than Petsmart, but I still worried.

This is heartbreaking.

[Anonymous]

so sad

[Anonymous]

Boarding your pet is asking for disaster. I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often TBH.

It’s so much safer and better for pets to just hire a house sitter. It costs the same or even less. Why would you even consider otherwise?

We hired the college-age daughter of a neighbor to house/pet sit for our two dogs and cat for 3 weeks. Gave her $1,000 just to live there and walk them and put them out a couple times a day for 3 weeks. She was thrilled.

Boarding them would’ve cost almost $4,000.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boarding your pet is asking for disaster. I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often TBH.

It’s so much safer and better for pets to just hire a house sitter. It costs the same or even less. Why would you even consider otherwise?

We hired the college-age daughter of a neighbor to house/pet sit for our two dogs and cat for 3 weeks. Gave her $1,000 just to live there and walk them and put them out a couple times a day for 3 weeks. She was thrilled.

Boarding them would’ve cost almost $4,000.

That depends on the pet sitter. I had one who just stopped showing up. If it weren't for the Ring camera I would never have known.

[Anonymous]

Yeah I actually feel safer about a corporate boarding situation because there are more people involved.

It's not like those situations don't go wrong. Rover etc are not properly vetting people and then things happen, like what if the sitter gets sick? Relapses? Is in a car accident?

https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/07/02/3-dogs-dead-4-others-hospitalized-while-under-pet-sitters-care-in-nw-houston/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boarding your pet is asking for disaster. I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often TBH.

It’s so much safer and better for pets to just hire a house sitter. It costs the same or even less. Why would you even consider otherwise?

We hired the college-age daughter of a neighbor to house/pet sit for our two dogs and cat for 3 weeks. Gave her $1,000 just to live there and walk them and put them out a couple times a day for 3 weeks. She was thrilled.

Boarding them would’ve cost almost $4,000.

Sometimes people either don't want anyone in their home while they're away. Plus, it's not always easy or convenient for them to find someone that they know and trust to house and pet sit.

[Anonymous]

We avoid those chain pet store right after first vet visit. We tried rover once but the sitting was cancelled by sitter for personal reasons. We only use vet office boarding service now, they would call us right away for medical issue or if our dog’s picky on eating again ( they would add chicken and/or broth ).

[Anonymous]

This is so tragic. We've had really good experience boarding in homes with Rover. Would never leave my dog in a house that the owner didn't allow me to tour, first, though, which sounds like it was the case in the link that was shared earlier. I think a dog dying while in care is pretty rare, regardless of what type of facility it is, but I'm more concerned about the type of experience my dog has while in the care, and keeping a dog kenneled most of the day sounds miserable. Sadly, these things can happen anywhere. When I was a child, our dog was boarded at a professional "farm" kennel and somehow escaped and was run over by a car on the highway. No choice is 100% safe.

[Anonymous]

This is so incredibly sad. That poor man, losing his dog that way. I hope that Petsmart is held accountable; at the very least, their poor communication is unacceptable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We avoid those chain pet store right after first vet visit. We tried rover once but the sitting was cancelled by sitter for personal reasons. We only use vet office boarding service now, they would call us right away for medical issue or if our dog’s picky on eating again ( they would add chicken and/or broth ).

You know most vets don’t have anyone there overnight? The dogs are left in kennels from 5pm if whenever they close until they open the next morning.
It’s traumatic.

[Anonymous]

Insanity. PetSmart doesn't have video stream of the dogs? They have better monitoring of the squeaky toys than the animals.

[Anonymous]

Best place to board your dog is at a vet clinic. They are more responsible and if there is a medical issue it will be taken care of quickly.

[Anonymous]

I have had excellent experiences for 5+ years at the PetsMart boarding in Tysons. That being said, earlier this year they stopped having overnight associates. I debated switching, but called around and there are very few daycares in this area that offer overnight, 24/7 care (even some of the $$$$ ones). So I am torn. Feel so bad for this man!

[Anonymous]

He should ask for camera footage. Surely they have cameras on the dogs.

Though , It is possible the dog did have an unknown health issue and just died unexpectedly. It happened to our dog. He was 9, but in otherwise very healthy condition and one day had a heart attack and died very unexpectedly. It happens.