A popular pet hotel chain with locations in Southern California and the Bay Area has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a consumer protection lawsuit that alleged the business mistreated pets and failed to report dog bites as required by law.
Wag Hotels, a day care and pet boarding facility, was accused in August of neglecting its pet clients by the city of San Francisco’s district attorney’s office as well as the San Mateo and Santa Clara county district attorney’s offices.
The complaint came two years after a San Francisco Chronicle investigation unearthed allegations that the pet facility was hiring inexperienced employees, staff had insufficient training and facilities in the Bay Area were understaffed. At the time, the Chronicle spoke with 29 current and former employees who corroborated client claims that pets weren’t properly fed or medicated, or were returned to their owners covered in urine and feces.
In one incident, a dog attacked four employees at the Santa Clara Wag facility, sending them to the hospital, the Santa Clara district attorney’s office said in a statement.
“Pets are family,” Santa Clara County Dist. Atty. Jeff Rosen said. “When you leave a family member in someone else’s care, you are relying on that caretaker to provide the highest standard of safety, comfort, and care.”
In a statement to The Times, Wag said it reached a mutual settlement with the district attorney’s offices, “in which Wag admits no wrongdoing for isolated incidents that occurred several years ago that are exceptions to the hundreds of thousands of visits to our facilities over our 20-year history and have been addressed by the practices we have in place.”
“Resolving the matter in this fashion will allow us to avoid the cost and distraction of litigation so we can continue to focus on the exceptional care, safety and service we are known for,” the statement said. “Wag Hotels’ dedicated caregivers are passionate about providing our furry guests and their parents with the loving care that has made us their trusted choice for their pet’s daycare, boarding and grooming needs.”
Wag will pay $150,000 in civil penalties and fines. The pet facility has also been ordered to make significant improvements to the protocols that apply to animal safety, employee training and monitoring of dog playgroups, according to the settlement.
