Tonya Bostick’s two French bulldogs went to Doggie Queen’s Pet Palace healthy and happy. Within a few hours, Blu and Bruno were dead.

The dogs suffered heat stroke, not an uncommon cause of death among flat-face (brachycephalic) dogs like boxers, Boston terriers, pugs and bulldogs.

When Bostick researched where to file a complaint about the deaths, she found there was no state agency that required education for owners or licensing for dog daycare facilities.

“Pets are part of the family,” Bostick said. “I feel the state has an obligation to aid people in protecting their family members.”

Bostick cited the health and safety regulations that apply to other businesses, including the one she owns. “I just renewed licenses for the salon and my cosmetology license,” she said. And even though she has had a license for more than 20 years, “I had to do continuing education every two years. I’ve been doing that since 2003.”

In Florida, regulation of dog daycares falls to local agencies. But most don’t have ordinances specific to dog daycares, nor do they regulate beyond business zoning laws.

One exception is the city of Pembroke Pines which addressed short-term care in 2010, when “the business community and public were looking for an alternative to traditional kenneling,” said Michael Stamm, Jr., the assistant city manager. The ordinance limited the daycares and short-stay kennels to pet sale and supply stores within the city’s business district.

In Hillsborough County, where Doggie Queen’s is located, the Animal Control Division “does not have regulations specific to dog day cares or kennels. Neither has to be licensed or inspected,” Director Roger Mills wrote in a text message. Adding that a business owner “could be fined or criminally charged if an investigation found that an animal was abused or neglected.”

Doggie Queen’s owner, Erika McKenzie, denies it was either.

Bruno and Blu had been coming to Queen’s since the 3-year-old dogs were puppies, she said. “I loved them. I would have never intentionally done anything to put them in harm’s way,” McKenzie said.

“I am still being harassed, talked about wrongly…getting phone calls day and night from people” who found out about the dogs’ deaths from reading social media posts and online reviews, McKenzie wrote in an email. “The situation was an unexpected unintentional unfortunate accident.”

McKenzie said the dogs were outside with her playing and chasing a chicken she had. She usually just lets them out to relieve themselves, and then puts them inside. But on August 8, it was cloudy and would soon begin raining, so she gave the dogs “some extra play time” before putting them in cages in an air-conditioned outbuilding on the property. Then she went into the house to clean and prepare for other dogs arriving at the daycare.

When she went back to the outbuilding the Frenchies were vomiting. She poured water on them and began to search for a nearby veterinarian. But it was a Saturday, and she said the vets in town were closed. So she drove to Fetch Specialty & Emergency Veterinary Center in Brandon, a half-hour drive from her Plant City home.

Blu died in the car, McKenzie said. Still, when he arrived at the vet, the staff began CPR. When they failed to get a pulse or heartbeat, Bostick gave Veterinarian Amber Surdin permission to stop trying.

Bruno was intubated and medicated. Dr. Surdin wrote in a clinical summary that “(g)iven the severity of Bruno’s condition, the potential for suffering, and his poor prognosis even with intensive care, humane euthanasia was discussed as a compassionate option.”

Bostick agreed and Bruno was euthanized.

Brachycephalic dogs are susceptible to the heat stroke that likely led to Bruno and Blu’s death, said retired veterinarian Lynne Cabaniss. “We try to educate people that these dogs shouldn’t be out in high heat or humidity,” she said.

“It doesn’t take much time,” Dr. Cabaniss said, for their body temperatures to soar. If it persists, dogs may develop disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), which is often fatal.

“I’ve never been a fan of dog daycare and don’t recommend them,” Dr. Cabaniss said. It exposes dogs to a number of contagious diseases for which there are no vaccines. And dogs risk being bit and injured in daycare, which won’t happen if a dog is at home alone.

Because there are no regulations, licensing requirements, or inspections, Dr. Cabaniss said, the onus is on the dog owner to investigate the credentials, education and experience of the operators and the safety of the facility.

Jennifer van Garderen, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the nonprofit all-volunteer Professional Animal Care Certification Council (PACCC), said the Council provides education and certification to individuals who own, operate and/or work in dog care businesses.

“Just having experience with dogs or having grown up with them, does not mean you’re qualified,” to go into the dog care business, van Gardenren said. People who get Professional Animal Care Certification need to pass an exam with a proctor. There are three levels, van Gardenren said:

• Provider level for daily handling;
• Manager level for those with oversight of providers; and
• Operator level for pet care business owners

With the certification, pet owners know the people working in the facility have been trained in animal health, first aid, CPR, cleaning and disinfection, temperament, escape and bite protection, among other things. Certified pet providers must take continuing education classes in order to renew their licenses every three years, she said.

Van Gardenren said at the kennel where she works they have a modified exercise and playtime protocols for brachycephalic dogs. “We have the proper education and leadership in place to know they need special care,” she said.

In an email to the Florida Trident, McKenzie wrote, “I took a course online and have a certificate for home boarding.” She also wrote she “took pet first aid.” But she did not provide copies of certifications to the Trident prior to publication.

Chaz Grunder, who owns a California insurance company that specializes in Pet Business Insurance, said: “Dog daycare centers are inexpensive to build” and “some do $1.5 million in a year and only half of that is expenses.”

He encourages business owners to get insurance, but it won’t cover the owner for negligence. And even if a dog daycare owner does have insurance, in Florida dogs are considered to be property, he said, so the monetary value can be low. French bulldog puppies in Florida range in price from $1,500 to $10,000 depending on bloodline and color.

Bostick said that although she has demanded financial compensation for the deaths of Bruno and Blu, “it’s not the money, It’s the love.” When asked if she had liability insurance coverage on her business, McKenzie said she did not.

About the Author: Melanie Payne is an award-winning journalist based in Florida. She has worked for the Akron Beacon Journal, Sacramento Bee, Gannett and ABC Action News in Tampa. The Florida Trident is an investigative news outlet focusing on government accountability and transparency across Florida. The Trident was created and first published in 2022 by non-profit investigative, a non-profit organization that facilitates local investigative reporting across the state.