ComplaintsforFriends of Toto, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  01/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  For the last few months I have heard from previous employees of Friends of Toto that it has become an unsafe environment for not only the staff, but also the dogs that go there. They are taking far too many animals for their daily daycare than their staff can handle, their new staff is not being trained to handle aggressive dog behavior, dogs are getting hurt because of the staffing issue, dogs are being medicated when they should not be and the managers/owner is not taking proactive measures to stop it. There have been reports of staff members getting hurt on the job and leaving dogs unattended which leaves room for the dogs to get hurt during rough play. My own dog had come home numerous times with gashes and marks on her from rough play and the managers have just brushed it off.

  

  Business response

  01/10/2023

  *****:

   

  Thanks for the feedback.  I wish we had had a chance to connect on this beforehand, but I appreciate your feelings about our services.  While I realize it's unlikely to change your mind, there are some things that I think you should know (or, at a minimum, what I hope prospective clients should know if they are reading this):  It is true over the past few months, we've had some employee separations that were less than amicable.  In most cases that I've heard of, it seems to me that the accusations made against us have a negative bias embedded.  For example, I know over this past weekend, a former employee reached out to a subset of our customers making some pretty awful accusations.  For the record, we deny all of the accusations made.  I want to start with this though as I want to make clear that some of these former employees have reason to be less than truthful.  Without attacking any individual or situation, I will simply say this:  I personally take every separation (voluntary or otherwise) personally and try to learn from each situation.  In the case of involuntary separations, I make them after a great deal of thought and reflection and only do so when I think a threat to our primary goals of employee and dog safety is under threat.  I recognize in making these separations, however, that I run the risk of vindictiveness or retaliation of some sort.  I believe much of what you've been hearing falls into that category.

  The truth is that our volume of dogs has been fairly static for the past 6 months or so.  While we recently expanded and have capacity to take many more dogs, we have not yet seen that growth.  I'm happy to share these numbers with you if you should want to see them.  We have had new staff (as just about everywhere in the economy has) and it does take time for that new staff to develop skills.  Having said that though, we continue to train all employees just as we always have (with a combination of "textbook" learning and OTJ training).  

  In terms of taking "proactive" measures:  After every injury, camera footage of the event is evaluated by management.  Beyond the fact that we love dogs and don't want to see them getting hurt (nor our employees!), there's a financial incentive for us to make sure everyone is safe.  It is true that our daycare type is an open play environment and scratches, cuts, and other abrasions can and do happen.  While that's a risk that we understand in offering our service (and we try to tell customers about up front when they come to our daycare), it behooves me a great deal to make every effort that we don't have unsafe practices.  Emotionally and financially, we just wouldn't be able to sustain our business.  In terms of your own girl getting hurt:  Again, I do wish you had said something.  It's not our habit to belittle any injury and I'm sorry you've had that experience.  Some breeds (especially those without thick coats - like boxers, vislas, etc.) or body parts (e.g. the tummy area and ears) are prone to easy injury.  Given that dogs play with sharp things (teeth and claws), it does happen that abrasions will happen.  I would advise any owner reading this that if your dog did get a scratch / cut / injury, you should expect:  1) a report on why it happened (e.g. if we didn't see it happen and notify you at pick up, please call us so we can investigate immediately).  2) Transparency - ask to see the footage from our security cameras.

  Again, I'm sorry to lose your business.  You and your girl have been a part of our family for several years and will be most definitely missed.  If you should ever change your mind and want to come back, please know you're always welcome!

  Respectfully,

  ***

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩