A coalition of dog owners is fighting for lawmakers to pass legislation that would require animal day care to be licensed and regulated after a Longmeadow woman’s dog was fatally injured at one facility — an increasingly common occurrence, her lawyer said.
Amy Baxter took Ollie, her 7-month-old labradoodle to Pampered Pets in East Longmeadow in October of 2020 after the lifting of some COVID restrictions allowed her to return to her sales job and her then-13-year-old daughter to return to school.
“I thought I was doing the responsible thing,” Baxter said.
But on Oct. 5th of that year, she got a text message saying that her dog had suffered a “cut.”
When Baxter arrived at the day care, she found Ollie covered by “hundreds of puncture wounds” made by multiple dogs, said her lawyer, Jeremy Cohen of Boston Dog Lawyers.
They later found that the owner was not at the facility; instead, he left the dogs care to two employees, one of whom was on a break when the attack occurred, Cohen said.
And the one employee who was present didn’t take Ollie to a veterinary office that was “50 feet” away, Cohen said
“There was no accountability,” Cohen said. “Ollied lived for 40 days before succumbing to his injuries.”
The mauling was far from unique,” said Cohen, who said he received a call about one about every other week.
Baxter sued, and the facility ultimately closed.
Casey Burkinshaw of Ipswich entrusted her 3-pound maltese -yorkshire mix to Paws Wit Inn in Ipswich, where she was supposed to be in the small-dog section.
But she was attacked and killed by a 30-ound bulldog, Burkinshaw said.
“The owner called me, saying there had been an accident,” she said.
Burkinshaw sued and ultimately settled out of court.
But, like Baxter, she wanted to prevent any other dog from suffering such a horrific death.
Together, they have formed a coalition that is fighting for the passage of a bill known as the “puppies and kittens law,” although it would protect dogs and cats of all ages.
The bill would require doggie day cares and kennels to be licensed and regulated, Cohen said.
Currently, he said, they are not required to be licensed and are regulated differently, if at all, by each municipality.
The coalition is hoping to get the bill passed before the Legislature ends its formal session on July 31, after which it would have to be unanimously approved and signed by the governor.soon.
“A lot of people assume that these places are safe,” said Allison Blanck, director of advocacy for the Animal Rescue League of Boston.
Many people acquired pets during the pandemic and by now have returned, or are returning, to work and want a day care facility for their pet, which makes it all the more crucial, she said, that the bill is passed
