Dog left with dogsitters for 2 weeks, come back and

[itsnotarace]

...collect her, she's been bathed and some of her coat clipped so I just put this down to usual good service

However when I got her home, I was scratching her under her chin where she likes it (soft spot) and noticed a clump of matted fur. Went to clip that out and find a load of dried and matted blood/scabs along with chunks of missing fur. It seems that she has been had by the throat by another dog.

I asked the dogsitter (home boarding) if she had been bitten and she said definitely not

Went over Lily with a fine toothcomb yesterday and found a 5p piece sized wound just behind her left shoulder joint and then when rolling her over upside down have found a huge amount of fur missing and another wound about the size of my index finger from the top joint to the tip (about an inch long and 1cm wide)

The home boarding people are denying all knowledge. I have left Lily there before but only for long weekend durations, I have known the boarding people since we took Lily to puppy classes and I trusted them with her.

The home boarding was £20 per day so £280 for the 14 nights. The owners have 4 dogs of their own and all 4 dogs are lovely, but they obviously board other dogs and I don't know the history or nature of any of these - I would hope they would be vetted for temperament before being allowed to board like mine was

Now Lily is the most passive and friendly Golden Retriever you have ever met. She is totally un-aggressive and just wants to be friends with everyone so it's not like mine would have started any aggro but it she's definitely been on the receiving end.

On top of that, her dog bed has been chewed to pieces while she was there. I was going to let that slide as it was only £25 and easily replaceable but I dunno what to do about the bites and wounds. They seem to be healing ok but with the boarding people denying all knowledge (have sent them photos of the wounds) - what sort of comeback do I have here? Surely the dogsitters have a duty of care to protect my dog from harm while she was in their care?

Have booked her into the vets this afternoon for a checkup but thought I would garner opinion on here first

Bite marks under the chin:





5p piece size wound on shoulder



1 inch sized wound on tummy under left leg joint



Sorry for the pic quality, it's difficult to take decent photos that show the wounds

Thanks in advance

[condor]

Sorry to hear about Lily's poor treatment with the dog boarders.

I'd explain the situation to the vet and ask for their advice. I'd expect they've had similar incidences with other pets.

[RB Will]

Did you have to sign a disclaimer or anything when you dropped the dog off? this may get them off the hook unfortunately.
I would not be taking mine back there if that had happened. Where do you live I can recommend a very good boarding kennel that I use near Swindon.

[itsnotarace]

Thanks both. The vet said the marks under Lily's chin were most certainly a bite but she said it's case of being able to prove it. The larger wound on her tummy could be a skin complaint bought on by stress - it cost me £50 for some cream to be applied twice a day so will see how that goes. Will be avoiding that dog sitter (in Swindon) in future. Can you let me know the details of the one you use please Will?

Thanks again

[condor]

The boarders should have insurance so photocopy the vet's bill and ask them for their insurance details to forward it on.

[icetea]

I would give her the vet bill and then never use her service again. Other than that there isn't really much you can do about it... you'll only end up wasting your own time/money and getting yourself annoyed over it.

[base]

I have 2 dogs (relationship to each other being mother and son) they have a good ruff and tumble, it has never developed into a more than just that, its not unsual for "the boy" to get a ass whooping from his mother, and have a few marks. From the pictures i really dont see a issue and i would put it down to playing, rather than any kind of attack.

But with that said, and from what you have written it does seem the dog sitters are hiding something, and that in itself would boil my urine, as long as people are straight we me thats fine, things happen and dogs will be dogs, but if i felt someone was trying to have one over on me i would make life uncomfortable for them to say the least.