Dog Stories and Dog Stories London are the trading names of Dog Stories Ltd (11083236), a company registered in England at 39 Clarendon Drive, London, SW15 1AW.

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The purpose of the Dog Stories' Day and Boarding School for Dogs is to provide a safe, fun, stimulating and social environment for dogs on weekdays during business hours. To ensure the safety and health of your pet, and our other canine guests and staff, we require all owners to comply with our terms and conditions. By allowing or organising for your dog to participate in the services we provide, you accept, understand and agree to the following terms and conditions, which may be updated at any time.

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Age

All dogs must be aged 12 weeks or older to attend daycare or participate in our activities.

 

Vaccinations & Parasite Prevention

You must ensure that all of your dog's vaccinations are up-to-date at all times while using any of our services. Kennel Cough vaccines should be administered to all dogs even though they are not 100% successful in preventing the infection. You must also ensure that your dog is regularly treated for parasites such as fleas and worms in accordance with UK veterinary guidelines.

We recommend the services of Vet in the City, who attends Dog Stories' daycare providing monthly health checks and preventative healthcare to our dogs.

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Consultation & Evaluation

All new dogs and owners must complete a consultation with Dog Stories' Head Trainer to evaluate the dog's suitability to attend to the daycare centre and/or participate in our activities and services. This procedure has a specific evaluation form that will be completed after meeting the dog and owner(s). 

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Records

Owners must submit an online registration and consent form detailing all relevant information regarding each dog that will attend the daycare, including information about vaccinations, behavioural traits, dietary needs, microchip number, vet's name and contact details, owner's home address, telephone number, and emergency contact. All data will be stored and processed securely, per the GDPR 2018.

 

Health

Upon admission, all dogs must be in good health and free from any condition which could potentially jeopardise other guests. By sending your dog(s) to Dog Stories' daycare, or participating in our activities or services, you certify that your dog is in good health and has not been ill with any infectious illness within the last 14 days. You must inform us if you think your dog might be ill so that we can advise you on your options. Should a dog become sick while at daycare, with symptoms that may indicate a communicable condition, the dog will be separated from other dogs while they are in our daycare to avoid possible infection of other dogs until it is confirmed that there is no risk to other dogs in our care. Dogs that have been ill with a contagious condition or disease in the last 14 days will require veterinarian's certification of health to be admitted or readmitted.

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Payment Policy

All payments are due in full, in advance of any services being provided by Dog Stories Ltd. Dog Stories Ltd reserves the right to cease provision of services if payment becomes overdue.

 

Cancellation Policy​

Twenty-four hours advance notice is required for cancellation of daycare only services. If cancellation is made within 24 hours, but more than 12 hours before the scheduled commencement of service, then only 50% of the fees will be reimbursed for the services cancelled. Any cancellation of service within 12 hours of its scheduled start time will incur the full cost of the cancelled service. 

Two weeks advance notice is required for cancellation of combined daycare and home boarding services. If cancellation is made within 2 weeks, but more than 10 days before the scheduled commencement of service, then only 50% of the fees will be reimbursed for the services cancelled. Any cancellation of service within 10 days of its scheduled start time will incur the full cost of the cancelled service. 

 

Transportation

We will provide an estimated time of collection and drop off when clients book their dogs into daycare. While Dog Stories will undertake best endeavours to adhere to these estimated timings, there may be delays due to traffic, weather, or other factors outside of our control. Dog Stories is not liable for late or early collections or drop-offs. 

 

Our vans are fitted with high-quality crates and offer the safest way of transporting your dog to and from our daycare centre. However, vehicle transportation always incurs a risk of collisions, and, while we have strict procures for loading and unloading each dog, there is a small risk of a dog escaping from the vehicle when the door is opening, and minor risk while they are left unattended briefly when our carers and drivers are collecting other dogs or refuelling.

 

All of our drivers are fully insured, follow our procedures for driving and collecting dogs, and we maintain professional dog business insurance. You permit Dog Stories to transport your dog in any of our vans to any location required by us, and you agree not to hold Dog Stories or its staff liable for any injury or death caused by a collision or accident involving any vehicle, at any time, including when the dog is outside.​

 

Security

Dogs often play off-lead within our daycare facility, allowing them to enjoy exercise and freedom. With any off-lead environment, there may be a risk to dogs' security. The boundaries of our dog daycare facilities comprise two-metre-high solid wooden fencing. Also, entrances and exits are double-gated creating 'airlocks' which reduce the possibility of a dog exiting the facility unsupervised. Each field within the facility also has fences that are approximately two meters in height. It is rare that a dog would be able to jump over our fences, but it is not impossible.

 

Furthermore, with a maximum of eight dogs per dog daycare counsellor, and constant supervision of your dog, it is improbable that a dog would be able to exit the daycare facility unsupervised. However, by sending your dog to our daycare or participating in our activities or services, you accept these risks and agree not to hold Dog Stories or its staff liable for any injury or loss resulting from any escape. In the unlikely event that your dog was to escape from our facility, we would do our very best to find them and would contact you as soon as practicable to advise you. If you believe your dog has the potential to jump or climb over fences of this height, you must inform the Head Trainer, so that appropriate steps can be made to reduce the risks.

 

Behaviour

All dogs must be non-aggressive and must not be food or toy protective. By organising for your dog to attend Dog Stories daycare, or other Dog Stories activities, you certify that your dog has never harmed or exhibited any aggressive or threatening behaviour towards any person or another dog and that you have made a complete and honest disclosure of any characteristic or trait that might make your dog unsuitable for daycare. Your dog will be spending time with other dogs, and the safety and health of all our dogs and staff are our primary concerns.

 

Where possible, we will try to help you to address any behavioural issues with your dog. However, we reserve the right to exclude any dog that exhibits any aggressive, threatening or inappropriate behaviour towards other dogs or humans, or which we, at our sole discretion, believe poses a risk to other dogs or humans,  from all of our services with immediate effect.

 

Socialising with other dogs is a vital element of a dog's life, and wellbeing and your dog will be in an off-lead environment with other dogs. While this is usually a hugely positive experience, there is, as with any group dog interaction, a risk of dog-on-dog aggression, fights, and bites, and even death exists. We do all possible to reduce these risks. At Dog Stories, our dogs are always supervised when they are together with other dogs.

 

We place dogs into playgroups with other dogs of similar size, play style, age, breed, level of energy, and whom we know there is a good group dynamic. Our staff are trained to supervise and manage dog interactions, and how to identify any early signs of frustration or stress to divert the dogs' attention, and in how to prevent and resolve any incident that might happen.

 

Responsibility in the Case of Injury

The overwhelming majority of minor injuries, cuts and scrapes that occur in dog daycares are the result of wrestling or friendly play, and are caused accidentally, or when play becomes slightly overexcited. These must be accepted as 'par for the course', and any treatment for such a minor injury will be the responsibility of the owner of the dog who suffered a minor injury. 

Altercations between dogs can have a cause that is not necessarily apparent from any resulting injury. For example, a dog who is injured in an incident may be the one responsible for causing the incident, and the injury the result of another dog's defensive reaction. In the event of such an occurrence, any liability for costs, including vet's bills and damages will be the responsibility of the owner of the dog that caused the incident, not the dog which caused an injury.  

 

In the case of any dog-on-dog incident resulting in injury, Dog Stories will, at its sole discretion, determine which dog is responsible and which owner liable for costs, and our decision will be final. This is because our team will have witnessed the incident first hand and are, therefore, in the best position to adjudicate on the matter. By organising for your dog to participate in Dog Stories' daycare or activities, you agree to accept Dog Stories' decisions concerning minor injuries and scrapes.

 

While we undertake our best endeavours, including comprehensive screening of all dogs, and highly trained and experienced staff of carers, Dog Stories cannot be held responsible for the actions of any dog in our daycare. By organising for your dog to participate in Dog Stories' daycare and other activities, you agree that you understand and accept these risks and that you will not hold Dog Stories or its staff responsible in the event of any incident involving your dog.​

 

Weather

In the unlikely event our vans cannot get to the site or clients we will contact owners as soon as practicably possible to advise clients of the situation.

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Disclosure

Dog Stories Ltd will endeavour to offer only sound, safe, and responsible care for all dogs. However, it is the owner's responsibility to understand the risks inherent in dog daycare, including but not limited to interactions with other dogs and potential exposure to disease and parasites such as but not limited to fleas. Furthermore, owners will remain responsible for the actions of their dogs at all times and agree to indemnify and hold harmless Dog Stories of any and all claims of injury, expense, costs, or damages caused by the actions of their dog while under Dog Stories' care.