Elton, a 9-year-old service dog, was treated poorly at the Arfington Pet Resort, his owner claimed. Arfington’s owner denied it. They went to mediation, and agreed to a $1,200 settlement.
BY GEORGIA EAST
SUN SENTINEL
The pet resort promised suites with outdoor balconies, soothing music and access to a pool and other dogs.
But Paula Tyer said her 9-year-old Australian shepherd got something else: $4,870 worth of damage to his teeth.
The resort owner says it’s Tyer’s claim that has no teeth.
Their dispute began in May, when Tyer went to the Arfington Pet Resort in Tamarac to pick up Elton, a service dog she has had since he was a puppy. She said four of his teeth were chipped and there was dried blood on his neck.
She claims Elton had been placed in a windowless pen and he tried to chew his way out, which caused the damage to his teeth. “As I looked at the pen I started crying and demanded to know why they would put such an intelligent dog as Elton in it,” said Tyer, 60, a former police officer.
Owner Marti Metzger painted a different picture.
She said “Elton had perfect care,” and was fine when Tyer came for him. She said Elton had bitten another dog and was acting snarky, so he was put on “limited play.” He was allowed outdoors alone with a handler, she said, but not with other dogs.
“It’s our responsibility to keep the dogs safe,” she said.
She said the suite Tyer purchased did not include balcony access and that Tyer saw it before she chose to leave Elton there.
“I think she was mad that Elton got into a fight,” Metzger said.
Unable to agree on a settlement, Tyer sued Metzger for $5,000 in Broward County Small Claims Court. That included the cost to repair Elton’s teeth, along with money spent on veterinarian fees to have Elton examined.
Broward County Court Chief Administrative Judge Sharon Zeller referred the case to mediation, where they reached a settlement this week in which Metzger would pay Tyer $1,200.
Metzger said the allegations against her business were false and that she believes the lawsuit was a ploy for money. She said she settled so “the whole thing could go away.”
But Tyer, who spent about $500 to board her dog, said the money would not repair the damage done to Elton, who had stayed at Arfington before. During a previous visit, he had cut another dog’s eyebrow, she said, but there were never any serious problems.
Elton has changed since his stay at Arfington, she said. She said the dog used to be confident and outgoing, but now gets anxious when she is not in his sight.
Tyer said Elton can’t eat anything too hot, too cold or too crunchy because his teeth are now so sensitive. She said she will save up some money to get him the dental work he needs.
She said she would have not agreed to board Elton in that particular suite, with no windows and plastic covering the gate. And when she called to check on Elton, she wasn’t told he was being boarded in a penned-in suite.
“It’s like taking a child and putting them in a dungeon,” she said.
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