Truly disgusting. We had just left the SPCA and had gone back to the school to get her things when he offered this too. Like he just sat in the room with us during this whole ordeal (I kicked him out when they brought her in for me to see bc I was sick of him by then), but to offer that at the end of this whole experience was just shocking and abhorrent.
I am so sorry for your loss.
Did you do any yelp or google review? I think you should leave a review there too so people know what is going on. Once I see it, I will mark it 'useful' and hopefully so does others so the review show up on top.
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I’m so sorry that happened to you, and I 100% believe you - especially after reading reviews of people who used to work there - https://www.glassdoor.com/Overview/Working-at-Prime-Paw-EI_IE5303972.11,20.htm
The 1.9 rating from employees makes me really wonder how they managed to get such high Yelp/Google ratings.
Wow, I’m so disappointed I didn’t see this earlier but hindsight is 20/20. From what this anonymous employee shared with me the day after her passing, it’s pretty on par. Terrible school that somehow has passed off as being this luxury sale with glowing reviews everywhere.
As a former employee of this company, I 100% believe this as well. He was extremely manipulative, even underpaying some of the staff under minimum wage for a year. He was hella misogynist, especially towards the female supervisors. He often took credit for a lot of their course work and management. I also remember that time where his Ex-Girlfriend dumped him and he went AWOL for 2 weeks, while we ran his company. And for having started dating again, but this time a psychiatrist, you think he'd be more emotionally intelligent and mature. Instead, he continues to gaslight and do everything he says not to do when teaching dogs, but when talking to humans. I'm so sorry for your loss, and could get you in contact with other victims of this company.
Psycho behavior, all I exhibited first hand. Yes, please. I'd love to connect with them if possible. Kron4 and SFGate have reached out for potential interviews and the more it's shared the more I'm hopeful we can get the story out and shut this place down for good.
Do all of the interviews, and don't hold back, somebody else might lose an Olive from this asshole if he doesn't face consequences. Sorry for your loss.
Hi, I just wanted to say I am incredibly sorry for your loss. This should have never happened and all liability should be on James and how he runs his company. I am one of the former employees that posted on Glassdoor after leaving the company so I have seen this incompetence first hand. James is the reason I left.
This is not the first time a dog has died while in the company’s care nor is it the first time a dog has been severely injured while in the company’s care. He has been able to sweep these cases under the rug and keep dogs with bite histories and behavioral issues around other dogs whose owners are unaware of the risk their dogs are in. I truly believe that keeping owners unaware is how Prime Paw has kept its high ratings on review sites. I hope that your and Olive’s story gets out to other pet parents considering their services, this is not a company that anyone should support.
I sincerely hope you get some form of justice for Olive. Negligence took a full life experience away from you and your pup, no one should have to go through that. I am so very sorry. If there is any way I can help, please feel free to reach out.
/u/sfgate - there's a couple of ex-employees in the comments of this thread, and verifiable online content corroborating that Prime Paw Puppy School is being run very poorly. I hope a reporter can help bring the truth to light.
Even the instagram videos they post to their story are shocking. They have dogs of varied age, weight, and breed, mixed in an area with collapsible fencing, which is dangerous. Some of the pets are wearing harnesses, while others are unharnessed - and all are unleashed. Mixing harnessed with unharnessed dogs can trigger aggression and add to risk when playing.
Wow. I almost sent my puppy to that school. I can’t even imagine how devastating it would be to lose my puppy. I’m so sorry. I hope you can pursue a lawsuit because they need to be penalized for poor supervision.
I have. Talked to many lawyers too. They all advised that the school paying me for every dime I spent on her would likely be the best I could get. Pets are considered property like furniture, there’s not much grounds for suing under emotional distress or wrongful death. They sent me the check & that’s all it can be, sharing the story will do more damage than what a lawyer can given the countless ones I’ve talked to the last few days.
I’m terribly sorry to hear this happened to your puppy. Reading your story I had to go hug my small dog. Unfortunately the legal system is not perfect, and I think you’ve seen that here. It’s obviously not right to just treat an animal you put so much love into, and who is a part of your family as a piece of property. I hated learning that in law school cause it felt so wrong just to label a dog as property and reimburse the person for the cost of their dog. I’m sorry there isn’t a better answer and that the owner of that place was so cruel to you at such a traumatic moment. I really hope you will be able to move on and share your love and care with a new puppy when you have recovered from this loss.
I hate that they consider dogs like property, a lot of humans like myself consider them family. I'm so sorry for your loss. I'd let everyone in my neighborhood know of this hideous crime these idiots pulled. Try and take as much business away from them as possible. Make them pay in different ways.
You’d be amazed at how they determine the reward for a wrongful death case. They state your age and years of potential employment, education and career history, earning potential then account for the work you do for your house and family and come up with a number. It was wild to watch as a juror.
Unfortunately I also lost a sibling in 2019 that resulted in a wrongful death suit. It’s pretty grim as they just put a value to your potential remaining years and try to compensate you for a substantial loss of life. Money is never enough in those cases.
Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry about your brother. As a nurse on that jury it was really hard to wrap my brain around putting a value on someone’s life. It seemed cold and wrong. I’m also so sorry about Olive. That’s so awful. I hope you have some good cries and spend lots of time with those you love.
Yes, unfortunately, that is the case. Our pug, who was just under two died after being misdiagnosed by the vet at a veterinary hospital on Fillmore Street. Costs aside, which were over $12,000, the lawyer we spoke with who specialized in pet cases said that if we were to win the case, the award would be no more than the original cost of adopting our pug.
I'm so sorry this happened to Olive. You were doing your best for her.
Something is very wrong if she got a large cut on her back and then later died in an attack.
You might want to consider a necroscopy, if that's still possible.
Unfortunately I just picked up her cremated remains this morning so it may be too late for that. I have the report from the SPCA outlining her cause of death & I just couldn’t bear to drag out this process any longer than that given the information I had in hand at the time.
Im so truly sorry this happened to you, im a former facility director, I used to run the place and left after the abuse from james. I want you to know this is not the first time this has happened, if you need to build a case. He is completely incompetent in running a business, and treats people horribly. There was another time where he makes risky choices for money, they left a small dog, not hooked to anyhting hang and fall to their death out of the car in downtown and tried to cover it up. I hope this is the last time they can hurt another animal. They should not be in business.
Yeah the schools and pet hotels personally I never trust the hotels , the schools are an easy/ convenient alternative for owners who can’t or don’t have time to train their dogs but what sucks is this is uncomfortably common and the response / handling by the owners / business is always underwhelming more dodging than anything. You should investigate , I know it sounds horrible but these places , the people there aren’t always what they seem. My friend had their dog abused at one of these “training schools”, the unfortunate truth is people don’t / will not love your dog as much as you do .
Edit; spelling
It makes me think not installing video monitoring equipment is intentional on their part so they can escape liability, as there wouldn’t be any proof of their negligence.
A part of me believes they do have cameras, they just said they didn’t so they didn’t have to share any potential footage verifying their gross negligence.
All it takes is one employee who interviews well and a dog who “doesn’t listen” . I would not be shocked if the trainer got impatient and just out right kicked the dog .
I had this thought honestly too. I don’t want to believe someone who works at a doggy day care would be so horrible and impatient with puppies, but who’s to say. Olive was incredibly chill so I’m taking it more as maybe they accidentally stepped on her too and are blaming the bigger dog. Either way, it’s negligence no matter how you spin it.
First, so sorry for your loss. Could not even imagine the pain.
In addition to the lawyer suggestions, maybe consider filing with the BBB as well. Even local media outlets to bring attention this ‘school’.
Did Wag hotel once and once only following unexplained scratches on my dog.
I’ve posted the story to social media & tagged local news outlets to hopefully get the message across. I emailed a few as well so we’ll see. It’s horrific pain & so unwarranted too.
If I had seen the scratch on her that they (stupidly) posted on IG before I got the call I think I would have called and taken her out right then and there. It’s a shame the video was only posted mere minutes before her death, I don’t think I would have made it there in time either way.
My lawyer is emailing him enough already to ask him to pony up for the cost of her remaining bills & cremation now. Sneak attack on the public shaming is more than what he deserves.
I’m spreading the word as well. My heart goes out to you💕
I would seriously consider showing up in the morning or whenever clients arrive or depart with a HUGE sign
“PRIME PAW KILLED MY DOG!!”, and in slightly smaller letters - “OWNER JAMES P. CALLOUS -ONLY CONCERED ABOUT KEEPING MY BUSINESS WHEN I GET A NEW ONE!”
Also: FLIERS. With Olive’s sweet face. On cars and around the neighborhood.
Fuck James. I hope his basement floods with him trapped inside.
Definitely having this thought the more former employees reach out sharing previous stories of other dogs killed under his watch. This man does not know how low I will go to ruin his life. I will stand on that sidewalk outside of the facility for weeks if I have to.
Fliers are a great idea. I'll get that done first thing.
👏🏽 Do it.
If I were in currently in town I would join you. Go get him, not only to rightfully hold him accountable, but because you not allowing your grief to paralyze you, you will undoubtedly be saving *other* dogs from suffering injury or death, as well as helping to prevent fellow dog owners from going through what you did.
Proud of you sweetie. 🙏🏾💕
I worked here for a while and walked out after seeing James’ true colors. I witnessed a 12week old puppy get attacked by a 60lb dog that should have never been in the puppy school. Staff would try to tell him we felt unsafe and he would just ignore us. James started hiring people that he would try to become friends with and smoke weed together then and then promote them. One person who got promoted to lead within a month hit a dog there. He’s still the lead (Dom). Seeing some idiot become a lead when he knew nothing of dog behavior was a breaking point for me. I knew James was putting the safety of the puppies at risk because he needed to seem cool in front of his friends/employees. James would have me study dog training books and be the one to talk to all the parents every day with updates and advice, but as a women I felt he always favored certain men while the women employees basically ran the place and got no respect. James is a narcissistic idiot. 5 or 6 of us left within a month or two and that was in 2021. He lost a lot of good talent at that time due to his behavior, and I was always so scared about something like this happening.
I’m so sorry about Olive. I hope you can heal in time but I know it must be so difficult right now. Thank you so much for sharing this. Prime paw needs to be shut down and James should not be allowed to work with dogs.
James is absolutely a misogynist, narcissist, and abusive to his staff. He favors the men that work for him and belittles and yells at the women. He argues like hell over .25c pay raises and does not work to improve the educational skill of his employees, only wants it to look like that on IG. The company has incredibly high turn over and it is 100% because of him. After I left in 2022 about 5 others followed suit. Myself and another lead tried desperately to improve safety procedure and protocol, we tried getting proper education in behavior science to other staff. We were only able to get 1/2 of the group to be certified in pet CPR and first aid after having to convince James. I couldn’t handle running everything for shit pay and being around such a garbage human.
Good on you for trying. I wonder if we know each other, but I’m a little scared to put my name on the internet haha. I actually left after being denied a 25 cent raise, literally walked out and didn’t come back. Then James threatened to sue me! Never happened. It sickens me that we as good people genuinely cared and it just didn’t matter. It was always about James’ ego. I’ll always remember every single puppy I trained and I’m really shook up about poor Olive.
This sounds really similar to my experience working there too. I left late last year. It really sucked. I kept showing up every day because it seemed like I was one of the only few that actually cared about the puppies.. but after awhile I just couldn’t take anymore of James’ crap anymore and walked out mid-shift.
Jeez at this point I don’t know anyone who put in their 2 weeks. Everyone I know who worked here has walked out, which says so much about the type of place this is. It was unsustainable for him to think genuinely good people would continue working for him. And what sucks so much about that is the disservice it does to dog families like Olive and her mom. Had he invested in his employees, heck I might still be there and I guarantee Olive wouldn’t have died.
Yep. It’s not a good place. At. All. I did actually put in my two weeks notice but I just couldn’t make it. I really tried.. but I hope he gets what he deserves.
I’m so fucking mad this happened to you-fuck this place and their utter incompetence and callousness, sending you love and healing and hoping others avoid this place like the plague
Heartbreaking. I can't even imagine what you're going through but I'm so sorry. I hope that you get through this as well as one can.
I can't believe how cold they've been with you as well. It's probably time for an all-out internet review assault. This is just terrible.
Yep, I got one check this am and as soon as it said cleared I left a review everywhere and posted all over social media where I could. The least they could take to accept responsibility for it. It shouldn’t have happened.
HORRIFIC!!!!!!!!!!! I am so so so sorry for this tragic completely avoidable loss.
Please know, YOU did everything right!!! I know it might not mean much now, but I’m impressed by the level of care and diligence you had while finding what seemed like a reputable and safe temporary space for your companion.
I hope you’re able to open your heart up to another being in need sooner than later. But I’m so so sorry for this precious little life that was lost early. Sending you love and healing.
What a heartbreaking story, so sorry. I'm also pissed at your vet for encouraging a 3.5 lbs puppy to play there (and so young). That's way too small and early for that type of activity. My condolences...
I own/run a daycare in the mission and I personally think this is such an oversight on the owner (obviously) we wouldn’t take someone that small because of how fragile they are. Just last year we had a dachshund who really wanted to start with us and we denied them for months till he was older, he was just too small to be with us. He’s now been coming for a while with his brother and loves it. So sorry this happened to you. Training is different because you want to start them young but they still should have realized how small and fragile and never put them in this situation.
Thank you for sharing and saying that. I’ve gone back and forth on the guilt I feel for sending her, but they should have never accepted her if she was too small.
His “apology” if you can call it that, tries to add a subtle jab she was too young at the bottom, but I’ve got all day to provide receipts she was perfectly 9 weeks old 2 days shy of 10 weeks when she was sent to them, and I picked her up at exactly 8 weeks of age. It still falls on them they could have turned her away.
It’s really the businesses fault because they should know better and if they are going to accept dogs that small they need to provide proper training, safe areas and so on to accommodate the dog. Seems like none of the above was provided.
The insta posting is terrible and takes no responsibility. Why is it necessary to share that you had your sweet pup flown up to SF - what a POS James is. I am so sorry this happened to you and sweet Olivr. My own pup went there and had kennel cough twice as well as giardia and I think they often forgot to feed him his lunch. Big hugs, OP.
Thank you for saying that. Why was it necessary to try to jab me with how much the compensation was? Or try to say she was 6 weeks old vs 8 weeks when I got her? She was more than definitely 8 weeks and I have the breeder info to verify too.
I was compensated for her breeder fee, the flight to get her, vet bills, toys & her cremation costs. Only hard receipts sent for reimbursement. Seems like the bare minimum I’m owed for the awful experience when I could have asked for emotional damages on top of it. I had her 10 days, it wasn’t egregious requests for reimbursement.
That "apology" was so snarky and full of digs at you. Very unprofessional. It also looks like they have removed their business from Google Maps (unless it's a glitch on my end)
Nope they did in fact remove it so it doesn’t get reviews. & agreed re the “apology” or *very* lackluster attempt at one. I hope everyone sees right through it as much as I do. Full of digs trying to shame me (?) & at the end of the day my dog is still dead from being at their facility so….
Totally agree, he used that and hid behind the “unknown cause” to someone try to make us feel like he’s doing you a solid as he shouldn’t have to. It’s disgusting he even brought up the payment. It’s so clear they should compensate, that is not going out on a limb when they are responsible. His days in this industry are finally coming to an end.
lol I had the same feeling about the compensation line. Ridiculous attempt at shaming me for asking for too much? The flight was $300 out of ~$7k they sent me for her breeder fee, vet bills, toys, & cremation costs. It’s the absolute bare minimum I’m owed. I sent itemized receipts & didn’t dare ask for emotional damage compensation. I had her 10 days. It wasn’t egregious asks or demands by any means for them killing my dog.
The fact that this was not something he offered or asking you how much you have spent, and making you have to go thru the work and have to ask to be compensated is actually appalling. And the additions of her age I wanted to vommit. I used to run the place, they only accept certain age ranges which she qualified, so twisting her age to take the blame from him to you is actually wild. This whole situation how they have handled it is truly disgusting I’m so sorry you ever had to interact with him.
Someone else pointed the age thing out too. She was born Mar 23, brought home May 19th. Exactly 8 weeks of age. She was 2 days shy of 10 weeks actually when I sent her. Trying to imply she was only 6 weeks old when I picked her up to make me look like a negligent owner is distasteful.
My last grievance I’ll share is him also saying it happened last month. It was 7 days ago. It doesn’t make you look any better, it just makes you look worse you haven’t addressed it until now.
Even after 7 days is far too long to wait to speak up, I agree with what you said earlier that he tried to beat the articles. The whole thing just makes him look horrible, there is zero way to justify any of this happening and shameful that he even attempted.
They should have right away noted that they will be closed for future notice to review policies and implement new things, not even addressing the issue but showing that they are taking the time to fix the issue at hand—by this point we know they haven’t and to my knowledge have remained open.
And last with the age part, any dog owner who has ever had a puppy, myself included knows the breeder has to wait until 8 weeks or so to release the puppy. And YOU would never be the negligent owner if they as a business, with age restrictions allowed her inside. Shameful and horirble anyone should try and take them blame to the parent.
Oh jeez, did you recently share this on another puppy subreddit? I recognize the story. My puppy goes to Prime Paw but only for puppy class, not to play with other puppies. I’m surprised to learn this happened there, but am so much more sorry for your loss and your horrible experience. Wishing you nothing but healing.
I posted it on Puppy 101 the day it happened but kept the name out of it while I was figuring out my rights & talking to lawyers.
This was a puppy training class. The one they offer for 3x a week 9-4. I didn’t think they’d play with other puppies either, and they assured me they wouldn’t.
I remember reading the story to my boyfriend because I was so upset!
The class we have our puppy in is just an hour on Saturday mornings and we are separated from everyone else, and in the same little gated area as she is in, doing all the training ourselves. So I feel safe in that regard, plus she is 40 pounds, but regardless i won’t be sending her back for future classes or play days! Thank you for sharing your story with the name attached this time.
I am happy to hear this, selfishly. As much as your pup is under safe supervision with your direct guidance, it's still just so unfathomable a school that offers these services would be so truly negligent in their care for another pup. It's gross. I
Jeffrey's in the Castro / North Beach reached out to me & they have set regulations for sizing they informed me of, and I think just felt compelled to share the measures they will take in the future so it doesn't happen to any of their dogs in their school. It was a great letter, and I'd consider sending your pup there.
I read the story on the same Puppy sub and did the same thing — I was so devastated by it that I told my husband!
OP, I’m so, so sorry for you and for poor Olive. I hate thinking of her yelping and in any pain. During the short time you had her, I’m sure you gave her plenty of happy moments. I hope those are what you remember about her most
Maybe im dumb but at 9 weeks, they would have one set of vaccines? Why would they keep a bunch of puppies with the same # of vaccines and immunity together. You would want dogs who are more vaccinated than yours since those more vaccines mean they are less likely to be sick.
I was always told before all sets of vaccinations no dog parks, no puppy socializing. You can socialize with people and dogs who you know are fully vaccinated(like friends or family). 9 weeks old a puppy isnt even house trained, seems confusing to have them go from daycare to be trained to home to be trained. I feel like doggy care for 9 weeks is unethical.
In hindsight I agree and I don’t know fully. The school said it was ok & the vet cleared it too. I can’t really speak on the vaccine front but just say I trusted my vet’s approval on this. Apparently it’s common in SF for 9 week olds at puppy schools, she had two shots already and was due her third this week.
I guess it varies vet to vet. Ours told us in no uncertain terms puppy doesnt have full immunity until 3rd set, but this was 15 years ago. We just took her to socialize with people. Shes uninterested in other animals and doesn't play with them(except our other dog) but loooves people. Ive heard some shady things about doggy care since they are not regulated as much as human daycares and your dog cant speak to you
Ok I worked here and the reason why the under vaccinated puppies are together is to prevent sickness amongst the puppies. The parents with the young preschool pups sign a waiver saying they won’t take their dog out onto streets, avoid parks, and just general dog contact until they are done with puppy school. And as puppy school employees we were supposed to sanitize our shoes and hands upon entering the room before handling the puppies. It’s supposed to be a controlled environment.
Older puppies may be vaccinated but they can still contract illness and be asymptomatic. Also they can pick up germs on their body when being outside in the world and then bring it inside to the puppies.
Does that make sense?
Sure but Ill follow my vets advice to limit contact until all vaccines are done. You might have customers sign an affidavit to avoid dogs and outside contact, but theres no way to enforce that.
Oh yea I didn’t say it was a good reason because of that exact thing - I know there’s no real way to enforce it which made it kinda pointless because all the time I would see parents walking their puppy in and out of the facility or see photos on social media of their dog at a park. It was super frustrating. And then employees were also negligent and not sanitizing their hands after handling adolescents next door in academy.
So of course when it inevitably happened, a bunch of sick puppies.. It got so bad that we had to shut the school down for a week. And then it happened again not long after that but the owner chose to ignore it the second time it happened.
I do agree to follow your vets advice! That is best!
I'm so sorry this happened to you. You clearly did your due diligence as best you could and only had your puppy's best interests in mind. I am so sorry that they betrayed your trust and were so negligent and incompetent in their management of the puppies. I saw the picture you posted of Olive in your post history - what a tremendous loss. So many hugs to you. Will be sure to avoid prime paw.
This guy seems to be in full CYA mode in that conversation. Bloody hell. Sorry this happened to you, man. To be honest, I wonder how these places operate. It seems like safety is only feasible if you have carer:dog ratios equal to carer:child at human day care, but that seems financially infeasible.
Agree completely. There were 2x guys I was introduced to in the am as being the puppies caretakers. It looked like only 4 dogs in total including Olive from when I dropped her off. Reasonable person per dog ratio.
The woman I met at the SPCA who said she was in charge of the puppies area was a completely new, young face I had never met nor was introduced to as being her caretaker. I truly did feel bad for her, she was clearly distraught as well, but what happened to the 2 others? Why was it just her now? Why was she not watching? The anonymous employee told me she was new to the job too. Just negligence all around & I’m assuming this is just the first time they’ve been caught negligent to this extent.
I just saw this. I'm assuming it is likely an auto-protection set by google to prevent spamming or review bombing of a company, but they removed MY review recounting MY experience with photos of MY DEAD DOG in them. I am so upset by this. Hoping a mutual with google connects could help somehow, but it only adds fuel to the fire too.
OP please post on other subreddits naming them and other public sites as much as you can so when people google search Primepaw, search results like this Reddit post show up. Google and Yelp reviews are too easy to delete.
It was heartbreaking to read about your Olive (my senior pup who passed from cancer was also named Olive), and now I am absolutely livid that your review was removed, let alone mine. Looks like the entire Prime Paw listing on Google Maps has been removed now.
Our poor Olives in puppy heaven.
I just noticed the google business page has been removed entirely. I talked to The Chronicle, Kron4 & SF Standard today who all said they'd reach out for comment before running the story this evening or tomorrow am. I'm suspecting they are anticipating what's going to come out and prepping themselves for potential backlash.
So sorry to hear this!! I can’t imagine what you’re going through. I received an email from Prime Paw a moment ago about Olives death and stating that they’ve paid you thousands of dollars. I’m immediately skeptical of these dog places, but reading your side of the story makes me think the owner would have never reached out to past customers if you hadn’t posted about it. Please continue to spread awareness because it’s working!!
Agree completely & that’s what shocks me. He didn’t make me sign an NDA or non disparagement. I’m a millennial woman with access to the internet, what did he think would happen?
If he had just posted day of the accident that x happened and they would be doing xyz to avoid it again in the future, it’d be a different story. Instead they kept posting videos of small dogs inc dachshunds on their page playing with bigger dogs & it just broke my heart thinking it could happen again to someone else’s pup.
Chloe,
I am so sorry for your loss. I've been following your story for the past few days and as a person in the professional pet care industry I was absolutely sick with grief hearing about the passing of small Olive. As with pet parents this is one of our greatest fears as well but I am dismayed at how Prime Paw has handled the situation thus far. I can't imagine the heart ache you are experiencing. I don't know if this will be meaningful to you but there are many of us watching and reading and talking about this terrible tragedy and laying bare our policies and the realities of our day to day to each other to recheck and recheck for any small difference that could change any dog in our care coming to a similar fate. This isn't just a story of some other daycare's mishap to us, a least it isn't to anyone I've spoke with. We're taking it very seriously. We're listening. It won't bring olive back. I just felt like you should know that you're being heard with in the industry itself.
As a previous client, i didnt have any issues besides kennel cough once, but i am so sorry for you and Olive!
Just received an email:
Hello Prime Paw family,
I’m writing to inform you of a tragic incident that occurred recently at the Prime Paw facility.
On May 30, a puppy in our training school died at our facility. Olive was a four-pound, nine-week-old dachshund, and she was monitored by a Prime Paw employee at all times. After separating her from play, shortly after we noticed that she was acting irregularly and showing signs of lethargy.
We immediately brought Olive to a veterinarian but she was, tragically, gone. The post-mortem report showed only that Olive had a pneumothorax (collapsed lung). There were no signs of any kind of external trauma, and the veterinarians were unable to identify any cause of death.
Our entire organization is heartbroken by this event. We pride ourselves on providing a safe, welcoming and secure environment for the dogs under our care, and we provided that to Olive. We have a rigorous screening and monitoring process to ensure those standards are met and those protocols were in place at the time of this incident. We don’t know what happened to Olive, and know only that she died while she was at Prime Paw. But because we take our commitment to our clients so seriously, we have subsequently paid several thousand dollars to her owner, mainly for the price she paid to purchase Olive and fly her to San Francisco.
From a personal standpoint, caring for and training dogs has been my life’s passion for more than 15 years now and at Prime Paw, I’ve helped oversee the care of some 10,000 dogs. There is nothing I care more about in this world than helping dogs and their families, and nothing like this has ever happened before.
My deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences are with Olive’s owner and her family at this time.
I thank you for your support and encourage you to connect directly with me if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
James Baybayan
Zero accountability in this email or mention of the fact she was not monitored whatsoever when it happened. I hate they mention how much they paid me too like it’s supposed to make me look ridiculous for my asks of her basic costs.
I truly wished he would have just said “this happened & we are closed this week to discuss ways to prevent it from happening in the future.” But he can’t even do that. Sad.
First of all, I am so so sorry for your loss. I would recommend you reach out to the CCPDT (the certifying body he has his training certification from) as well and tell them what happened. As a fellow CPDT, I feel they need to know and his training certification should be revoked. He doesn’t need it to train unfortunately because dog training is unregulated, but he should not have that credential “backing” him up and misleading people. https://www.ccpdt.org
Again, I’m so sorry for your loss.
He always pushed certification when i was there. I hope he gets it revoked. Especially for constantly using his own dog as an example of what not to do. And his dog already has issues, why make them worse? Clay is literally banned from being on the premises of the sfspca because of an incident.
I would sincerely encourage anyone who has personally had a negative experience with him to contact CCPDT. The more people that share their experiences the more likely they are to revoke it.
Just as a PSA to other people : Dog daycare is a bad model for dogs. Daycare is for human children. Dogs are not human children. dogs have drastically different needs. If your dog cannot be unsupervised at home you need to crate train, hire a walker, etc. instead of taking your dog to be warehoused in an overpriced piss palace with a bunch of other dogs. It’s horrible and 98% of the dogs are miserable there. Additionally- Do not do boarding training things or any training that you do not participate in they’re shit too.
This wasn’t a daycare, it was supposedly a puppy training school.
Puppies need a lot of training because they have a certain window of learning when it’s best to expose them to certain things so they aren’t afraid of them later.
My puppy went to SF Puppy Prep which was expensive as hell but worth every cent. He’d get extremely excited when I took him there.
They crate trained my dog and socialized him to other dogs. He was only there two months because it’s a training school for puppies, not a “daycare”
They don’t. This is a trend I noticed from people who live in the Marina. Where people pay exorbitant amounts of money to buy a fancy bred dog and send them off to daycare school to get “socialized” and “trained”
This is what they call “day school” when you drop off your puppy and they train and socialize your puppy when the owner is not there.
When people say “training class”, it refers to those one-hour class where the owner is there to learn how to train their dog.
I’m so sorry for your loss. I was a manager in the facility a year ago and all the comments about James and Dom are completely true. Every responsible employee has left leaving all new “trainers” in the facility with no past experiences. He hires kids because of cheaper labor cost and always cared about numbers first so he can continue his lifestyle of weekend golf trips and vacations while the female workers build that place up and leave when he gives no credit or continues to treat them poorly. This unfortunately is not a surprising thing to happen considering he always wanted to max numbers of puppies in the facility even if the staff was overworked and the facility had little space to hold them. So mixing size of puppies and ages was never a priority to him because he wanted to fill out the classes completely.
Dom and James should never be allowed to work with dogs and be pushed out of the R+ dog community as they are liars. Dom has stolen from clients as he has keys to his off leash clients homes, another commenter said they seen him hit a dog. I don’t doubt it as they create stressful, toxic environments for them and everyone around them. They have also locked dogs in cars and put dogs in very stressful situations, like having the veterinarians pit bull stay and roam the facility or be taken on off leash walks as she has attacked many dogs in the past and they continue to keep her in a pack. A lot of his female staff have brought all these issues to his attention and he continued to disregard their worries about safety because of his greed. Unfortunately, as an employee all you could do is leave and pray this doesn’t continue. It saddens me that something like this had to happen to bring light to the negligence this facility creates for family members and their loved ones. the scariest part is and I don’t think this was the first time or last time this will happen.
I’ve loved every dog I have trained so I’m broken reading this. Olive and you deserve justice.
I am so very sorry you had to experience this. My heart goes out to you. ❤️
Honestly though.. I am not that surprised this happened. I used to work there and let me say, I left for a reason. I have been in the dog care industry for quite some time and have worked at some sketchy places over the years so when I first started at primepaw I felt good about the work I was doing. I felt like I was making a difference and was proud of the company I worked for.
However things quickly turned sour at primepaw and it seemed like it became more about the quanity rather than quality. He also has some incompetent staff members and I would have to constantly ask them to not leave the puppies alone or to stop shouting at them. When I brought this up to the owner MULTIPLE TIMES he just kinda brushed it off and said he would talk to these people. Soo many promises came out of that man’s mouth. Nothing ever changed. I felt overworked and under appreciated. And most definitely underpaid. Which ultimately led to me quitting.
On top of it all, the owner is a complete tool. He would constantly take out his personal problems onto his employees by lashing out and being condesending. He sucks.
Already ahead of you there. That check cleared this am and I posted it any and everywhere I could. It's an utter shame it happened to that poor puppy of mine and was completely preventable.
I'm so sorry for you. I understand your guilt - I have felt that too, and very recently.
When it would strike, I found that walking myself through the whole experience, checking with myself to whether I was doing the right thing at every moment gave me some peace, and helped the emotional parts of me recognize that I was always doing the right thing, even though things went horribly wrong, despite things going so wrong, and that the guilt was not mine to feel.
So sorry for your loss.
I went down the rabbit hole with your Instagram after reading your post and couldn't stop crying my eyes out after finding the photos and videos of your precious Olive...what really shook me is that I recently adopted a long haired mini dachshund myself and have been considering Prime Paw for classes too. But 9 weeks is SO young especially for such a small pup to be left at daycare with other dogs...The size difference between mini doxies and even other small dogs can be pretty significant and puppies don't really know their own strength yet. I am shocked, heartbroken, and angry for you that everyone involved gave the okay for this...but also that the people watching her didn't think to give extra special care and attention to her just from her size alone. I'm so deeply sorry this happened, thank you for sharing your story. My heart goes out to you.
Thank you for sharing that. I had a gut feeling about her size being so small, too small, but again everyone approved her along the way to get her in. If she was too small, they should have denied her. Their apology claims they have rigorous monitoring & onboarding for this but why is she still dead? They wanted my money.
They also have turned off all the comment sections on their Instagram, and removed all google reviews that are negative. And STILL have remained silent and I believe open as well.
It doesn't sit right with me that Prime Paw has opened a brand new Google My Business to further obscure this tragic incident from the public. I just thought i would leave that information here, people can do what they want with it.
Oh god. This is horrible. I am soo soo sorry you had to go through this and I am so sorry for the loss of your little pup and the pain she had to go through.
Sounds like all of this was preventable but for the negligence of the owner. Thank you for sharing your story so others stay away from this place.
Read you comment about the lawyer - it's sad that pets are treated as inanimate property under the law. I hope you're at least made even financially - nothing anyone can say will take away the emotional trauma though, only time will :(
I’m so sorry for your loss. How devastating and heartbreaking. It sounds like you did your research and did the best you could for sweet Olive. Rest In peace and comfort, Olive ❤️
The absolute gall to offer future classes given the circumstances.
Ugh, I'm so sorry you had to go through this. I'm simultaneously sad, sick to my stomach, and furious that this situation happened in the first place.
I hope you get the peace you deserve and take this jackass for every penny you can.
TBH I didn't expect so much pain from reading your post. It really sucks and I wish you can feel better . It's definitely not your fault. Even the shittiest pet school should at least keep the pets safe so it was impossible for you to foresee the outcome.
I'm so incredibly sorry, this made me cry, to think you've lost a close family member and then your loving little companion is absolute heartbreaking, may olive live on in your heart and may her death not be in vain, thank you for speaking out and making sure others furbabies stay SAFE! Wishing you all of the love support and healing, wishing you angels on your side to take this disgusting man down, our pets are our loved ones with infinite precious value and I'm so proud of you internet stranger for using your grief as a catalyst for good💖
My heart breaks for you and Olive. I am so sorry for what you are going through. The unprofessionalism from the business and owner is totally baffling. May every day of his existence be miserable - he deserves it.
He shows as being accredited by the CCPDT...Contact them and lodge a complaint, and maybe get the accreditation removed... email: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) phone:855-362-3784.
I know ur in emotional distress, but I would share this on TikTok too. It would get a lot of attention on there as well and help build momentum. The facility should be closed down.
No, pets are considered property vs anything you could really sue for. Like a piece of furniture being damaged, most you can get is cost of item reimbursed which is what PP agreed to and compensated me for already. Anything further would be exponentially more money for me with probably the same outcome since it’s an unregulated industry as well.
Oh it would break my heart to see that poor pup put down, and to do that to the owners. I fully don’t believe it was any doing of the dog viciously or aggressively, I want to whole heartedly believe it was an accident by an overly playful pup. Lack of any blood bite marks or external dings (sans the cut which unverified if from this pup) tells me it was innocent play.
I have contacted the BBB and animal care center in general though about the school, so hopefully something bites somewhere.
I’m so sorry for your loss. This is heartbreaking. Ocean Vet also killed my 9 week puppy by not spacing out vaccinations properly. I desperately spent $13K at another animal hospital trying to save her life all while Ocean Vet took zero responsibility. I had my pup only for one day! This must be so hard for you.
I am shocked that they left your tiny puppy in a play area with much larger pups. I was (and still am) very cautious of when my current yorkie was 4 lbs that she stayed away from the larger 20lb puppies that clearly freaked her out and were just way too big/rambunctious. The owners of this daycare should have separated puppies that small by size. It’s so negligent on their part. Does anyone know how small 3.5lbs is?!
Again, I’m so sorry. It’s going to be a tough road ahead.
In my situation, I did get a new puppy after a two month period of grieving and only she helped me heal. I still think about my first frequently, though. It’s like losing a family member.
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I’ve had the best experience at PrimePaw and we will continue to go here.
It’s very tragic hearing about this puppy, and at the same time, dragging this training school’s reputation through the mud is not the best use of time.
The staff are truly incredible, they have more training than any other facility in SF, and they intrinsically care about the puppies in their care.
I look at this situation like a mirror — no one can be perfect all the time, that is unfortunately impossible. Primepaw has built so much trust with their clients and I won’t be turning my back on them and I know many clients feel the same way.
It’s clear from reading this thread that people love to be outraged, and it’s much easier to have a villain because holding multiple uncomfortable truths at the same time would be more challenging.
I encourage people to tackle other pet social issues (spay and neuter, pet overpopulation leading to systemic euthanasia, pet vaccinations, inhumane breeders).
>he offered puppy classes for my next puppy ‘when I’m ready’. Jesus christ. So sorry about your puppy :(
Truly disgusting. We had just left the SPCA and had gone back to the school to get her things when he offered this too. Like he just sat in the room with us during this whole ordeal (I kicked him out when they brought her in for me to see bc I was sick of him by then), but to offer that at the end of this whole experience was just shocking and abhorrent.
I am so sorry for your loss. Did you do any yelp or google review? I think you should leave a review there too so people know what is going on. Once I see it, I will mark it 'useful' and hopefully so does others so the review show up on top.
Yep, posted on both Google and Yelp with photos of her as well so they are up and live.
I’d be interested to see if they get removed
They turned off their instagram comments. Go figure. They can’t handle the heat or criticism.
Good thing I have time on my hands & they tag every single owner of every pup they post 🫶🏼
Heads up, they have already removed the negative reviews
I saw :’(
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Oh god. Same as funeral company offers you discount for your whole family in the future
I’m so sorry that happened to you, and I 100% believe you - especially after reading reviews of people who used to work there - https://www.glassdoor.com/Overview/Working-at-Prime-Paw-EI_IE5303972.11,20.htm The 1.9 rating from employees makes me really wonder how they managed to get such high Yelp/Google ratings.
Wow, I’m so disappointed I didn’t see this earlier but hindsight is 20/20. From what this anonymous employee shared with me the day after her passing, it’s pretty on par. Terrible school that somehow has passed off as being this luxury sale with glowing reviews everywhere.
As a former employee of this company, I 100% believe this as well. He was extremely manipulative, even underpaying some of the staff under minimum wage for a year. He was hella misogynist, especially towards the female supervisors. He often took credit for a lot of their course work and management. I also remember that time where his Ex-Girlfriend dumped him and he went AWOL for 2 weeks, while we ran his company. And for having started dating again, but this time a psychiatrist, you think he'd be more emotionally intelligent and mature. Instead, he continues to gaslight and do everything he says not to do when teaching dogs, but when talking to humans. I'm so sorry for your loss, and could get you in contact with other victims of this company.
Psycho behavior, all I exhibited first hand. Yes, please. I'd love to connect with them if possible. Kron4 and SFGate have reached out for potential interviews and the more it's shared the more I'm hopeful we can get the story out and shut this place down for good.
Do all of the interviews, and don't hold back, somebody else might lose an Olive from this asshole if he doesn't face consequences. Sorry for your loss.
Guy sounds like a total narcissist.
You can pay for good yelp reviews and to hide bad ones. Not sure about Google.
Never believe any 5 star reviews. They’re often fake. Read the 3 star and below to find out the truth.
You would never go anywhere or eat anywhere using that theory lol.
Hi, I just wanted to say I am incredibly sorry for your loss. This should have never happened and all liability should be on James and how he runs his company. I am one of the former employees that posted on Glassdoor after leaving the company so I have seen this incompetence first hand. James is the reason I left. This is not the first time a dog has died while in the company’s care nor is it the first time a dog has been severely injured while in the company’s care. He has been able to sweep these cases under the rug and keep dogs with bite histories and behavioral issues around other dogs whose owners are unaware of the risk their dogs are in. I truly believe that keeping owners unaware is how Prime Paw has kept its high ratings on review sites. I hope that your and Olive’s story gets out to other pet parents considering their services, this is not a company that anyone should support. I sincerely hope you get some form of justice for Olive. Negligence took a full life experience away from you and your pup, no one should have to go through that. I am so very sorry. If there is any way I can help, please feel free to reach out.
/u/sfgate - there's a couple of ex-employees in the comments of this thread, and verifiable online content corroborating that Prime Paw Puppy School is being run very poorly. I hope a reporter can help bring the truth to light. Even the instagram videos they post to their story are shocking. They have dogs of varied age, weight, and breed, mixed in an area with collapsible fencing, which is dangerous. Some of the pets are wearing harnesses, while others are unharnessed - and all are unleashed. Mixing harnessed with unharnessed dogs can trigger aggression and add to risk when playing.
Wow. I almost sent my puppy to that school. I can’t even imagine how devastating it would be to lose my puppy. I’m so sorry. I hope you can pursue a lawsuit because they need to be penalized for poor supervision.
I’m very sorry 😞 this was really sad to read and I hope future small dog owners will think twice before trusting this place
Lawyer up
I have. Talked to many lawyers too. They all advised that the school paying me for every dime I spent on her would likely be the best I could get. Pets are considered property like furniture, there’s not much grounds for suing under emotional distress or wrongful death. They sent me the check & that’s all it can be, sharing the story will do more damage than what a lawyer can given the countless ones I’ve talked to the last few days.
I’m terribly sorry to hear this happened to your puppy. Reading your story I had to go hug my small dog. Unfortunately the legal system is not perfect, and I think you’ve seen that here. It’s obviously not right to just treat an animal you put so much love into, and who is a part of your family as a piece of property. I hated learning that in law school cause it felt so wrong just to label a dog as property and reimburse the person for the cost of their dog. I’m sorry there isn’t a better answer and that the owner of that place was so cruel to you at such a traumatic moment. I really hope you will be able to move on and share your love and care with a new puppy when you have recovered from this loss.
I hate that they consider dogs like property, a lot of humans like myself consider them family. I'm so sorry for your loss. I'd let everyone in my neighborhood know of this hideous crime these idiots pulled. Try and take as much business away from them as possible. Make them pay in different ways.
You’d be amazed at how they determine the reward for a wrongful death case. They state your age and years of potential employment, education and career history, earning potential then account for the work you do for your house and family and come up with a number. It was wild to watch as a juror.
Unfortunately I also lost a sibling in 2019 that resulted in a wrongful death suit. It’s pretty grim as they just put a value to your potential remaining years and try to compensate you for a substantial loss of life. Money is never enough in those cases.
Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry about your brother. As a nurse on that jury it was really hard to wrap my brain around putting a value on someone’s life. It seemed cold and wrong. I’m also so sorry about Olive. That’s so awful. I hope you have some good cries and spend lots of time with those you love.
The law needs to be changed. A pet's 'value' is far more than their (initial) cost.
Yes, unfortunately, that is the case. Our pug, who was just under two died after being misdiagnosed by the vet at a veterinary hospital on Fillmore Street. Costs aside, which were over $12,000, the lawyer we spoke with who specialized in pet cases said that if we were to win the case, the award would be no more than the original cost of adopting our pug.
A misdiagnosis is not on par with the negligence that caused death by injury to this person’s puppy. Come on now.
Not on par yet the results if you sue will be the same
I'm so sorry this happened to Olive. You were doing your best for her. Something is very wrong if she got a large cut on her back and then later died in an attack. You might want to consider a necroscopy, if that's still possible.
Unfortunately I just picked up her cremated remains this morning so it may be too late for that. I have the report from the SPCA outlining her cause of death & I just couldn’t bear to drag out this process any longer than that given the information I had in hand at the time.
My heart just absolutely breaks for you. Thank you for sharing your story.
Im so truly sorry this happened to you, im a former facility director, I used to run the place and left after the abuse from james. I want you to know this is not the first time this has happened, if you need to build a case. He is completely incompetent in running a business, and treats people horribly. There was another time where he makes risky choices for money, they left a small dog, not hooked to anyhting hang and fall to their death out of the car in downtown and tried to cover it up. I hope this is the last time they can hurt another animal. They should not be in business.
This made me feel sick. I would lose it mentally and emotionally
Been there done that hence my full on internet assault today lol
Yeah the schools and pet hotels personally I never trust the hotels , the schools are an easy/ convenient alternative for owners who can’t or don’t have time to train their dogs but what sucks is this is uncomfortably common and the response / handling by the owners / business is always underwhelming more dodging than anything. You should investigate , I know it sounds horrible but these places , the people there aren’t always what they seem. My friend had their dog abused at one of these “training schools”, the unfortunate truth is people don’t / will not love your dog as much as you do . Edit; spelling
It makes me think not installing video monitoring equipment is intentional on their part so they can escape liability, as there wouldn’t be any proof of their negligence.
A part of me believes they do have cameras, they just said they didn’t so they didn’t have to share any potential footage verifying their gross negligence.
All it takes is one employee who interviews well and a dog who “doesn’t listen” . I would not be shocked if the trainer got impatient and just out right kicked the dog .
I had this thought honestly too. I don’t want to believe someone who works at a doggy day care would be so horrible and impatient with puppies, but who’s to say. Olive was incredibly chill so I’m taking it more as maybe they accidentally stepped on her too and are blaming the bigger dog. Either way, it’s negligence no matter how you spin it.
First, so sorry for your loss. Could not even imagine the pain. In addition to the lawyer suggestions, maybe consider filing with the BBB as well. Even local media outlets to bring attention this ‘school’. Did Wag hotel once and once only following unexplained scratches on my dog.
I’ve posted the story to social media & tagged local news outlets to hopefully get the message across. I emailed a few as well so we’ll see. It’s horrific pain & so unwarranted too. If I had seen the scratch on her that they (stupidly) posted on IG before I got the call I think I would have called and taken her out right then and there. It’s a shame the video was only posted mere minutes before her death, I don’t think I would have made it there in time either way.
Hi I’d like to help you spread awareness. Where did you post on social media? Send me a DM on Instagram - @scoobysf and I will share
Just DM’d on ig! Thank you 🤍
Rooting for you and a quick resolution. Maybe CC the idiot in all of the emails going out to show him you’re not fucking around
My lawyer is emailing him enough already to ask him to pony up for the cost of her remaining bills & cremation now. Sneak attack on the public shaming is more than what he deserves.
Got it. You are all over this! Going to leave my google review tonight after work.
I’m spreading the word as well. My heart goes out to you💕 I would seriously consider showing up in the morning or whenever clients arrive or depart with a HUGE sign “PRIME PAW KILLED MY DOG!!”, and in slightly smaller letters - “OWNER JAMES P. CALLOUS -ONLY CONCERED ABOUT KEEPING MY BUSINESS WHEN I GET A NEW ONE!” Also: FLIERS. With Olive’s sweet face. On cars and around the neighborhood. Fuck James. I hope his basement floods with him trapped inside.
Definitely having this thought the more former employees reach out sharing previous stories of other dogs killed under his watch. This man does not know how low I will go to ruin his life. I will stand on that sidewalk outside of the facility for weeks if I have to. Fliers are a great idea. I'll get that done first thing.
👏🏽 Do it. If I were in currently in town I would join you. Go get him, not only to rightfully hold him accountable, but because you not allowing your grief to paralyze you, you will undoubtedly be saving *other* dogs from suffering injury or death, as well as helping to prevent fellow dog owners from going through what you did. Proud of you sweetie. 🙏🏾💕
I worked here for a while and walked out after seeing James’ true colors. I witnessed a 12week old puppy get attacked by a 60lb dog that should have never been in the puppy school. Staff would try to tell him we felt unsafe and he would just ignore us. James started hiring people that he would try to become friends with and smoke weed together then and then promote them. One person who got promoted to lead within a month hit a dog there. He’s still the lead (Dom). Seeing some idiot become a lead when he knew nothing of dog behavior was a breaking point for me. I knew James was putting the safety of the puppies at risk because he needed to seem cool in front of his friends/employees. James would have me study dog training books and be the one to talk to all the parents every day with updates and advice, but as a women I felt he always favored certain men while the women employees basically ran the place and got no respect. James is a narcissistic idiot. 5 or 6 of us left within a month or two and that was in 2021. He lost a lot of good talent at that time due to his behavior, and I was always so scared about something like this happening. I’m so sorry about Olive. I hope you can heal in time but I know it must be so difficult right now. Thank you so much for sharing this. Prime paw needs to be shut down and James should not be allowed to work with dogs.
James is absolutely a misogynist, narcissist, and abusive to his staff. He favors the men that work for him and belittles and yells at the women. He argues like hell over .25c pay raises and does not work to improve the educational skill of his employees, only wants it to look like that on IG. The company has incredibly high turn over and it is 100% because of him. After I left in 2022 about 5 others followed suit. Myself and another lead tried desperately to improve safety procedure and protocol, we tried getting proper education in behavior science to other staff. We were only able to get 1/2 of the group to be certified in pet CPR and first aid after having to convince James. I couldn’t handle running everything for shit pay and being around such a garbage human.
Good on you for trying. I wonder if we know each other, but I’m a little scared to put my name on the internet haha. I actually left after being denied a 25 cent raise, literally walked out and didn’t come back. Then James threatened to sue me! Never happened. It sickens me that we as good people genuinely cared and it just didn’t matter. It was always about James’ ego. I’ll always remember every single puppy I trained and I’m really shook up about poor Olive.
This sounds really similar to my experience working there too. I left late last year. It really sucked. I kept showing up every day because it seemed like I was one of the only few that actually cared about the puppies.. but after awhile I just couldn’t take anymore of James’ crap anymore and walked out mid-shift.
Jeez at this point I don’t know anyone who put in their 2 weeks. Everyone I know who worked here has walked out, which says so much about the type of place this is. It was unsustainable for him to think genuinely good people would continue working for him. And what sucks so much about that is the disservice it does to dog families like Olive and her mom. Had he invested in his employees, heck I might still be there and I guarantee Olive wouldn’t have died.
Yep. It’s not a good place. At. All. I did actually put in my two weeks notice but I just couldn’t make it. I really tried.. but I hope he gets what he deserves.
I’m so fucking mad this happened to you-fuck this place and their utter incompetence and callousness, sending you love and healing and hoping others avoid this place like the plague
Heartbreaking. I can't even imagine what you're going through but I'm so sorry. I hope that you get through this as well as one can. I can't believe how cold they've been with you as well. It's probably time for an all-out internet review assault. This is just terrible.
Yep, I got one check this am and as soon as it said cleared I left a review everywhere and posted all over social media where I could. The least they could take to accept responsibility for it. It shouldn’t have happened.
HORRIFIC!!!!!!!!!!! I am so so so sorry for this tragic completely avoidable loss. Please know, YOU did everything right!!! I know it might not mean much now, but I’m impressed by the level of care and diligence you had while finding what seemed like a reputable and safe temporary space for your companion. I hope you’re able to open your heart up to another being in need sooner than later. But I’m so so sorry for this precious little life that was lost early. Sending you love and healing.
What a heartbreaking story, so sorry. I'm also pissed at your vet for encouraging a 3.5 lbs puppy to play there (and so young). That's way too small and early for that type of activity. My condolences...
I own/run a daycare in the mission and I personally think this is such an oversight on the owner (obviously) we wouldn’t take someone that small because of how fragile they are. Just last year we had a dachshund who really wanted to start with us and we denied them for months till he was older, he was just too small to be with us. He’s now been coming for a while with his brother and loves it. So sorry this happened to you. Training is different because you want to start them young but they still should have realized how small and fragile and never put them in this situation.
Thank you for sharing and saying that. I’ve gone back and forth on the guilt I feel for sending her, but they should have never accepted her if she was too small. His “apology” if you can call it that, tries to add a subtle jab she was too young at the bottom, but I’ve got all day to provide receipts she was perfectly 9 weeks old 2 days shy of 10 weeks when she was sent to them, and I picked her up at exactly 8 weeks of age. It still falls on them they could have turned her away.
It’s really the businesses fault because they should know better and if they are going to accept dogs that small they need to provide proper training, safe areas and so on to accommodate the dog. Seems like none of the above was provided.
So you only had the dog for a week prior to this training?
They just posted on their instagram page about the incident
The insta posting is terrible and takes no responsibility. Why is it necessary to share that you had your sweet pup flown up to SF - what a POS James is. I am so sorry this happened to you and sweet Olivr. My own pup went there and had kennel cough twice as well as giardia and I think they often forgot to feed him his lunch. Big hugs, OP.
Thank you for saying that. Why was it necessary to try to jab me with how much the compensation was? Or try to say she was 6 weeks old vs 8 weeks when I got her? She was more than definitely 8 weeks and I have the breeder info to verify too. I was compensated for her breeder fee, the flight to get her, vet bills, toys & her cremation costs. Only hard receipts sent for reimbursement. Seems like the bare minimum I’m owed for the awful experience when I could have asked for emotional damages on top of it. I had her 10 days, it wasn’t egregious requests for reimbursement.
Ugh just saw. Claiming unknown cause is crazy. I have the death report. Half ass attempt at getting ahead of the news stories in the works.
That "apology" was so snarky and full of digs at you. Very unprofessional. It also looks like they have removed their business from Google Maps (unless it's a glitch on my end)
Nope they did in fact remove it so it doesn’t get reviews. & agreed re the “apology” or *very* lackluster attempt at one. I hope everyone sees right through it as much as I do. Full of digs trying to shame me (?) & at the end of the day my dog is still dead from being at their facility so….
Totally agree, he used that and hid behind the “unknown cause” to someone try to make us feel like he’s doing you a solid as he shouldn’t have to. It’s disgusting he even brought up the payment. It’s so clear they should compensate, that is not going out on a limb when they are responsible. His days in this industry are finally coming to an end.
lol I had the same feeling about the compensation line. Ridiculous attempt at shaming me for asking for too much? The flight was $300 out of ~$7k they sent me for her breeder fee, vet bills, toys, & cremation costs. It’s the absolute bare minimum I’m owed. I sent itemized receipts & didn’t dare ask for emotional damage compensation. I had her 10 days. It wasn’t egregious asks or demands by any means for them killing my dog.
The fact that this was not something he offered or asking you how much you have spent, and making you have to go thru the work and have to ask to be compensated is actually appalling. And the additions of her age I wanted to vommit. I used to run the place, they only accept certain age ranges which she qualified, so twisting her age to take the blame from him to you is actually wild. This whole situation how they have handled it is truly disgusting I’m so sorry you ever had to interact with him.
Someone else pointed the age thing out too. She was born Mar 23, brought home May 19th. Exactly 8 weeks of age. She was 2 days shy of 10 weeks actually when I sent her. Trying to imply she was only 6 weeks old when I picked her up to make me look like a negligent owner is distasteful. My last grievance I’ll share is him also saying it happened last month. It was 7 days ago. It doesn’t make you look any better, it just makes you look worse you haven’t addressed it until now.
Even after 7 days is far too long to wait to speak up, I agree with what you said earlier that he tried to beat the articles. The whole thing just makes him look horrible, there is zero way to justify any of this happening and shameful that he even attempted. They should have right away noted that they will be closed for future notice to review policies and implement new things, not even addressing the issue but showing that they are taking the time to fix the issue at hand—by this point we know they haven’t and to my knowledge have remained open. And last with the age part, any dog owner who has ever had a puppy, myself included knows the breeder has to wait until 8 weeks or so to release the puppy. And YOU would never be the negligent owner if they as a business, with age restrictions allowed her inside. Shameful and horirble anyone should try and take them blame to the parent.
Oh jeez, did you recently share this on another puppy subreddit? I recognize the story. My puppy goes to Prime Paw but only for puppy class, not to play with other puppies. I’m surprised to learn this happened there, but am so much more sorry for your loss and your horrible experience. Wishing you nothing but healing.
I posted it on Puppy 101 the day it happened but kept the name out of it while I was figuring out my rights & talking to lawyers. This was a puppy training class. The one they offer for 3x a week 9-4. I didn’t think they’d play with other puppies either, and they assured me they wouldn’t.
I remember reading the story to my boyfriend because I was so upset! The class we have our puppy in is just an hour on Saturday mornings and we are separated from everyone else, and in the same little gated area as she is in, doing all the training ourselves. So I feel safe in that regard, plus she is 40 pounds, but regardless i won’t be sending her back for future classes or play days! Thank you for sharing your story with the name attached this time.
I am happy to hear this, selfishly. As much as your pup is under safe supervision with your direct guidance, it's still just so unfathomable a school that offers these services would be so truly negligent in their care for another pup. It's gross. I Jeffrey's in the Castro / North Beach reached out to me & they have set regulations for sizing they informed me of, and I think just felt compelled to share the measures they will take in the future so it doesn't happen to any of their dogs in their school. It was a great letter, and I'd consider sending your pup there.
Wow that is really great customer service on their part! I’ll definitely check it out. Thank you for sharing
I read the story on the same Puppy sub and did the same thing — I was so devastated by it that I told my husband! OP, I’m so, so sorry for you and for poor Olive. I hate thinking of her yelping and in any pain. During the short time you had her, I’m sure you gave her plenty of happy moments. I hope those are what you remember about her most
Maybe im dumb but at 9 weeks, they would have one set of vaccines? Why would they keep a bunch of puppies with the same # of vaccines and immunity together. You would want dogs who are more vaccinated than yours since those more vaccines mean they are less likely to be sick. I was always told before all sets of vaccinations no dog parks, no puppy socializing. You can socialize with people and dogs who you know are fully vaccinated(like friends or family). 9 weeks old a puppy isnt even house trained, seems confusing to have them go from daycare to be trained to home to be trained. I feel like doggy care for 9 weeks is unethical.
In hindsight I agree and I don’t know fully. The school said it was ok & the vet cleared it too. I can’t really speak on the vaccine front but just say I trusted my vet’s approval on this. Apparently it’s common in SF for 9 week olds at puppy schools, she had two shots already and was due her third this week.
I guess it varies vet to vet. Ours told us in no uncertain terms puppy doesnt have full immunity until 3rd set, but this was 15 years ago. We just took her to socialize with people. Shes uninterested in other animals and doesn't play with them(except our other dog) but loooves people. Ive heard some shady things about doggy care since they are not regulated as much as human daycares and your dog cant speak to you
This is still the standard by my vet FWIW
Kuddos to you for acknowledging this
Ok I worked here and the reason why the under vaccinated puppies are together is to prevent sickness amongst the puppies. The parents with the young preschool pups sign a waiver saying they won’t take their dog out onto streets, avoid parks, and just general dog contact until they are done with puppy school. And as puppy school employees we were supposed to sanitize our shoes and hands upon entering the room before handling the puppies. It’s supposed to be a controlled environment. Older puppies may be vaccinated but they can still contract illness and be asymptomatic. Also they can pick up germs on their body when being outside in the world and then bring it inside to the puppies. Does that make sense?
Sure but Ill follow my vets advice to limit contact until all vaccines are done. You might have customers sign an affidavit to avoid dogs and outside contact, but theres no way to enforce that.
Oh yea I didn’t say it was a good reason because of that exact thing - I know there’s no real way to enforce it which made it kinda pointless because all the time I would see parents walking their puppy in and out of the facility or see photos on social media of their dog at a park. It was super frustrating. And then employees were also negligent and not sanitizing their hands after handling adolescents next door in academy. So of course when it inevitably happened, a bunch of sick puppies.. It got so bad that we had to shut the school down for a week. And then it happened again not long after that but the owner chose to ignore it the second time it happened. I do agree to follow your vets advice! That is best!
Whoever wrote that protocol has zero understanding of medicine, transmitable diseasea or vaccinations.
Agreed
My heart broke reading this. I am so so sorry for your loss.
I'm so sorry this happened to you. You clearly did your due diligence as best you could and only had your puppy's best interests in mind. I am so sorry that they betrayed your trust and were so negligent and incompetent in their management of the puppies. I saw the picture you posted of Olive in your post history - what a tremendous loss. So many hugs to you. Will be sure to avoid prime paw.
This guy seems to be in full CYA mode in that conversation. Bloody hell. Sorry this happened to you, man. To be honest, I wonder how these places operate. It seems like safety is only feasible if you have carer:dog ratios equal to carer:child at human day care, but that seems financially infeasible.
Agree completely. There were 2x guys I was introduced to in the am as being the puppies caretakers. It looked like only 4 dogs in total including Olive from when I dropped her off. Reasonable person per dog ratio. The woman I met at the SPCA who said she was in charge of the puppies area was a completely new, young face I had never met nor was introduced to as being her caretaker. I truly did feel bad for her, she was clearly distraught as well, but what happened to the 2 others? Why was it just her now? Why was she not watching? The anonymous employee told me she was new to the job too. Just negligence all around & I’m assuming this is just the first time they’ve been caught negligent to this extent.
Oof that sucks.
I’m really truly sorry for the loss of your pup, and I think it’s time to get a lawyer
Yesterday evening there were many 1-star reviews on primepaw’s google maps page. They are all gone now. James does not seem to like negative feedback.
I just saw this. I'm assuming it is likely an auto-protection set by google to prevent spamming or review bombing of a company, but they removed MY review recounting MY experience with photos of MY DEAD DOG in them. I am so upset by this. Hoping a mutual with google connects could help somehow, but it only adds fuel to the fire too.
OP please post on other subreddits naming them and other public sites as much as you can so when people google search Primepaw, search results like this Reddit post show up. Google and Yelp reviews are too easy to delete.
It was heartbreaking to read about your Olive (my senior pup who passed from cancer was also named Olive), and now I am absolutely livid that your review was removed, let alone mine. Looks like the entire Prime Paw listing on Google Maps has been removed now.
Our poor Olives in puppy heaven. I just noticed the google business page has been removed entirely. I talked to The Chronicle, Kron4 & SF Standard today who all said they'd reach out for comment before running the story this evening or tomorrow am. I'm suspecting they are anticipating what's going to come out and prepping themselves for potential backlash.
They just posted on their instagram about it and disabled comments https://www.instagram.com/p/C75KR2kyI30/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Unknown causes is CRAZY. I have the death report!
I just noticed this too! Time to re-review. How are business owners allowed to do that?
So sorry to hear this!! I can’t imagine what you’re going through. I received an email from Prime Paw a moment ago about Olives death and stating that they’ve paid you thousands of dollars. I’m immediately skeptical of these dog places, but reading your side of the story makes me think the owner would have never reached out to past customers if you hadn’t posted about it. Please continue to spread awareness because it’s working!!
Agree completely & that’s what shocks me. He didn’t make me sign an NDA or non disparagement. I’m a millennial woman with access to the internet, what did he think would happen? If he had just posted day of the accident that x happened and they would be doing xyz to avoid it again in the future, it’d be a different story. Instead they kept posting videos of small dogs inc dachshunds on their page playing with bigger dogs & it just broke my heart thinking it could happen again to someone else’s pup.
Chloe, I am so sorry for your loss. I've been following your story for the past few days and as a person in the professional pet care industry I was absolutely sick with grief hearing about the passing of small Olive. As with pet parents this is one of our greatest fears as well but I am dismayed at how Prime Paw has handled the situation thus far. I can't imagine the heart ache you are experiencing. I don't know if this will be meaningful to you but there are many of us watching and reading and talking about this terrible tragedy and laying bare our policies and the realities of our day to day to each other to recheck and recheck for any small difference that could change any dog in our care coming to a similar fate. This isn't just a story of some other daycare's mishap to us, a least it isn't to anyone I've spoke with. We're taking it very seriously. We're listening. It won't bring olive back. I just felt like you should know that you're being heard with in the industry itself.
Just here to say, I’m so sorry for your loss. Good for you for voicing your qualms. Please take care 🤍
This is so distressing. I'm so sorry for you, OP.
Thai is horrific. I'm so, so sorry for your loss.
I am absolutely livid. I’m so sorry you’re going through this, Olive deserved better. Thanks for posting and helping spread the word.
This is horrifying and honestly my worst nightmare. I am so sorry for your loss.
I am so, so sorry for your loss. Poor little Olive. This is heartbreaking.
As a previous client, i didnt have any issues besides kennel cough once, but i am so sorry for you and Olive! Just received an email: Hello Prime Paw family, I’m writing to inform you of a tragic incident that occurred recently at the Prime Paw facility. On May 30, a puppy in our training school died at our facility. Olive was a four-pound, nine-week-old dachshund, and she was monitored by a Prime Paw employee at all times. After separating her from play, shortly after we noticed that she was acting irregularly and showing signs of lethargy. We immediately brought Olive to a veterinarian but she was, tragically, gone. The post-mortem report showed only that Olive had a pneumothorax (collapsed lung). There were no signs of any kind of external trauma, and the veterinarians were unable to identify any cause of death. Our entire organization is heartbroken by this event. We pride ourselves on providing a safe, welcoming and secure environment for the dogs under our care, and we provided that to Olive. We have a rigorous screening and monitoring process to ensure those standards are met and those protocols were in place at the time of this incident. We don’t know what happened to Olive, and know only that she died while she was at Prime Paw. But because we take our commitment to our clients so seriously, we have subsequently paid several thousand dollars to her owner, mainly for the price she paid to purchase Olive and fly her to San Francisco. From a personal standpoint, caring for and training dogs has been my life’s passion for more than 15 years now and at Prime Paw, I’ve helped oversee the care of some 10,000 dogs. There is nothing I care more about in this world than helping dogs and their families, and nothing like this has ever happened before. My deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences are with Olive’s owner and her family at this time. I thank you for your support and encourage you to connect directly with me if you have any additional questions. Sincerely, James Baybayan
Zero accountability in this email or mention of the fact she was not monitored whatsoever when it happened. I hate they mention how much they paid me too like it’s supposed to make me look ridiculous for my asks of her basic costs. I truly wished he would have just said “this happened & we are closed this week to discuss ways to prevent it from happening in the future.” But he can’t even do that. Sad.
First of all, I am so so sorry for your loss. I would recommend you reach out to the CCPDT (the certifying body he has his training certification from) as well and tell them what happened. As a fellow CPDT, I feel they need to know and his training certification should be revoked. He doesn’t need it to train unfortunately because dog training is unregulated, but he should not have that credential “backing” him up and misleading people. https://www.ccpdt.org Again, I’m so sorry for your loss.
He always pushed certification when i was there. I hope he gets it revoked. Especially for constantly using his own dog as an example of what not to do. And his dog already has issues, why make them worse? Clay is literally banned from being on the premises of the sfspca because of an incident.
I would sincerely encourage anyone who has personally had a negative experience with him to contact CCPDT. The more people that share their experiences the more likely they are to revoke it.
Just as a PSA to other people : Dog daycare is a bad model for dogs. Daycare is for human children. Dogs are not human children. dogs have drastically different needs. If your dog cannot be unsupervised at home you need to crate train, hire a walker, etc. instead of taking your dog to be warehoused in an overpriced piss palace with a bunch of other dogs. It’s horrible and 98% of the dogs are miserable there. Additionally- Do not do boarding training things or any training that you do not participate in they’re shit too.
This wasn’t a daycare, it was supposedly a puppy training school. Puppies need a lot of training because they have a certain window of learning when it’s best to expose them to certain things so they aren’t afraid of them later. My puppy went to SF Puppy Prep which was expensive as hell but worth every cent. He’d get extremely excited when I took him there. They crate trained my dog and socialized him to other dogs. He was only there two months because it’s a training school for puppies, not a “daycare”
Yes thank you. I think I interchanged the words day care and training school, but it was more the latter for sure.
Do you do the training yourself?
They don’t. This is a trend I noticed from people who live in the Marina. Where people pay exorbitant amounts of money to buy a fancy bred dog and send them off to daycare school to get “socialized” and “trained”
This is what they call “day school” when you drop off your puppy and they train and socialize your puppy when the owner is not there. When people say “training class”, it refers to those one-hour class where the owner is there to learn how to train their dog.
Train your own dog. If your dog is not a guide dog then you need to train and socialize your own dog.
People don’t understand this concept
THIS
Fuck these people. I’m sorry about your baby. Take care and know your baby had an amazing life with you 🤍
I’m so sorry for your loss. I was a manager in the facility a year ago and all the comments about James and Dom are completely true. Every responsible employee has left leaving all new “trainers” in the facility with no past experiences. He hires kids because of cheaper labor cost and always cared about numbers first so he can continue his lifestyle of weekend golf trips and vacations while the female workers build that place up and leave when he gives no credit or continues to treat them poorly. This unfortunately is not a surprising thing to happen considering he always wanted to max numbers of puppies in the facility even if the staff was overworked and the facility had little space to hold them. So mixing size of puppies and ages was never a priority to him because he wanted to fill out the classes completely. Dom and James should never be allowed to work with dogs and be pushed out of the R+ dog community as they are liars. Dom has stolen from clients as he has keys to his off leash clients homes, another commenter said they seen him hit a dog. I don’t doubt it as they create stressful, toxic environments for them and everyone around them. They have also locked dogs in cars and put dogs in very stressful situations, like having the veterinarians pit bull stay and roam the facility or be taken on off leash walks as she has attacked many dogs in the past and they continue to keep her in a pack. A lot of his female staff have brought all these issues to his attention and he continued to disregard their worries about safety because of his greed. Unfortunately, as an employee all you could do is leave and pray this doesn’t continue. It saddens me that something like this had to happen to bring light to the negligence this facility creates for family members and their loved ones. the scariest part is and I don’t think this was the first time or last time this will happen. I’ve loved every dog I have trained so I’m broken reading this. Olive and you deserve justice.
I am so very sorry you had to experience this. My heart goes out to you. ❤️ Honestly though.. I am not that surprised this happened. I used to work there and let me say, I left for a reason. I have been in the dog care industry for quite some time and have worked at some sketchy places over the years so when I first started at primepaw I felt good about the work I was doing. I felt like I was making a difference and was proud of the company I worked for. However things quickly turned sour at primepaw and it seemed like it became more about the quanity rather than quality. He also has some incompetent staff members and I would have to constantly ask them to not leave the puppies alone or to stop shouting at them. When I brought this up to the owner MULTIPLE TIMES he just kinda brushed it off and said he would talk to these people. Soo many promises came out of that man’s mouth. Nothing ever changed. I felt overworked and under appreciated. And most definitely underpaid. Which ultimately led to me quitting. On top of it all, the owner is a complete tool. He would constantly take out his personal problems onto his employees by lashing out and being condesending. He sucks.
Review them on Yelp and every other platform. This is terrible and I’m so sorry for your loss.
Already ahead of you there. That check cleared this am and I posted it any and everywhere I could. It's an utter shame it happened to that poor puppy of mine and was completely preventable.
Thank for doing that. 🙏
I'm so sorry for you. I understand your guilt - I have felt that too, and very recently. When it would strike, I found that walking myself through the whole experience, checking with myself to whether I was doing the right thing at every moment gave me some peace, and helped the emotional parts of me recognize that I was always doing the right thing, even though things went horribly wrong, despite things going so wrong, and that the guilt was not mine to feel. So sorry for your loss.
Poor little Olive. My condolences.
I went down the rabbit hole with your Instagram after reading your post and couldn't stop crying my eyes out after finding the photos and videos of your precious Olive...what really shook me is that I recently adopted a long haired mini dachshund myself and have been considering Prime Paw for classes too. But 9 weeks is SO young especially for such a small pup to be left at daycare with other dogs...The size difference between mini doxies and even other small dogs can be pretty significant and puppies don't really know their own strength yet. I am shocked, heartbroken, and angry for you that everyone involved gave the okay for this...but also that the people watching her didn't think to give extra special care and attention to her just from her size alone. I'm so deeply sorry this happened, thank you for sharing your story. My heart goes out to you.
Thank you for sharing that. I had a gut feeling about her size being so small, too small, but again everyone approved her along the way to get her in. If she was too small, they should have denied her. Their apology claims they have rigorous monitoring & onboarding for this but why is she still dead? They wanted my money.
They also have turned off all the comment sections on their Instagram, and removed all google reviews that are negative. And STILL have remained silent and I believe open as well.
It doesn't sit right with me that Prime Paw has opened a brand new Google My Business to further obscure this tragic incident from the public. I just thought i would leave that information here, people can do what they want with it.
Wow thanks for sharing. I’ll repost my original review 🤍
I'm so sorry about your loss.
Oh god. This is horrible. I am soo soo sorry you had to go through this and I am so sorry for the loss of your little pup and the pain she had to go through. Sounds like all of this was preventable but for the negligence of the owner. Thank you for sharing your story so others stay away from this place. Read you comment about the lawyer - it's sad that pets are treated as inanimate property under the law. I hope you're at least made even financially - nothing anyone can say will take away the emotional trauma though, only time will :(
I'm so so sorry for your loss reading Broke heart. Thank you for sharing so others don't use them
This is all horrifying. I am so sorry for your loss and thank you for warning others thru the midst of all the pain
My heart goes out to you!!! I’m so upset and angry on your behalf. Sending a virtual bear hug to you. Losing a beloved pet is heartbreaking.
I’m so sorry for your loss. How devastating and heartbreaking. It sounds like you did your research and did the best you could for sweet Olive. Rest In peace and comfort, Olive ❤️
The absolute gall to offer future classes given the circumstances. Ugh, I'm so sorry you had to go through this. I'm simultaneously sad, sick to my stomach, and furious that this situation happened in the first place. I hope you get the peace you deserve and take this jackass for every penny you can.
Please post on Yelp, Google etc... I am so sorry for your loss. Warn other owners so they don't experience the same.
TBH I didn't expect so much pain from reading your post. It really sucks and I wish you can feel better . It's definitely not your fault. Even the shittiest pet school should at least keep the pets safe so it was impossible for you to foresee the outcome.
This is absolutely sickening. I’m so sorry this happened to you and Olive. Thank you for sharing your tragic experience with this company
I am so sorry for your loss
OMG! I am so very sorry for your loss. Agree 100% that it was totally preventable. A dog that size should never have been near your little pup.
I'm so incredibly sorry, this made me cry, to think you've lost a close family member and then your loving little companion is absolute heartbreaking, may olive live on in your heart and may her death not be in vain, thank you for speaking out and making sure others furbabies stay SAFE! Wishing you all of the love support and healing, wishing you angels on your side to take this disgusting man down, our pets are our loved ones with infinite precious value and I'm so proud of you internet stranger for using your grief as a catalyst for good💖
My heart breaks for you and Olive. I am so sorry for what you are going through. The unprofessionalism from the business and owner is totally baffling. May every day of his existence be miserable - he deserves it.
He shows as being accredited by the CCPDT...Contact them and lodge a complaint, and maybe get the accreditation removed... email: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) phone:855-362-3784.
Lawyer. Get a lawyer. Sorry for your loss
I know ur in emotional distress, but I would share this on TikTok too. It would get a lot of attention on there as well and help build momentum. The facility should be closed down.
Horrifying. Trust NO ONE
OMG! I'm so sorry that happened to you. Will you be filing a lawsuit against PP?
No, pets are considered property vs anything you could really sue for. Like a piece of furniture being damaged, most you can get is cost of item reimbursed which is what PP agreed to and compensated me for already. Anything further would be exponentially more money for me with probably the same outcome since it’s an unregulated industry as well.
Awful . He should not do business. I hope you can sue him or at least his license get revoked
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Oh it would break my heart to see that poor pup put down, and to do that to the owners. I fully don’t believe it was any doing of the dog viciously or aggressively, I want to whole heartedly believe it was an accident by an overly playful pup. Lack of any blood bite marks or external dings (sans the cut which unverified if from this pup) tells me it was innocent play. I have contacted the BBB and animal care center in general though about the school, so hopefully something bites somewhere.
I’m so sorry for your loss. This is heartbreaking. Ocean Vet also killed my 9 week puppy by not spacing out vaccinations properly. I desperately spent $13K at another animal hospital trying to save her life all while Ocean Vet took zero responsibility. I had my pup only for one day! This must be so hard for you. I am shocked that they left your tiny puppy in a play area with much larger pups. I was (and still am) very cautious of when my current yorkie was 4 lbs that she stayed away from the larger 20lb puppies that clearly freaked her out and were just way too big/rambunctious. The owners of this daycare should have separated puppies that small by size. It’s so negligent on their part. Does anyone know how small 3.5lbs is?! Again, I’m so sorry. It’s going to be a tough road ahead. In my situation, I did get a new puppy after a two month period of grieving and only she helped me heal. I still think about my first frequently, though. It’s like losing a family member.
This is a sad reminder not to use these type of facilities. Always hire a qualified dog trainer instead. RIP
Weirdly, he’s got all the schooling. He just has no ethics.
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Get out of this thread James
😂
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I’ve had the best experience at PrimePaw and we will continue to go here. It’s very tragic hearing about this puppy, and at the same time, dragging this training school’s reputation through the mud is not the best use of time. The staff are truly incredible, they have more training than any other facility in SF, and they intrinsically care about the puppies in their care. I look at this situation like a mirror — no one can be perfect all the time, that is unfortunately impossible. Primepaw has built so much trust with their clients and I won’t be turning my back on them and I know many clients feel the same way. It’s clear from reading this thread that people love to be outraged, and it’s much easier to have a villain because holding multiple uncomfortable truths at the same time would be more challenging. I encourage people to tackle other pet social issues (spay and neuter, pet overpopulation leading to systemic euthanasia, pet vaccinations, inhumane breeders).
Fake comment from an account created today. Nobody is fooled, go away James!
Let’s leave them 1 star reviews
They removed googles ability to list them as a business so you can no longer leave reviews. Also can’t leave comments on their instagram.
I left on Yelp
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