An Irish woman left her dog, Nova, in the care of a boarding kennel while she went to visit family in Iceland.
When she returned, just three days later, she returned to a dead dog.
Not only that, but the kennel had unceremoniously wrapped her pet in a black plastic bag and then surrounded the body in tape. The wrapping was so tight that the dog’s identity would have to be confirmed by microchip when her owner took the body to be examined.
The entire experience was devastating.
How it Happened
Kirsten left what she describes as a healthy and happy dog at the kennel so she could take a plane trip to see family. Photos of Nova do seem to confirm that she had been a lively and healthy husky just days before she visited the kennel.
The dog was on steroids for a condition but had done well on them for several months at that point, and the kennel had said they were happy to continue making sure the husky got the medication.
The kennel said that Nova had been found bleeding in her kennel during her stay and had been rushed to the vet. She didn’t survive.
The vet told the kennel that Nova may have died of parvo and that her body needed to be sealed up to prevent the spread of disease. Crushing her into a plastic bag and covering it entirely with tape was how the kennel workers decided to manage it.
But is that what happened?
There are still a lot of questions.
How could an otherwise healthy dog have died in just three days?
Why did no one contact Kirsten to let her know that her dog was having a medical emergency or that she had died?
Did Nova actually have the parvovirus?
Her owner is having a postmortem inspection of the body done to try to find an answer to some of those questions.
We also have to seriously wonder if there is anything the kennel could have done differently. Losing a pet is devastating. They are a member of the family. Finding them wrapped in tape like Kirsten had to go through would only add to that devastation.
A sad tale
Kirsten wrote about it on Facebook. Originally, she had posted it as a review of the kennel, but her post – along with others – was taken down.
“…As we walked in the gate, myself and my mom where told that Nova had passed away and they had found her this morning in her kennel with blood coming from her.
We were completely shocked and beyond devastated to hear this and at first I thought it was some horrible joke considering we had left a healthy dog in to be cared for 3 days earlier.”
The story only gets more devastating:
“I was then brought in to see my gorgeous dog who had been wrapped in what I can only describe as a ball in a black bag which was covered in masking tape, there was clearly so little care and empathy in the way she had been handled and dealt with since finding her. There are no words to describe how upsetting and traumatic it was to carry her to the car and take her home in what seemed a completely inhuman way.”
We’re so sorry for the loss of this beautiful soul. We hope Nova’s family find the answers they need.
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