We lost Tido, our lovely golden retriever, at Alfa-11

We lost our beloved pet at Alfa-11, one of the so called niche dog kennel in Gurgaon, Palam Vihar. On the 13th of March, 2011 we took our pet Golden Retriever, Tido to this kennel called Alfa-11. Tido was a very jovial and extremely enthusiastic dog except for the fact that he needed some behavioral training. We found about Alfa-11 on the net and it claimed to be one of the best kennels in Delhi and NCR. We met the proprietor Rajesh Bhatt and he told us that he is good at behavioral training for dogs. As per his instruction and guidance, we agreed to all his terms and conditions (including financial) without even questioning. The only mistake that we did was not to look at the internal boarding facility because we trusted him on face value. We were the ones who regularly called him and asked about our baby’s well being. There was not a single proactive call from their end as to how he is performing. On the 29th of April, he completed one and a half months and we went to see him as per Rajesh Bhatt’s instruction. He seemed to be fine.

On the 2nd of May, we get a call from Alfa-11 that my Golden Retriever has suddenly suffered a cardiac arrest and is no more. We were shocked, surprised and completely flabbergasted. On the same day morning, as per the kennel, he had gone for some routine blood test and after he came back, he was alright for an hour or so and then he had a sudden cardiac arrest and was taken to Dr Joshan’s vet clinic (known to Rajesh Bhatt) in Sector 23, Gurgaon but he passed away within 2–3 minutes of the cardiac arrest. This was narrated to us by Rajesh Bhatt. We immediately rushed to Alfa -11 to take possession of Tido’s body and were dumbstruck after seeing the boarding facilities. They were extremely basic and my little one did not even have the privilege of air-conditioning in this scorching heat of Delhi as the AC was switched off. We went inside the room and it was extremely hot and lacked basic infra structure and housed more than the number of dogs supposed to be there. It was impossible for a golden retriever to survive under these conditions. Also what is very interesting, they did not even mention once that it could have been also heat stroke whereas the conditions were clearly indicating towards the same.

After talking to other doctors, we went back to the kennel again and this time we were even denied entry to the boarding facility of Alfa-11 by some Tania Lal who claims to be in their management team. Somehow we managed to enter inside again and what we saw was horrible. The air conditioner was not operational and the room was like a blast furnace with all the windows open. In that heat wave of Delhi, which we all know about, it was impossible for a breed like Golden Retriever to survive which was even accepted by Rajesh Bhatt. We also took a sample of the blood and we took a second opinion by giving the sample for a test. The test results clearly indicate a strong possibility of Tick Fever which again was a result of the poor living conditions of the kennel especially with the fact that he was living there for more than forty five days. In fact we noticed few ticks coming out of his lifeless body and while bringing him back home he was bleeding from his nose. Readers please don’t go for the tall promises and the open lawns of Alfa -11 but check the boarding facilities before you leave your pet dog there. They knew my pet’s complete profile and how he was brought up. It was sheer negligence on their part that I lost my child and my entire family is in grief. If your pet is brought up in a comfortable and healthy home condition, then Alfa-11 is surely a risk for your child. We were not aware of the risk and we lost our pet.

Please do not commit the same mistake as we did. Please do not fall into the trap of an irresponsible institution which will cost the life of a loved one.

Friends do not forget this article after reading it. If you want to reach me or share your experiences, please feel free to write to me at: anjanahalder@hotmail.com or anjanahalder11@gmail.com.