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A Question For People Who Run Boarding Kennels Or Catteries


Maddy
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Is it usual to have a clause like the one below in terms and conditions of boarding?

Under no circumstances will the Operator, or its employees or agents, be held responsible for Paralysis Tick, Canine or Feline Influenza, injury, death, loss or damage of any kind whatsoever that may occur to any animal while in the control of the Operator

I looked at several other local kennels and none had a clause like this. The wording sounds as if the kennel owner would deny any and all liability even if they were directly responsible for the injury or death of a pet. The owner in question claims this clause is standard in the industry but given it indemnifies them even in the case of their negligence, surely no pet owner would ever sign a boarding agreement like that?

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Yep we bumped into this a couple of years ago.Owner put her dogs into a big name kennel in sydney and one of her dogs almost died from a tick - the bill was over $4000 with vetting and her other little dog had also been attacked by another dog and had a smaller vet bill which she didnt have the money to pay so they wouldn't let her take them home - wouldn't allow her to make an agreement to pay the bill off so each day the bill was climbing higher. So she went in to visit them and walked out with them. Got really messy. She came to us for help and it was the first time Id really studied a boarding contract and took a closer look at how some of the big ones operate. They are in a tick area but never put their hands on the dogs to check them and if the dog gets a tick not their problem. I wouldnt leave mine with them in a fit.

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A basic principle of contract law is that you cannot contract out of negligence. If the "injury" to the pet was the result of negligence, then the kennel would be liable. Generally waivers rely on people not going any further. If they see a solicitor they may receive compensation depending on the facts of the case and if negligence is established.

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A basic principle of contract law is that you cannot contract out of negligence. If the "injury" to the pet was the result of negligence, then the kennel would be liable. Generally waivers rely on people not going any further. If they see a solicitor they may receive compensation depending on the facts of the case and if negligence is established.

That was what I thought.

If nothing else, they would be responsible under our welfare act anyway, as the person in charge of the animal.

The owner's only real argument was that it was a "standard" clause and that it'd totally never come to that anyway. Which makes me think if they're that confident in the care they offer, surely they don't need dodgy clauses to protect themselves from -any possible circumstance?

Anyway, I asked the owner to clarify and was told I was a very negative person (because finding that wording concerning is negative?) so I guess that confirms my concerns.

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I think it's normal and i have seen similar clauses in boarding contracts before.

Business owners need to protect themselves from litigious people- whether they care they offer is good quality or not!

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.... Business owners need to protect themselves from litigious people- ....

Yes and you can't blame them. But a blood chit is not worth the paper it's written on if a lack of duty of care is proved, so it is not an overall protection. Does depend on the 'injured party' having competent legal assistance.

Edit to add. Sorry karen15, hadn't seen you'd already said kind of the same. Spot on.

Edited by PossumCorner
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It's quite normal.

And yes it is to help cover you from less than scrupulous owners.

I also ask when a dog is dropped in and it's signed - in case of emergency, particularly if we can't contact you, do you have a limit you can or would spend on veterinary care should the need arise.

People have varying answers. Some would treat lots of things but not snake bite for example as they may have before and it hasn't ended well.

If a dog in my care was attacked by another dog then I would foot it as I do not run dogs together so it would be a huge screw up on my behalf.

I have had dogs shred beds and eat bits that have been provided by the owner. I have had one come down with hemorrhagic gastroenteritis just because. Have had one that I know of come down with kennel cough even though no other dogs were coughing and had a couple get a virus of some sort that caused sneezing and sniffly noses.

Why is the kennel operator wholey and soley apparently responsible for such occurances?

My kids go to school or play group or a friends and become sick, I sort it.

My dogs go to a show or trainibg or the beach and become sick, I sort it.

Different story if it is due to neglect or say a dog fight

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It's quite normal.

And yes it is to help cover you from less than scrupulous owners.

I also ask when a dog is dropped in and it's signed - in case of emergency, particularly if we can't contact you, do you have a limit you can or would spend on veterinary care should the need arise.

People have varying answers. Some would treat lots of things but not snake bite for example as they may have before and it hasn't ended well.

If a dog in my care was attacked by another dog then I would foot it as I do not run dogs together so it would be a huge screw up on my behalf.

I have had dogs shred beds and eat bits that have been provided by the owner. I have had one come down with hemorrhagic gastroenteritis just because. Have had one that I know of come down with kennel cough even though no other dogs were coughing and had a couple get a virus of some sort that caused sneezing and sniffly noses.

Why is the kennel operator wholey and soley apparently responsible for such occurances?

My kids go to school or play group or a friends and become sick, I sort it.

My dogs go to a show or trainibg or the beach and become sick, I sort it.

Different story if it is due to neglect or say a dog fight

I agree these types of things you have used as examples would be unavoidable but If I have to leave my dog in a kennel where its a high risk tick area for a couple of weeks I dont believe its unreasonable to expect the dogs are checked daily for ticks

Id be more than happy to pay extra to be sure that was happening

If they were being checked daily and still got a tick fair enough but personally to tell me that my dog wont be checked , its a high risk area and time of year and if it gets one and its not picked up before its a serious life and death situation its not the kennel's responsibility means I wouldn't leave my dog there.

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It's quite normal.

And yes it is to help cover you from less than scrupulous owners.

I also ask when a dog is dropped in and it's signed - in case of emergency, particularly if we can't contact you, do you have a limit you can or would spend on veterinary care should the need arise.

People have varying answers. Some would treat lots of things but not snake bite for example as they may have before and it hasn't ended well.

If a dog in my care was attacked by another dog then I would foot it as I do not run dogs together so it would be a huge screw up on my behalf.

I have had dogs shred beds and eat bits that have been provided by the owner. I have had one come down with hemorrhagic gastroenteritis just because. Have had one that I know of come down with kennel cough even though no other dogs were coughing and had a couple get a virus of some sort that caused sneezing and sniffly noses.

Why is the kennel operator wholey and soley apparently responsible for such occurances?

My kids go to school or play group or a friends and become sick, I sort it.

My dogs go to a show or trainibg or the beach and become sick, I sort it.

Different story if it is due to neglect or say a dog fight

I can understand it's necessary to not accept responsibility for things that are out of your control (because they're not things you can prevent so you really can't be blamed for them) but that's a very different thing to refusing responsibility for everything, I think. If a kennel operator says they will accept no responsibility for anything that might happen, I think it's reasonable to be a bit worried about what they might be trying to cover themselves against.

If staff are properly trainer, kennels are safely designed, etc, that really only leaves the things that are out of their control, or outright negligence.

In the case of this particular "kennel", the "kennels" were a couple of old tin sheds with some very dodgy fencing so I can see why she has those T&Cs :/

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Yes but it's your choice if you leave the dogs there with tin sheds and dodgy fencing- if you choose to do so, I think it's reasonable that you remain responsible for the dogs with the exception of outright negligence which no contract can cover for anyway.

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Yes but it's your choice if you leave the dogs there with tin sheds and dodgy fencing- if you choose to do so, I think it's reasonable that you remain responsible for the dogs with the exception of outright negligence which no contract can cover for anyway.

I don't think I can agree there. Unsafe conditions, whether they are obvious or not, are the responsibility of the kennel owner. Pet owners shouldn't have to go over the place with a fine-tooth comb to ensure their animals will be safe.

To me, it's like saying you should take apart and inspect every little part of a fridge before you buy it- and if you buy a lemon because you failed to do so, tough luck. When a product or service is offered for sale it has to meet certain standards and the responsibility to ensure compliance does not (and should never) rest with the consumer.

In the case of this kennel, the faults are obvious but this is not always the case anyway. And when it comes to things like unsafe practices, not many kennels are going to be open about the things they're doing wrong, for obvious reasons.

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The kennel cough part of this makes sense to me. No kennel can ensure dogs won't get KC, cause even vaccinated dogs can get it.

There was a kennel association in the Perth area for awhile. They pooled revenues for yellow pages ads (remember the Yellow Pages), and paid a lawyer to write up a uniform boarding contract. It contained clauses that basically said the kennel wasn't responsible for anything. We scratched those clauses from our contract; we did end out paying occasional vet bills.

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It's quite normal.

And yes it is to help cover you from less than scrupulous owners.

I also ask when a dog is dropped in and it's signed - in case of emergency, particularly if we can't contact you, do you have a limit you can or would spend on veterinary care should the need arise.

People have varying answers. Some would treat lots of things but not snake bite for example as they may have before and it hasn't ended well.

If a dog in my care was attacked by another dog then I would foot it as I do not run dogs together so it would be a huge screw up on my behalf.

I have had dogs shred beds and eat bits that have been provided by the owner. I have had one come down with hemorrhagic gastroenteritis just because. Have had one that I know of come down with kennel cough even though no other dogs were coughing and had a couple get a virus of some sort that caused sneezing and sniffly noses.

Why is the kennel operator wholey and soley apparently responsible for such occurances?

My kids go to school or play group or a friends and become sick, I sort it.

My dogs go to a show or trainibg or the beach and become sick, I sort it.

Different story if it is due to neglect or say a dog fight

I agree these types of things you have used as examples would be unavoidable but If I have to leave my dog in a kennel where its a high risk tick area for a couple of weeks I dont believe its unreasonable to expect the dogs are checked daily for ticks

Id be more than happy to pay extra to be sure that was happening

If they were being checked daily and still got a tick fair enough but personally to tell me that my dog wont be checked , its a high risk area and time of year and if it gets one and its not picked up before its a serious life and death situation its not the kennel's responsibility means I wouldn't leave my dog there.

I agree that in a tick risk area they should be checked. To not do so is negligence. If a dog does have a tick issue and you have checked and done your best different issue. I wouldn't leave my dog there either.

We live in an area with lots of snakes. I have done and do everything I can to keep snakes out of my kennel area. I have spent substantial amounts of money to snake proof it as well as I can. If a snake does get in and bites a dog/dogs who should pay for that?

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It's quite normal.

And yes it is to help cover you from less than scrupulous owners.

I also ask when a dog is dropped in and it's signed - in case of emergency, particularly if we can't contact you, do you have a limit you can or would spend on veterinary care should the need arise.

People have varying answers. Some would treat lots of things but not snake bite for example as they may have before and it hasn't ended well.

If a dog in my care was attacked by another dog then I would foot it as I do not run dogs together so it would be a huge screw up on my behalf.

I have had dogs shred beds and eat bits that have been provided by the owner. I have had one come down with hemorrhagic gastroenteritis just because. Have had one that I know of come down with kennel cough even though no other dogs were coughing and had a couple get a virus of some sort that caused sneezing and sniffly noses.

Why is the kennel operator wholey and soley apparently responsible for such occurances?

My kids go to school or play group or a friends and become sick, I sort it.

My dogs go to a show or trainibg or the beach and become sick, I sort it.

Different story if it is due to neglect or say a dog fight

I agree these types of things you have used as examples would be unavoidable but If I have to leave my dog in a kennel where its a high risk tick area for a couple of weeks I dont believe its unreasonable to expect the dogs are checked daily for ticks

Id be more than happy to pay extra to be sure that was happening

If they were being checked daily and still got a tick fair enough but personally to tell me that my dog wont be checked , its a high risk area and time of year and if it gets one and its not picked up before its a serious life and death situation its not the kennel's responsibility means I wouldn't leave my dog there.

I agree that in a tick risk area they should be checked. To not do so is negligence. If a dog does have a tick issue and you have checked and done your best different issue. I wouldn't leave my dog there either.

We live in an area with lots of snakes. I have done and do everything I can to keep snakes out of my kennel area. I have spent substantial amounts of money to snake proof it as well as I can. If a snake does get in and bites a dog/dogs who should pay for that?

Of course you shouldn't pay if a snake bites the dog but I still say if Im leaving my dog in a high tick risk area I expect that the staff check dogs every day .When this kennel was asked about this they told me that I was being ridiculous as they had over a hundred dogs in and it was not possible of practical to put hands on all of them.

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Our kennel was in WA . . . no paralysis ticks. But we did have some dogs that would have been almost impossible to check every day. I'm reminded of a huge Newfie, whose owner left his coat to mat and stink. We bathed him and got some of the stink down, but it would have taken a skilled groomer to get his coat to a state where you could check for ticks. Then there were a few very skittish dogs who wouldn't stand still and were not comfortable with being handled, at least not by strangers. I'd say that in human labor terms, the cost of doing tick check would add at least a couple bucks a day per dog to the kennel's labor costs. NIghtmare at Christmas when fully booked.

Writing into the contract that the dog MUST be on an effective treatment to prevent ticks . . . and keeping a few tick products at the counter for sale . . . might be a more sensible approach. If owners aren't willing to take the expense of tick prevention, seems wrong that the kennel should be held responsible for the much less effective (at least for thick coated breeds) measure of daily checking.

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Don't you still have yo search for ticks even if you use tick products?

Yes. We lived in a high risk area and had our dog on preventative treatment, but it isn't 100% guaranteed - a couple of times we found ticks on him that had thankfully been killed by the treatment and were luckily not paralysis ticks. Only took a few minutes to check him every evening when we gave him a quick brush.

As far as negligence goes, I'd put it down to "all reasonable steps taken" to prevent harm. So like in your example Oso, you have taken all reasonable steps to snake proof everything if a dog was bitten under your care it would seem reasonable that you wouldn't be responsible for costs.

I would not board a dog at a facility that didn't check for ticks in a high risk area.

Edited by mr.mister
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