Turns Out It’s Hard to Keep Your Dog Safe!

At Pet Camp we pride ourselves on keeping your dogs and cats safe when they are under our care.  We have elaborate cleaning protocols, use ultramodern cleaning technology (no dirty mops or pressure washers), multiple Quality Assurance/Quality Control reviews throughout the day, and of course vaccine requirements.   We do all this to keep your dog and cat safe – but it’s not fool proof AND it depends on you too!

The other day we had a first-time camper checking in at the Main Campground.  The dog was checking in a for a week while its pet parent was out of the country.  I’m keeping the facts of this vague on purpose to avoid calling out the pet parent (not that I expect them to read this blog post).  As with all first-time campers (well, with all campers) the counselors were excited and raring to get the dog into play group and to start having fun.

The fun came to a screeching halt when we heard the dog cough.  As you might imagine, we all stopped in our tracks and started asking the pet parent questions.  The pet parent assured us all was well, and they had not heard anything in the past.  The check in continued and we found some medicines in the bag with the belongings including some antibiotics.  This should have been our second – “now hang on a minute,” but the pet parent assured us that this was related to a pre-existing issue and not the cough he had just heard.  The pet parent then picked up the pace of the conversation because they were “late for their plane.”  We had the parent review some other basic information and they were on their way.

Of course, the very minute we started walking the dog back to the campsites and play areas the dog started to cough. The counselors implemented our protocol and took the dog to a private area of the building that has a separate ventilation system.  At the same time the front desk counselor who performed the check in was continuing to pull some items (toys and treats) out of a bag the pet parent had left so that we could inventory and label everything.  At the very bottom of the bag was a receipt from a veterinary hospital dated the very same day diagnosing the dog with CIRD (Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease) AND telling the pet parent IN PRINT that (1) the dog was contagious and (2) that the dog should be kept away from other dogs!

Yes, candidly, our check in process should have been better.  The counselor should not have felt rushed by these pet parents, should have asked more questions and, frankly, should have asked permission to call the veterinarian who prescribed the medications to find out why the dog was taking the medicine. All of this is true – we should have done a more thorough job vetting this pet parent’s story.  But why should we have to?  This pet parent KNEW their dog was contagious and apparently decided that their plans were more important than the health and safety of the hundred plus dogs they were willing to expose to their contagious dog!

We understand our burden to keep your dog happy and healthy while they are at Pet Camp.  But we need your help in keeping everyone happy and healthy.  We understand that there are times a dog can be contagious and asymptomatic and that there are times veterinary communication can be less than clear, but we don’t understand needlessly exposing other people’s dogs to a dog you know is contagious.

So, please, if you have a question about your dog’s health, their vaccines or anything else – please just ask us BEFORE you are standing in the lobby running late for your flight.  We want to help you make your flight – heck, that’s what you pay us to do – but not at the expense of the health and safety of everyone else’s dog.

Thanks for reading.

Pet Camp prides itself on providing San Francisco’s pet parents with the best dog day care, overnight care for dogs and cats, dog training, bathing/grooming and pet transportation.  We take our obligation to take care of your pet seriously but we can’t do it alone.  If you have questions about our care, the needs of your dog or cat, our vaccine requirements or anything else, give us a call and speak with one of the counselors.