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Please don't send your dog to Buddydog (Shanghai)

Please don't take your dog to Buddydog. I sent my beloved dog there and they killed her. They put my 2-kilo, 12-year-old Isabel, a chihuahua, in an area with a large dalmatian. A dalmatian that lives at the kennel and is still there as far as I know. The dalmatian attacked Isabel and, still alive, the horrendously incompetent staff left her in her bed 'to see what would happen'. Then they noticed that she looked 'uncomfortable' (these all words from the kennel afterwards). Finally, someone figured out that they should take her to the vet—an hour’s drive away. Isabel died in the car on the way. Alone, without me, probably terrified of what was going on.

To add insult to injury, I had zero contact from the two owners afterwards. I only got a few wechat messages from one of the staff. Messages that said 'sorry' and 'we'll help with cremation if you want.' It was only after I sent one of the owners an email expressing my distress and questioning whether she even knew what happened that I heard from her. We spoke on the phone. When I asked her why she didn’t contact me directly before, she replied “I had my staff do it.” She also callously added, “I don’t mean to be defensive… but the dog that killed Isabel thought she was a toy.” When asked why there wasn't someone nearby to pick Isabel up before the dalmatian got to her, her response was "the staff didn't see the dalmatian coming." Absurd beyond belief. Isabel used to play with pit bulls and they didn't kill her because they knew how to be around small dogs - because their competent owners trained them to be that way.

I had Isabel for nearly 12 years, traveling the world, nursing her through two major surgeries, living in 5 different countries. I started a series of photos of how people reacted to her -- she brought a smile to so many people's faces. She came to work with me. She was by my side nearly every moment of the 12 years. Buddydog, a business whose sole responsibility is to take care of animals, took her away from me. Their horrendous incompetence is surpassed only by their atrocious lack of compassion. These people should not be in the business of taking care of animals, let alone dealing with people whose beloved pets they kill.

Please don’t let this happen to you. Take your dog somewhere else.

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