I want to make sure other dog owners are made aware and know to STAY AWAY from this facility!! I recently had to leave town for an emergency trip due to a medical crisis with my father. I left him in the care of Little Rascals Doggy Day Care on Georgia Ave in Washington, D.C. I was gone for a little under two weeks. \r
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Cian is a 14 month old, gentle boy who I had adopted from the Washington Humane Society when he was 4 months old. He's incredibly sweet. He loves other dogs. He's passed every temperament he's ever had with flying colors. Everyone who meets him just loves him. \r
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I picked him up last night (Sunday, September 29th). The lobby of Little Rascals was dimly lit when I arrived and my boy was just going nuts, wagging himself to bits at the sight of me. I didn't notice the dog bites all over his cheeks, ears, neck and chin until I got in the car and saw him in the full light of day.\r
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I immediately called Little Rascals on the way home and asked what happened. No one mentioned anything to me about him being in a fight. The guy who answered the phone put me on hold awhile and finally came back to say that the handler who was supposedly supervising the dogs noticed the bites and said he'd been ""playing a little rough"" with another dog. Sure. Tearing into another dog's face is ""playing."" I was further horrified when I got home to bathe him and clean his wounds and noticed while some were fresh (still oozing fluid and blood), but some were days old, crusted over with infection and pus underneath. My boy had been in this place with open, festering wounds and no vet care. No one had bothered to check him, call me, or tell me when I called to ask how he was doing! Worse, there's supposed to be a handler on the floor at all times to make sure these things don't happen. The negligence is appalling. \r
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He's lost A LOT of weight since he went in there. In less than two weeks, his spine is already starting to show. \r
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I took Cian to the vet today. She confirmed that these were lacerations and abrasions. \r
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I called Little Rascals and asked to speak to the owner. She asked me if I could bring him by so she could see him. I took him after work. This woman actually tried to tell me he had puppy pyoderma (like she knew better than a veterinarian!). I offered to show her the report from my vet that stated these were lacerations and abrasions, not puppy acne. She refused. She was incredibly calm. I got the distinct impression that this wasn't the first time this had happened to dogs in her care. She refused to acknowledge these were bites. She even denied that she or any of her staff had noticed the bites . . . even though the guy told me on the phone the evening before that one of her staff had seen the bites and had witnessed ""rough play."" She coolly told me she would not refund a dime of the over $600 I paid for what I had thought would be competent care. She wouldn't pay for his vet care ($110). She refused to even apologize! Instead, she told me pit bulls are ""thin skinned.""\r
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This place ought to be shut down. Thank god Cian wasn't in there longer. Who knows what condition he would have been in when I got him back.\r
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No dog should ever be subjected to such neglect! Unless you want your dog back full of wounds and pus, and to be treated with cold contempt by the owner, this is NOT the dog boarding facility for you!
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