Pet Dog Euthanized After Boarding Kennel Leaves It With Damaged Brain

A pet dog had to be euthanized after it suffered brain damage while being cared at an illegal kennel in Kent, England.

Speaking to the Sun, the dog’s owner, 38-year-old Lindsay Standen, said she left her pet, 10-month-old Pomeranian named Sashca, at a boarding firm named Maidstone Springers while she went on a vacation for two weeks. While she arrived at the kennel to pick up the dog once she was back, she noticed the dog was unconscious and had a swollen head. The exact date of the incident was not known.

"Her head was three times its normal size. She had brain damage, she couldn't walk and she was given methadone and painkillers to help with the pain. We were told it was the worst case they had ever seen. The vets couldn't do any more for her so I decided to bring her home,” Standen said, adding that though she hoped her pet would recover, it did not walk again after which they decided to put the canine down. It was believed the injuries sustained by the dog were consistent with that of being stamped.

Leslie Roberts, the owner of the boarding firm, however, said he wasn’t aware of what had happened to the dog and that he had taken the canine to the vet when he thought something was not right.

"The owners had requested the dogs stay together so they were all in the same crate with food and water. If anyone or another dog came near it, it would squeal its head off. If I had trodden on it, kicked it or thrown it, it would not have stopped. I am not a man capable of doing anything like that. I don't know how they know it was blunt force trauma, there is no proof and if there was I would love to see it myself. It's not anything I have done maliciously or purposely,” Roberts said.

"The dog got injured and it died, I am not trying to sound grim or flippant, all I can say is I don't know what happened. It could have run into something, for the life of me I do not know. Once I was aware she wasn't right I took her to the vet. I didn't know what to do I just knew there was something wrong,” Roberts added.

The firm was, however, shut after investigation revealed that it was illegal.

A Maidstone borough council spokeswoman said: "We were made aware earlier this week of allegations that Maidstone Springers has been running a business without the necessary license in place. The matter is being actively investigated by the council and the company has been instructed to cease carrying out licensable activities in the absence of the correct documentation."