The SPCA has launched an investigation into the deaths of 14 dogs that died in a Saskatoon dog boarding facility due to heat exhaustion.
Bonnie Clark, the manager of Playful Paws Pet Centre, told CTV News that there was a malfunction in the heating system.
The dog kennel goes on in more detail in a Facebook post, saying it was due to a mechanical failure on one of its roof top heating units, which caused it to continuously push heat into one of its upstairs kennel rooms until the dogs died.
When staff arrived Saturday morning, they came across the dead dogs.
“All of us at Playful Paws are devastated,” said Clark. “We understand the hurt that this is causing and the distress for a lot of people.”
Clark said they were all large-breed dogs being kept in the upstairs room, and all the dogs’ owners have been notified.
On Friday morning, Sarah Gee dropped her German Shepard Aurora off at the kennel, just like she had done many times before. The next day, the centre's manager gave her the news.
“She was like, ‘I don't know how to tell you this, but there's been an electrical malfunction with the heating,’” explained Gee. “I just interrupted her and I was like, ‘Is she dead?’ And she was like, ‘Yes, your dog is dead.’"
Carson Friesen lost his dog, Kali, and still doesn't understand how this could have happened.
“But I thought, supervision, they're going to watch her, they're going to check on her,” said Friesen. “If something's wrong, they're going to know, not find out in the morning.”
For Friesen, the worst part was telling his daughter, who's away on vacation with her mom.
“I had to pick up the phone and call her yesterday, and tell her that her dog's not going to be home when she gets back,” explained Friesen. “She didn't take that very well. It's not very easy for a three-and-a-half-year-old to find out their dog's not going to be there anymore.”
Playful Paws Pet Centre plans to cover all autopsy and cremation fees, and says it will cooperate fully with the investigation.
With files from CTV Saskatoon’s Taylor Rattray
