How to File a Complaint Against A Dog Kennel or Pet Sitter

Leaving your pet with a pet sitter isn’t easy. As a pet owner myself, my worst fear is receiving a message from a sitter that my dog was injured or has passed away. Unfortunately, we have seen this happen more times than we would like to admit.  After watching this TikTok video on Blues story, we knew we had to write a piece to help other pet owners know what to do if their pet is injured after staying at a dog kennel or with a pet sitter. 

This article provides guidance on the options available to pet owners who believe their pets have not been treated properly or have been injured due to negligence by a pet sitter, boarding facility, or kennel. Whether you hired an individual pet sitter or you took your pet to a licensed facility, there are ways to seek the justice you deserve. 

In this article, we will review the following steps you can take against a pet sitter or kennel: 

1. Talk to the person or facility that took care of your pet about your concerns. This often clarifies things. 

2. Send a demand letter to them clearly stating your situation and that you are serious about taking legal action if the issue is not addressed.  

3. File a complaint with Rover or Wag!, if you hired a pet sitter through them.

4. File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). 

5. Leave comments and reviews on social media platforms.

6. You can file a complaint with the state government agency that regulates pet boarding facilities (this option is not available in all states). 

7. File a lawsuit in your state’s small claims court.

The first step is to communicate directly with the person or facility that took care of your pet about your concerns. This often leads to addressing the issue and finding solutions agreeable to all involved. 

Ideally, communicate your concerns through email or text so that you can keep a record of the communication. If you decide to communicate by phone, write down dates and times of every phone call with notes for each call (for example, “On December 1, 2024, at 1:30 pm, I called Ginny McKenzie, and she said they would get back to me promptly”).  

If you hired the pet sitter through Rover, you can contact Rover to report the sitter. If you hired the pet sitter through Wag!, you can contact Wag! to report the sitter via their app. 

If they ignore your emails, text messages, and calls or simply are not taking responsibility for their actions, it may be time to write a formal letter known as a demand letter. In a demand letter, you can outline your requests and notify them that you will seek further action if the issue is unresolved.  

Here are some reasons why you should consider sending a demand letter to the person or facility that was supposed to take care of your pet:

1. A demand letter will show that you're serious about fixing the issue and ready to take action. Often, just sending this letter solves the problem.

2. If you file a small claims lawsuit, the judge might ask if you tried to resolve the problem out of court (some courts even require a demand letter to be sent before filing the lawsuit). A written demand letter proves you tried to handle the problem first, which you can use as evidence.

3. Writing the letter also helps you organize your facts and timeline, ensuring you stay clear and accurate while resolving your complaint.

If you hired your pet sitter through Wag! or Rover and something happened to your pet, you can submit a claim directly with the companies:

• Wag! Claims Policy 

• Rover Claims Policy

These policies work like insurance policies, where the companies agree to reimburse you for certain costs if something goes wrong. 

The BBB is a non-profit that helps solve issues between companies and consumers. While the BBB is not a government agency and can’t force a dog kennel to fix your problem, some dog kennels do care about BBB reviews and complaints because:

• Filing a complaint with the BBB lets others see if a pet sitter has had issues before, helping pet owners decide whether to use them.

• If a pet sitter accredited by the BBB ignores a BBB complaint, they might lose their accreditation, and the complaint will be shown on their BBB profile.

• The complaint will still appear on their BBB profile even if the BBB doesn't accredit the pet sitter.

Before filing a complaint with the BBB, check the dog kennel's BBB profile to see if it has responded to complaints in the past. If it has not, it may not be worth your time leaving a complaint as they may ignore your complaint. 

How to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB):

1. Go to the Better Business Bureau website. You will need to confirm whether the pet sitter or dog kennel has a BBB profile. If the pet sitter is an individual, they are unlikely to have a BBB profile (review your other options in this article). 

2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the button “File a Complaint”  

Consumers tend to check reviews when finding a pet sitter. If the pet sitter cares about its online reputation, then leaving a review may be a powerful avenue for resolving your complaint. 

Consider leaving reviews on all review platforms available, such as  Yelp, Trustpilot, Nextdoor, and Google. If you hired the pet sitter through Rover or Wag, consider leaving a review on their profile. 

Each state has different regulations on whether there is an agency that regulates and accepts complaints against a dog kennel or pet sitter. You will need to research this at the city, county, and state levels. While researching for this article, we found that finding how to file a complaint against a dog kennel or pet sitter was hard to find, even in the largest cities, and sometimes frustrating. When searching online for agencies that regulate this industry, you may need to search for alternative descriptions, such as dog kennels, dog daycare, animal care, dog boarding, etc.

If there isn’t a government agency where you can file a complaint, some of your options are to (a) send a demand letter and (b) file a civil lawsuit (including suing in small claims court). 

It is important to understand that depending on who and where your pet is taken care of matters when it comes to reporting them to a government agency:   

1. Few states have government agencies that regulate individuals who come to your home to feed or walk your pets or take care of your pets at their home (for example, neighbors, friends, colleagues, or pet sitters that you find on Rover or Wag).  If there isn’t a specific government agency that regulates individual pet sitters, it may be harder to report them to a government agency and get the government agency to take action. 

2. If you select a pet daycare or boarding facility (especially ones not at someone’s home), some states require a pet daycare license and will have a state or city agency that regulates their activities. For example, in Los Angeles, dog kennels must obtain a permit from the city, so if the dog boarding facility isn’t licensed, you may want to consider reporting them. 

Licensing requirements are often more stringent when pet sitters provide services like overnight boarding, grooming, or running a larger-scale business.

If the state agency does not respond or determines that it has no authority to regulate a pet sitter or dog kennel, another option is to file a complaint with your state’s attorney general.  

Another option for fighting back against your pet sitter or pet kennel is filing a lawsuit in your state’s small claims court. Review our 50-State Guide to Suing in Small Claims Court. 

Show You Tried to Resolve the Problem Out of Court

As you prepare your case, you should consider showing the judge that you acted in good faith and tried to resolve the issue out of court. 

For example, show you: 

1) contacted the dog sitter or kennel directly before filing a lawsuit, 

2) sent them a demand letter, 

3) left reviews and filed a BBB complaint, and 

3) filed a complaint with the state government agency (if your state accepts complaints).

Evidence that you tried to resolve the problem out of court shows the judge that you tried everything possible before escalating the dispute. 

Research the Pet Sitter or Kennel Before Filing 

Another important point is to check the pet sitter's or kennel's background before you file the lawsuit. 

Here are the steps: 

1. Check with the state government agency that regulates that industry to make sure they are licensed to do business in the state (if they were required to have a specific license to operate a dog kennel). Remember, not all states regulate pet caretakers, but if your state does, it is worthwhile to check if the sitter or kennel has a license to operate the facility.   

2. See if there are other complaints or lawsuits filed against them for similar situations (this shows a pattern of abuse). To check for complaints, you can search for their online reviews. To check for lawsuits, you would need to search court records. 

How to Prove Negligence

In most states, facilities must exercise “due care,” which means taking care of your pet as a “reasonable facility would.” This is the legal standard for proving “negligence.” 

This includes:

• Providing food and water

• Ensuring emergency vet care (you might have to pay the bills)

• Letting your dog out for bathroom breaks multiple times a day

If the facility fails to do this and your pet is injured, killed, or gets pregnant, you may be able to sue for negligence.

How to Prepare for Small Claims Court

The most important step is preparing your evidence for the small claims hearing. Make sure you have all your evidence in order, such as:

• written communications, 

• contracts, and

• your pet’s medical records, etc. 

You want to make sure you bring all relevant evidence with you to the hearing. 

Most places you go to take care of your pet will have you sign a contract with a liability waiver. If you have a copy of the liability waiver, make sure to review it in detail. Keep in mind that it will be up to the judge whether to enforce the liability waiver. You need to prove that they were responsible for what happened to your pet. 

Learn more about preparing for small claims court.