A popular dog hotel will pay $150,000 to settle a consumer protection lawsuit with Bay Area prosecutors’ offices, which accused the company of failing to report dog bites among other health and safety lapses, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
The prosecutors said Wag Hotels failed to properly report dog bite incidents to local health authorities, had insufficient employee training on animal care and safety protocols, and suffered lapses in facility hygiene and pest control, the DA’s office said in the release.
“Pets are family,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in the news blast. “When you leave a family member in someone else’s care, you are relying on that caretaker to provide the highest standard of safety, comfort and care.”
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office worked with the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office and the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office to investigate and prosecute the pet accommodation chain.
In 2019, a dog attacked four employees at Wag’s Santa Clara operation and they needed to be hospitalized, said prosecutors, who added it was so bad the police had to get involved.
The settlement was approved Sept. 25 by San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Joseph M. Quinn.
“As part of the settlement, Wag Hotels will pay $75,000 in civil penalties and $75,000 in investigative costs,” the DA’s Office said. “Wag Hotels was ordered to make significant improvements to the protocols that apply to animal safety, employee training, and monitoring of dog playgroups, and must implement a Playgroup Safety Program to ensure the proper supervision of dogs in playgroups.
