Owners devastated over 'dog hotel' death

The death of a pug left in the care of a Muldersdrift kennel facility has highlighted the lack of regulation and oversight of pet care facilities.

Gucci, aged one year and 11 months, who was doted on by his family, died after being bitten by another dog on January 2. He was staying at the Hound Hotel, a family-run facility in Muldersdrift, while his owners were on holiday. 

News of his death on Facebook prompted hundreds of comments, including from several people who said they had a similar experience at the facility.

The SPCA said this week it was investigating but warned there is little recourse when things go wrong at kennels.

It's a huge, complicated issue in an industry that's unregulated

—  Jacques Peacock, NSPCA

“It's a huge, complicated issue in an industry that's unregulated,” said Jacques Peacock, legal liaison for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA).

“If your animal is harmed, who do you report it to? If you don't have photographic or video evidence, and you don't know what happened, what can you do about it?” said Peacock, adding that the NSPCA received several claims every week from people reporting animal injuries inflicted at pet groomers, transport services, doggy day care facilities and kennels. 

Wanita Ramsubak and her partner Steven Changfoot got Gucci when he was a puppy. He was deemed to be the first and only “grandchild” for both their families.

Hound Hotel is run by Claire MacIntosh and her father Ian MacIntosh. They live on the property and take dogs in as day visitors and for kennel stays. Gucci had been there several times, including regular Wednesday visits, so it was the natural option when the family decided to go on holiday last month.

Ramsubak was expecting him to be dropped back at home in the afternoon on January 2. But about 1pm she received a call from McIntosh who told her Gucci had been hurt and was at a vet. She told Ramsubak she would call back with an update. 

Frantic and unable to get through to McIntosh, Ramsubak and Changfoot headed to Muldersdrift to find their dog. Their first stop was Muldersdrift Animal Clinic where they were told the injured dog had been brought in a few hours earlier. 

Anxious to take Gucci to a 24-hour vet closer to home, the couple took the bandaged pup to Bryanston Vet.

The Muldersdrift report stated that Gucci had been brought in with dog bite wounds. He had a fever and was treated for shock. He had severe bruising and a drain was inserted. He was given antibiotics, shock rate fluids and anti-inflammatories before he was transferred. 

At the Bryanston vet his condition deteriorated and he died late that night.

A devastated Ramsubak tried to contact MacIntosh to find out what had happened but said she did not respond, prompting the family’s decision to post the story on social media.

“We were devastated when we got the final clinical report,” she told the Sunday Times. “It was confirmation of the nightmare our little one likely faced. But we will never know.”

The Sunday Times this week contacted McIntosh but she did not respond to messages. At the property, her father came out.

“I’ll tell you what happened to Gucci. That night there was a massive storm and the animals were going crazy. Some of the big dogs were frantic and managed to get out and went running. Gucci, who was in the house with us, ran out after them and nipped one of the bigger dogs that bit him back,” he said. 

“We got him inside and saw that he had a puncture wound on his side. But it was night time and the vet was closed, so Claire took him in the morning.” 

He felt their actions had been correct in the circumstances and denied Gucci had died of bite-related injuries, claiming the dog had been sick and possibly had a virus or some other illness. 

“It’s just very sad and now it has all blown up out of all proportion. There’ve been no complaints. We’ve been inspected by the SPCA and everything is fine here. Nobody has pulled their animals out.”

But several people who responded to Gucci’s story on Facebook had different versions, and Google reviews on Hound Hotel revealed a few horrifying posts intermingled with good ones. One woman, Kate Hofmeyr, detailed “one of the worst experiences of my life” when her dog died at Hound Hotel.

“I was only informed of his death via WhatsApp when I contacted them to arrange a time for drop-off. After this, they did not respond to any of my messages or emails asking for more information and their phones went unanswered for days,” she wrote. 

While she was told that her dog had died of natural causes, she was denied access to a vet diagnosis and claimed her dog was cremated without her consent. 

The SPCA's Peacock said inspectors had gone to the Hound Hotel and he was awaiting their final report. 

“At issue in this case is the Animal Protection Act which criminalises only human-to-animal cruelty,” he said, adding that in law animals were regarded as “property”. 

“This means that if you want to take action against someone for the loss of or harm to your pet, it becomes a civil thing, where you would sue for loss of property and go for civil remedies against the owner or person in charge of the dog who attacked your dog,” he said. 

Peacock said that people handing their pets into the care of others were literally handing their lives over, with very little recourse when things go wrong. 

“We regularly conduct inspections of facilities in terms of animal welfare. But if they comply with hygiene and health department requirements and the municipality, it becomes difficult if there's alleged wrongdoing in their handling of animals because that is something that needs to be reported to the police,” Peacock said. 

He said the NSPCA received regular complaints against grooming parlours by owners whose animals suffered injuries, nicks or allergic reactions.