Maryland family's dog found after escape from Potomac kennel
Maryland family's dog found after Potomac kennel escape
A Maryland family says they're furious after their dog went missing from a Potomac kennel for hours overnight, and was found with injuries.
POTOMAC, Md. - A Maryland family says it’s furious after what they call a frightening ordeal earlier this week: the disappearance of their dog from a boarding kennel.
Zoey was missing for several hours Monday into Tuesday morning in Potomac. Her owners were exploring boarding options for Zoey ahead of a family vacation overseas, and someone highly recommended Potomac Furbabies.
Her owner is Andrew Kern, a private chef from Kensington. We met them at their home Wednesday. Zoey is a 6-month-old Rhodesian ridgeback. She’s nursing a sore paw and scratches, injuries Kern says she suffered while she was alone and missing in the woods in Potomac.
Kern says Zoey ran away from Potomac Furbabies sometime between the time he dropped her off around 9:30 Monday morning and 2:30 that afternoon, when he says he went to get her and they asked him to describe Zoey.
What they're saying:
Kern says, "I’m like, they don’t know where my dog is. And as I’m figuring this out, someone comes out and they’re like, ‘We don’t know where your dog is,’ and they’re like, ‘Your dog escaped.’ And I’m like, ‘What do you mean my dog escaped?’"
Kern continues, "So, the whole time my dog is missing, they wouldn’t let me inside the facility, even to see if she was there, which is very disturbing, right?"
He goes on to say, "Not until way later, into the night, did I talk to an employee and actually even find out that there was this dog fight. When I got there, their claim was that my dog was just by herself and scaled the biggest fence she’s ever scaled for no reason and then just darted into the woods."
Kern says an organization called Tailed Treasures created a flier that was distributed online and in person. While Andrew says he was up all night looking for Zoey, firefighters at Cabin John Park Fire Station 30 found Zoey outside the firehouse early Tuesday morning, about a mile from where she went missing, across the busy intersection of Falls and River roads.
The other side:
The owner of Potomac Furbabies, a dog daycare, boarding, grooming and training business, told us Zoey jumped over a fence, escaped, was lost, and was found. Tracy Taborga told FOX 5 they did everything they had to do to find her, adding that Zoey is healthy and fine and everything is good.
Not so, says Andrew Kern.
"It’s just not good and I’m just worried that it’s going to happen again."
The Potomac Furbabies owner says it’s very rare for a dog to escape from their business and that she’s grateful Zoey is safe and was not harmed.