Wuf Pet Resort & Spa Charla Smart Negligence Mop Bucket, Chemical Pneumonia & Breach of Contract Irving, Dallas, Fort Worth Texas

I'm sad to write this because I used to love this place, but I believe its important that both potential & current clients know.

Wuf Pet Resort & Spa made it a practice of leaving an uncovered mop bucket containing chemicals & septic fluids on the play floor. My dog drank out of it & was subsequently diagnosed with chemical/aspiration pneumonia.

I understand that there are inherent risks to boarding your dog, such as kennel cough or other viruses, as are outlined in the contract. However, a mop bucket of caustic & corrosive chemicals open on the play floor would not be considered an inherent risk. That's negligence. 

The contract (which is on their website) was breached in 2 ways:

1) The mop bucket being accessible to animals in the first place.

2) They didn't tell me that Cleon had "a habit of drinking out of the mop bucket"... meaning he had done it more than once & I was not informed.

Cleon had widespread pneumonia & increased lung sounds in all fields, but with no fever or raised white blood cell count (which is common in bacterial pneumonia). According to the vets & the ASPCA Poison Control Report on his case, the most likely explanation for the kind of serious inflammation in his lungs & GI tract upset was chemical exposure & ingestion.

I tried to reason with Charla, the owner, about having his medical bills paid for & my money/investments in their establishment reimbursed due to their breach of contract. I was given the run around for weeks & ultimately she defended leaving the bucket out, saying that I would find mop buckets in any dog daycare. Which is true -- except every other dog daycare I've been to (and spoken with) actually either covers the bucket or puts it behind a wall for safety. When I called Charla on this, she told me their policies were now "being reviewed". And while I'm glad to know this, it has come at the financial, emotional & health costs of my dog Cleon & I.  

I'm of the belief that if you make a mistake, you own up to it & make it as right as it possibly can be. Wufspa clearly breached contract in multiple ways, so I wanted my money back. That seems fair to me. 

Charla was adamant that I couldn't prove that Cleon's condition was as a result of him drinking out of their mop bucket. All I can say is that all signs point to it; every vet was scratching their heads until they learned about his chemical exposure. The timing lines up, as do his symptoms. Vet records show he was treated for chemical pneumonia, not bacterial pneumonia. 

 Even if the bucket had nothing to do with his condition, Wufspa still breached contract by having accessible chemicals on the play floor, and also by not informing me that he drank them. 

It is worth noting that if you have been a customer of this business at any point in the last 13 years, contract has likely been breached for you, too. Charla admitted both directly & indirectly that their mop bucket policies have always been this way, saying they've "been in business for 13 years & never had a problem". 

I made it clear that I would not consider this matter closed until I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that there are adequate safety measures in place for the dogs. I've heard nothing in response on this from Wuf Pet Resort & Spa. 

Charla sent me a check for about 25% of the medical & boarding reimbursements & wrote in the memo line: "Full and Final Settlement of All Claims" -- Which I did not agree to. To me, that felt straight up manipulative.

I used to love Wufspa, their cameras, staff & facility. But how this traumatic issue has been handled lacks integrity & honesty, and it's shocking. A cover for the mop bucket costs $10. Their negligence may have almost cost me my dog's life. 

For anyone interested, I've attached my formal letter & some other communication records. Below is a link to more emails, pictures & videos.

More than anything, as a pet parent, consider the trust we need to have in an establishment to hand over our pet to someone's care. 

https://www.facebook.com/cleon.oglesby.5