10/09/2026
We would like to take this opportunity to explain the unfortunate and unprecedented chain of events that occurred on Sep. 28.
Molly, a 9-year-old German Shepard who has been coming to us for boarding and daycare for over three years, checked in for this boarding stay on Sep. 21.
On this particular stay, Molly was significantly more anxious than normal and managed to break out of her pen on Sep. 24 whereupon we contacted the emergency contact to advise as to how to handle her. The contact then brought us Trazadone, an anti-anxiety med, in the hope that she would calm down. We also asked her if she could take Molly home. We had already moved her to an isolated area where she couldn’t see other dogs and housed her in a pen with a clipped double latched gate with a bungee cord across the gate to further secure the gates closure. Unfortunately, the medication did not effectively calm her.
On Sep. 26, the emergency contact, after having been contacted by us again, brought more Trazadone. On that occasion we twice asked that Molly be taken home as her anxiety level was severe. This was not an alternative.
On Sep. 28, at some point before 5:45 am, Molly broke the two latches on her gate, chewed the bungee cord and pulled the gate inward (negating the effect of the chain that was also put across the gate) so that she could get out of her pen. She then jumped over three 4ft. high gates, pulled the chain link off a gate that leads to the back half of the building and found the fire exit door. The fire safety code requires a lever-set closure on exit doors in a commercial building. Unfortunately, she managed to trip the lever and her weight pushed the door open allowing her access to the outside.
Having serving our clients for 26 years and caring for thousands of pets, this has been a devastating occurrence to all of us. Our hearts break for Molly and her family.
