Dog Owner Claims Shocking Treatment at CNY Kennel

A central New York dog owner is heartbroken over the shocking treatment she claims her German Wirehair received at a Rome kennel.

Sue Jones of Westernville boarded her dog Hans when they went away for Thanksgiving. When she picked him up, she says she was shocked by what she found. "We arrived to pick our dog and secured extremely tight around his neck was a shock collar."

When Jones' husband demanded an explanation from the kennel owner, she says he responded with "'Isn't that his? I don't know where it came from.'"

The next morning Jones says Hans woke up shivering, stumbling and had diarrhea. "Before taking Hans to the vet, I called the kennel to see if he could've gotten into anything and asked about the collar again. The owner then apologized profusely and said he crossed the line when he used the collar for some training and forgot to take it off."

Jones says she never asked for training and even provided an emergency contact to call if there was any problems. "I texted every day and was told everything was great."

Hans was placed on antibiotics at the vet's office. "The vet said he could've picked something up but nothing showed up in the blood work," Jones claims. "It could've been from stress or a stomach bug." As for the swelling and marks on Hans' neck, Jones says the vet thinks the dog's neck was wet when the collar was on. "My poor boy has infected holes in his neck and endured something that breaks my heart."

Fred Yerman of Copper City K9, said Hans arrived at his kennel wearing an electric collar for an invisible fence. "The collar I used was on vibration only," he explained. "It was wrong of me to use it. I apologized and offered to compensate the owner. I would never intentionally harm any dog."

Yerman also apologized on Facebook but has since taken the post down.

The Copper City K9 website and Facebook page has been taken down.

Jones says she isn't out to ruin Yerman's business, she just wants to bring awareness and hopes Yerman learns from his mistakes. "I just hope Hans was the last dog this happens to."

As for Hans - he's healing. "He's getting better every day," said Jones.