Doggy daycare where puppy died ‘didn’t have enough staff to cope with number of animals’

The doggy daycare that saw the death of a 10-month-old puppy on its site had “failed to ensure welfare needs of animals were met”, a Lancaster City Council licensing committee has concluded.

On January 27 owner Emma Gee received a call from Heronswood Canine Retreat, also known as A&T Trained Dogs, on Ashton Road, Lancaster. She was told her dalmatian puppy Taylor was involved in an incident with an older dog which resulted in the death of their puppy.

She said: “We have patiently and painfully waited and now Lancaster City Council has concluded its investigations. We really appreciate how seriously they have taken it.”

The committee found on a balance of probabilities that “the staff to animal ratio was exceeded on the date of the incident” meaning there was not enough members of staff on the premises to “act quickly enough in the circumstances and therefore a dog died”.

It was found that “some” of the conditions of licence had been breached by licence holder Mr Jayousi, but for others “they found no breach” citing insufficient evidence to support the allegations made.

Jayousi submitted a statement that he is willing to work with the licensing authority to “ensure no reoccurrence”. It was also noted that Jayousi says the “how the business operates has improved since January 2022”.

The committee concluded that the breaches, “while serious,” were not “sufficient to justify a revocation or suspension” of Jayousi’s licence. Over the next 12 months, officers will make unannounced visits of A&T Trained Dogs to ensure “licensing conditions are being complied with”.

In addition, the committee decided that A&T Trained Dogs must assure all dogs under one year old be kept separate from other dogs and stock dogs and boarding dogs are not to be mixed with daycare dogs.

Jayousi’s licenses will also to go to committee for determination.

A spokesperson for A&T Trained Dogs told LancsLive: “A&T Trained Dogs notes the decision of Lancaster County Council of 28 July 2022 under which six out of nine specific allegations of breaches of Conditions were accepted by the council as not proven.

“A&T Trained Dogs admitted that there had been an inadvertent breach of one technical condition. The council found on the balance of probabilities that two further conditions had been breached. Whilst A&T Trained Dogs dispute the findings in respect of those two conditions, they do not intend to pursue the matter further.

“A&T Trained Dogs do not accept that the Council imposed formal sanctions, rather the Council imposed additional conditions on the licence that confirmed measures that were already in place at their business.

“A&T Trained Dogs and their staff members were devastated at the tragic accident that occurred on 27 January 2022. They do not accept that the breach of the condition was in any way connected to the tragic events in which a dog was injured. They do not seek to apportion blame for this tragic accident and their thoughts are with the owners of the animals involved.

“With award winning facilities and the highest animal welfare standards, A&T Trained Dogs look forward to working with the Council, their loyal customers and their animals in the development of their business.”