I have decided to create this site to get the word out about Joseph James' Dog Adventure Camp in Stevenson, WA. 

My family and I decided, unfortunately last minute, to go to California for the Christmas holidays in 2007.  It was a decision we will regret for years to come.  The boarding facility that we usually take our dogs to was booked solid, as well as most of the others around the Vancouver metro area.  We should have taken it as a warning that a boarding facility that had room for our dogs at the last minute over the Christmas holidays would not be good.   We went out and saw the facilities.  We were concerned that there was a lot of poop laying around everywhere, but the man identifying himself as the owner said that they just had not gotten it cleaned up yet that morning.  The owner seemed to be sincere and honest, so not being able to find another available boarding facility and having no other choice of a place to leave our dogs, we reluctantly decided to board them at Joseph James' Dog Adventure Camp.  What seemed like a plus at the time was that the facility would pick up and drop off the dogs at our house, eliminating the need for us to drive all the way to the "camp" in Stevenson about a 30+ mile drive each way from our house.  We gave the kennel owner copies of our dogs' shot records, the contact info for our vet, and told him that our vet has standing orders to care for our dogs in an emergency.

To go back a little and give you some history about our dogs, in November 2007, we had taken our three dogs to the vet for their annual physicals.  The vet did their annual blood work, gave them their annual shots and a thorough examination.  He pronounced them all to be healthy and in excellent condition and at a good weight for their body structure.  Their blood work came back at all normal ranges.  At the time of their physicals in November, our Chihuahua mix weighed 10.5 lbs and was a happy and frisky dog who loved to play and run around despite being 12 years old.  His weight has fluctuated over the 11 years we owned him between 10-11 lbs.  Our lab mix, another playful dog at 10 years old, weighed 68 pounds.  Her weight over the past 9 years we owned her fluctuated between 64 and 70 lbs.  Our 5 year old Pomeranian mix weighed 7 pounds.  She usually weighs between 6.5-7.25 lbs.

Fast forward now to the Christmas holidays.   The owner came and picked the dogs up at our house on December 22nd.  He was supposed to bring them back on December 27th, but called and said he couldn't make it down the hill from his house, AKA the "dog adventure camp", because of the heavy snowfall.  He delayed bringing them home for two days, assuring us all the while that they were fine and happy and he wouldn't charge us for the extra days.  We offered to come and get them ourselves, but he insisted we would not be able to make it up there with the snow.

When he finally brought them home on the 29th, he was carrying our Chihuahua and handed him to me.  The Chihuahua was happy to see me, but not as frisky as he normally was.  Our other two dogs came in the house of their own accord and immediately went to lie down on their dog beds, which wasn't normal for them either.  Usually they are excited and happy to be back home.  When I questioned the kennel owner, he said that all of the dogs were very tired from running around and playing so much with the other dogs.  He also said that they might have a "touch" of diarrhea, because they drank some of the muddy water in the puddles left over from the snow melt in the open dog pens.  I never put our Chihuahua down, but carried him to my Laz-Boy chair, glad to finally have my babies home, and sat down with him on my lap, the Pomeranian jumped up into my lap too, and the Lab stayed on her bed on the floor.  They all fell asleep very quickly.  When I finally got up a couple hours later, I put the Chihuahua down on the floor and he started walking like he was very weak, staggering and wobbling around like he was drunk.  That was when I notice how gaunt and sunk in he looked.  We immediately took him to our vet, who weighed him and said he weighed 7 pounds (remember he normally is 10-11 pounds and was 10.5 pounds just a month earlier).  In the 7 days he was at the boarding kennels he lost 3.5 pounds, one-third his body weight!  Our lab lost 5 pounds and our Pomeranian lost 1.5 pounds.  Our Lab and Pom luckily recovered a few days later.

The vet immediately did blood work and found that several of the readings for protein levels were at or very near fatal levels.  The vet also said that he didn't have a "touch" of diarrhea, but very severe diarrhea and was extremely dehydrated and malnourished, because he was not able to keep nutrients and fluids in him due to the diarrhea.  The vet said if we hadn't brought him in right away that he probably would not have lived through the night.  The vet also discovered that he probably had kennel cough too, even though he had been vaccinated for it every year.  The vet said that because he was so weak from the dehydration and malnourishment, that he probably could not fight an infection from another dog at the facility that had kennel cough.

Over the course of six weeks and several thousands of dollars in vet bills, our beloved Chihuahua fought valiantly to recover.  Twice it looked like he might be getting better, but he was never able to fully recover and died while I was sleeping on February 15, 2008.  My husband came home from a graveyard shift to find him dead in our bed, our other two dogs snuggling close to him, so he wasn't alone.  He was one of the best, most loving dogs I have ever owned.  He did not deserve to die in such pain and suffering.

My friends have told me I should sue the Joseph James' Dog Adventure Camp and the owners, but I am not a litigious person and it would not bring back my beloved baby.  I just wanted an apology and some recognition from the owner that he messed up and did not take good care of my pets.  Something that would tell me he was sorry.  I left him with three healthy, frisky and happy dogs.  They were only there 6 nights and 7 days and came home so sick and run down. 

What angers me most, and why I am using the internet to get the word out warning people about Joseph James Dog Adventure Camp, is that I have left several phone messages for the owner and even wrote a letter to him, asking for his explanation of why he did not see that our dog was not well in his care?  Why did he never call us to tell us there was a problem?  Why did he delay in bringing him home when it was obvious our dog was sick?  Why did he not take him to our vet, when we gave him the vet's contact info and instructions that the vet has our authorization to treat our dogs in an emergency?  Why did he try to make us think it wasn't a big deal and we shouldn't be concerned?  He has never returned my calls or responded to my letter. 

I thought maybe he felt guilty for what happened, even if he couldn't tell me himself, because he didn't cash the check.  I had given him the check for the five days boarding on December 29th.  Several months went by and he hadn't cashed it.  I had hoped that he decided not to cash it out of guilt.  Then, suddenly on April 8th, 2008, almost three and a half months later, it suddenly cleared my checking account.  So much for the thought that he felt any sense of guilt.

This guy is supposed to be some hot shot dog expert, but we feel his neglect killed our dog.  I would think twice if you are thinking about boarding there.  Check it out for yourself.  The decision to board our dogs there is a fatal decision I will have to live with.  Don't make the same mistake I did.  I encourage anyone who has boarded there and had similar circumstances to please share your story or post any comments.