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James Bronner dropped his 5-month-old English Setter, Minnie, off at Tails of the NEK on December 5, not knowing that would be the last time he would see Minnie alive.
“We got a call from the owner of the business where we had dropped our dog off at doggie daycare. They said ‘your dog’s not breathing, you’ve got to come down immediately,’” said Bronner.
According to Bronner, a postmortem exam conducted at the Newport Veterinary Hospital showed bite marks all over Minnie’s body and a severed spine; Bronner believes she was most likely attacked by another dog while in the enclosed dog daycare.
“If this dog is still allowed to go to daycare there, it could potentially harm another dog there. But my thought process goes in the way that like ‘God forbid, what if it’s a kid next time?’” said Bronner.
Bronner reached out to Vermont Fish & Wildlife and the Orleans County State’s Attorney to bring the case to prosecution, but they declined and closed the case. He also filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in hopes of seeing action taken against Tails of the NEK.
“In this case the dog owner’s asking for – rightfully so, more than a refund or a service, but it’s outside of the scope of the Better Business Bureau,” said Paula Fleming, the chief marketing and sales officer at the BBB.
The owner of Tails of the NEK responded to the BBB complaint in a statement shared with NBC5 by Bronner, writing, “I was rotating/putting dogs away when I found [Minnie] unresponsive. The clients feel like I am not being forthcoming or that there is more to the story and that is simply not the case. I am truly sorry this happened to them and their pup.”
Bronner signed an agreement with Tails of the NEK “recognizing the potential risks involved with group play/dog daycare, boarding and grooming due to the unpredictable nature of dogs.”
Still, he says he wants the town of Charleston to hold the business accountable.
Bronner requested two potential vicious dog hearings that were both denied by town officials, citing the town’s dog ordinance.
The owners of Tails of the NEK provided NBC5 with a statement writing, “this is a very sad event, and we offer our sincerest condolence to the owners.”
Bronner says the business offered to pay for the loss of the dog, but that he did not accept it because he wants to see the business held accountable.
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