A frustrated pet owner is looking for answers after she says her therapy dog returned home from a dog daycare with some mysterious injuries.
“This is my animal. He’s like my child,” Leslie Codling-DiChet said.
Codling-DiChet said her dog, 6-year-old Reagan, is not quite himself after she left him at a dog daycare.
“I cried. I cried for days,” Codling-DiChet said.
Just three months ago it was tears of joy, when the Escondido woman adopted the bichon-poodle mix, after it was found on a Los Angeles street with a rope around its neck.
Codling-DiChet showed us some video shot a few weeks ago, which seems to show Reagan having no problem running on a leash. The dog has become a therapy dog for Codling-DiChet, who suffers from anxiety.
“We belong together. We're a match made in heaven,” said Codling-DiChet.
In late July, Codling-DiChet - in the middle of a move – found 24 Hour Dog Daycare in the Miramar area because of its great reviews -- and boarded Reagan.
She says she visited Reagan on the fourth night and he was fine.
But the next morning, she got an email from the daycare stating Reagan was favoring a leg.
“It was sheer panic,” said Codling-DiChet.
The limp remained noticeable. Despite some initial tests, the exact cause remains unclear.
A few days later, she says a veterinarian showed her a giant bruise on his belly.
“It showed trauma. I said, ’What do you mean?’ She said trauma was done to him,’” said Codling-DiChet.
A week later, the bruise appears to have healed, but Codling-DiChet says her dog is different.
She says Reagan's appetite is just now coming back. She says he now startles easily and is wary around strangers.
“I want answers. I want to know what really happened to Reagan,” said Codling-DiChet.
A manager at 24 Hour Dog Daycare says she saw no bruises. She points out the dog was well taken care of and Reagan had an awkward gait when he first arrived.
“A veterinarian who saw him believes the dog has a neurological condition that caused the symptoms. We paid for the medical care up to the point of that determination,” said Justin Stanley, owner of 24 Hour Dog Daycare.
Codling-DiChet says Reagan was walking fine and does not suffer from any neurological condition.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help with Reagan’s vet bills.
