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Kennel gives family wrong dog after vacation...

760 views 33 replies 27 participants last post by  kblackstone444 
#1 ·
#3 ·
Ugh. I just found the updated story. I guess the right dogs were found and switched back and it looks like I got my answer- the kennel owner made some comment about the owners not being able to recognize their own dogs.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24189854/
 
#4 ·
Yep thats our local news, the one family was certain they were given the wrong dog and the other family said that they were given the right one. They ended up switching and the families got their dogs back, thank goodness.
 
#6 ·
I worry about this a lot. A friend went to pick up her dog at the groomers and the lady in line with her said, "I just think you should know, they tried to give me your dog." EEK.

I love my dog. I spend all day with him and he is by my side all the time. However, medium sized white shih tzus do look an awful lot alike. More than once I've seen another dog and thought he looked JUST EXACTLY like our guy.

Quote:
During the break in late March, Callie shared a kennel with a lookalike named Dixie.
What a massive mistake on the kennel's part. Why would they ever allow that to happen?

Quote:
"We tried to do everything we could, and it's really unfortunate we had two customers who couldn't identify their dogs," she said.
And it's equally unfortunate that the kennel doesn't have a system in place so that they give the owners the correct dogs.

I've never been to a vet, kennel, or groomer where you go and pick out your dog. They bring you your dog when you pick up.
 
#7 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by NiteNicole View Post

I've never been to a vet, kennel, or groomer where you go and pick out your dog. They bring you your dog when you pick up.
:

This is local news for me, and there has been a LOT of talk about it, and I find the whole thing kind of crazy. Fortunately I have 2 mutts, very unique looking, so I'm not worried about it happening to us!
 
#8 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by harleyhalfmoon View Post
For those of you with dogs, would you really not know on sight if a dog was yours or not?
I don't know, I've never owned a black lab. My sister had one, and I know I wouldn't have known hers on sight, but I would assume she would. It sounded like the guy was in a hurry, but he realized pretty early on that it wasn't his dog, he just couldn't get the right dog back.
 
#9 ·
Actually, the more I think about this, the more amazing it is... after all, if you have a dog, they go outside. And if they're outside, and you walk them, they have a collar. If they have a collar... wouldn't you at least recognize THAT? And don't people put tags on their dogs, in case they get out of the yard?

I mean, this is like getting the wrong suitcase at the airport... wasn't your name on it? ;-)
 
#11 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Ironica View Post
Actually, the more I think about this, the more amazing it is... after all, if you have a dog, they go outside. And if they're outside, and you walk them, they have a collar. If they have a collar... wouldn't you at least recognize THAT? And don't people put tags on their dogs, in case they get out of the yard?

I mean, this is like getting the wrong suitcase at the airport... wasn't your name on it? ;-)
That's what I was thinking, too! I can't imagine not recognizing my own dog, but I do own a mutt who has her own unique look. Unless both dogs had on the same collar it seems like that would have been a clue the minute they picked them up.
 
#12 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Ironica View Post
Actually, the more I think about this, the more amazing it is... after all, if you have a dog, they go outside. And if they're outside, and you walk them, they have a collar. If they have a collar... wouldn't you at least recognize THAT? And don't people put tags on their dogs, in case they get out of the yard?

I mean, this is like getting the wrong suitcase at the airport... wasn't your name on it? ;-)
That is a really good point. Both my dogs have nametags, and where we live, dogs are supposed th wear collars with at least their county license on them. And the county can tell you who the dog is registered to based on the license number if there's a question. Mine are actually microchipped too, so if anything like this happened to us, it would be easy to verify quickly.
 
#13 ·
It sounds like the kennel let the guy pick his dog and the dogs were in big pens or crates. You can't keep collars on them in pens or crates, it's a big safety issue.

The kennel sounds super disorganized - it wouldn't be surprising if they had the wrong collars on the dogs if they were collared. If you have two similar looking dogs in a pen and you're not familiar with them, putting the right tag back on the right dog is pretty much guesswork.
 
#14 ·
As much as I dislike invasive procedures, this is why all my babies are microchipped
I have Chinese Crested dogs, and while they are unique, over time, their skin color/patterns change radically, so I knew I wanted better documentation than a description would give. My little Magi (see cuteness linked in siggie) was completely white except for one dark patch on his back when I got him. Now he is mostly dark grey with just a little white. I can kind of understan how someone wouldn't recognize a black lab...especially in a hurry. But, yeah, what about collars???
 
#15 ·
It is my understanding that at a lot of kennels/doggie daycares they remove the collars due to the possibility of strangulation. When two or more dogs are playing together, collars can be a real hazard.

I think the kennel in this instance has acted outrageously. They have blamed the owner and have not taken an ounce of responsibility. The dog in question had surgery for knee repair and all it took was a few xrays by a vet to determine which was the right dog. However, according to the news reports that I have seen, the kennel was extremely unhelpful and basically did not believe the owner.
 
#16 ·
I grew up with labs, and aside from when they were teeny tiny blobs when they were born, we never confused two dogs. Ever. Not even dogs of the same colour, size and sex.

I have to conclude that anyone who can't recognize their own dog needs to spend more time with it. I don't have anything else constructive to say, it's all pretty much snark from here on out.
 
#18 ·
Wow. I don't get it. Even if the kennel had removed your dog's collar (like ours does) and there was another dog of the same sex, size, and breed there, how could you possible not know your own pooch? Each dog's personality is so very different and distinctive, that I can't imagine not being able to tell one from another.
 
#20 ·
This is so funny.....in a sense. This happened to us when I was younger. My Mom dropped the family dog off at the groomers and brought him home a few hours later. Right when I saw him, I told my Mom, "Uhm, That's NOT our dog." My Mom was like, "What are you talking about, of course it is!" I called him by name and the dog did come to me, but not like OUR dog would have. It took me about 15 minutes to prove to my Mom that we had the wrong dog! It's so funny that I noticed right away and I think the dog could have been with us for days before my Mom would have noticed. We took the dog back and got the right one. I have no idea if the owner of the other dog ever even knew.

It was a White West Highland Terrier, so in my Moms defense, they looked REALLY similar.......
 
#21 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Katie Bugs Mama View Post
Wow. I don't get it. Even if the kennel had removed your dog's collar (like ours does) and there was another dog of the same sex, size, and breed there, how could you possible not know your own pooch? Each dog's personality is so very different and distinctive, that I can't imagine not being able to tell one from another.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nankay View Post
Plus, wouldn't your dog know YOU? I mean, my dog is friendly, but he's absolutely NUTS when he sees us after a stay at the kennel. I can't imagine him acting like that with a stranger.
According to some of the local reports, the man's dog was picked up by the other lady before they went to get their dog, so his dog was already gone, and they apparently have very similar dispositions including being very friendly and happy to see anyone. Also (and this is just personal conjecture) if you were a black lab and you saw your mom come and take another dog home and leave you behind, wouldn't you be happy to see anyone who might take you out of that cage? So I can't speak for why the lady took Callie home in the first place thinking it was Dixie, I would say maybe she does need to get to know her dog better, but I just wanted to defend the guy and his family THEY didn't "pick" the wrong dog, Callie wasn't there anymore and they were suspicious that it was the wrong dog almost immediately.
 
#22 ·
Our kennel has the owners take the collars with them. They use a loop style collar to take the dogs back and for walks, etc. I don't think they want the liability of the dog getting hurt on the collar in the night or other unsupervised times. (Strange setting, dog pulling on collar with teeth, paws, etc...)

I'm glad they finally got it all worked out.
 
#23 ·
I think it is possible if 2 dogs are solid colored and are a similar size and disposition to mix them up for awhile. You might put down little changes at first to being away from them for a time. I think the owners are lucky the one dog had had surgery and the other had not. I hope the kennel changes some procedures.

My dogs are more distinctive in pattern and physical characteristics. I don't think I could mix them up very easily.
 
#25 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by North_Of_60 View Post
I grew up with labs, and aside from when they were teeny tiny blobs when they were born, we never confused two dogs. Ever. Not even dogs of the same colour, size and sex.

I have to conclude that anyone who can't recognize their own dog needs to spend more time with it. I don't have anything else constructive to say, it's all pretty much snark from here on out.

Same here.

I also used to be a dog walker and ... wow, unless dogs were from the exact same litter, had the exact same behaviour, size, colouring, gait, etc., I really don't see how anyone could mistake one dog for another!

Yes, labs do look similar. I used to walk several black labs. There's enough of a difference to tell them apart, even without collars.
 
#26 ·
When we board our dog or leave her at the vet for surgery, they have us remove the collar and tags, and place a temporary paper collar on her for identification. This is to prevent choking injuries.

I would be pretty irritated if my dog was kept in the same kennel as an unfamiliar animal. Especially with two dogs who looked alike (same size and gender) I would expect some dominance issues to surface immediately until they sorted out the pecking order, and that is a setup for a dog fight. And what if the other dog had an infectious disease? Was it really routine for them to house animals together? I've never heard of a kennel doing this.

Although I have a very distinctive looking mutt (two different colored eyes), she is microchipped for safety and identification should she ever get lost.
 
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