My dog was killed here. Bandit was a petite 5-pound Chihuahua/terrier mix. She was left in a play park with several dogs of mixed sizes. Two large dogs owned by the same family attacked and killed her. They held her in their mouths and shook her to death. She died from punctured lungs and internal bleeding. It was noon on a Sunday but there was no human supervision in the play park when it happened.

I looked at CityDog’s webcam three hours after Bandit died. The staff was hosting a birthday party in the play park.

Why was a tiny dog left alone with big dogs? Different versions of the story came from the owner and employees. The staff member had to leave “to get supplies,” “to wash their hands.” They said it happened in 1-2 minutes. The video footage tells a different story.

The operations manager, who works in Washington DC, not Los Angeles, called me to explain. I told him the owner owed us a phone call. Co-owner Phillip called and was apologetic. CityDog refunded my boarding fees and paid for the vet, autopsy and cremation.

Read reviews on Indeed.com and GlassDoor.com from former staff at most of the CityDog Club/DoozyDog Club locations: “You will be expected to do the work of two to three people by yourself on any given day and maybe even more,” “I can't even count how many times I've been left alone with 40+ dogs…updating records, booking reservations, checking emails, all while cleaning and keeping the dogs from fighting and breaking up fights. It's unsafe for the dogs and it's unsafe for the employees.”

A dog named Peanut was stolen from during the night a few weeks before Bandit was killed. foxla.com/news/man-desperately-searching-for-dog-that-was-stolen-from-west-la-boarding-facility

For five years Bandit had boarded at CityDog! Club when we traveled. We trusted that she was protected and safe. Our hearts are broken.