Question
I recently went on a trip and left my ESA with a boarding facility. A day below coming home they asked me to call and told me my dog got out through a hole in their fence. She claims to have helped, made reports to animal control, and spoke to ask the neighbors in the area. After I called animal control for any updates they said they have no information of the trainer or the situation with my dog. I also passed out fliers to every neighbor and they ask claim to not know him or about the situation. She has refused to help financially after we were serviced by a K9 search team and is not taking any accountability or providing any compensation. Do I possibly have a case to recover the finances I spent to find my ESA. I am currently trying to recover help from an attorney but have not gotten any response yet.
Answer
I am so sorry to hear about your dog and hope that he/she is found safe. Boarding facilities are responsible for exercising reasonable care to protect against the loss of animals entrusted to them.
While I cannot predict the outcome of any given case, I believe that a boarding facility whose negligence results in the loss of an animal would be held liable. A court might order the boarding facility to pay for the cost to purchase/adopt another animal, the special value of the lost animal to the animal’s “parent,” and expenses to try to locate the missing animal. Most courts have not awarded money for loss of companionship and emotional distress, but some have.
Bar associations typically have attorney referral services. A civil litigation attorney or animal rights attorney might handle such a case.
Most importantly, I hope that you find your dog.
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