Crufts-qualifying dog dies in the care of dog boarding company

A Crufts-qualifying dog has died in the care of a host family working for Barking Mad, a company that arranges host families to look after dogs rather than taking them to a kennel.

The company has apologised to Jennifer Smith, owner of Reacher who was hit by a car in Glossop where the host family is based.

Smith had left Reacher in the care of the family along with four other dogs before setting off on holiday. While on holiday Smith received a call telling her that one of her dogs had died, however the caller didn’t tell her which one.

Smith had explicitly asked that the dogs were not around smokers, children and that they were not walked.

Bosses at the company say that they take full responsibility for the incident and say that they will be calling on all their hosts to enforce company policy more strongly. Barking Mad will also be donating to two dog welfare charities (£500 to Manchester Dogs Home and £500 to German Spitz Welfare).

A spokesman for the company said in a statement today: “As dog lovers at the forefront of home boarding care, our sole purpose is to provide a safe home-from-home for your dogs. A dog’s welfare is at the heart of everything that we do and every measure is in place to ensure this never happens again. This is also the wish of Reacher’s owners with whom we are working to tighten up our processes further.”

Barking Mad have reimbursed Smith for the fees charged, along with veterinary bills, amended flights home.