Death of dog at day care site in Santa Barbara sparks uproar

The death of a dog at a well-known day care site has shaken up Santa Barbara and sparked outrage on social media. 

Bruce, a one-year-old English bulldog, drowned Thursday while attending daycare at Camp Canine, the Santa Barbara Police Department said.

Officers responded about 4:45 p.m. to the dog daycare and boarding facility in the 800 block of East Montecito Street after receiving a report of a canine drowning, according to the Santa Barbara Police Department. Officers interviewed Bruce’s owners and employees who were present at the time of the incident. 

The case remains under investigation by the department’s Criminal Investigative Unit and Animal Control Team.

“We are extremely traumatized from what happened to our dog and I am barely functioning at the moment,” the dog’s owner Ashley Merz said in a text message to the Santa Barbara News-Press

Merz later informed the News-Press she had retained an attorney and could no longer comment. 

Bruce had attended daycare and training at Camp Canine previously, according to his family.

According to public statements from the family and a GoFundMe created on their behalf, Bruce drowned during what was expected to be a routine day at daycare. The family alleges they were not contacted when the incident occurred and did not learn of Bruce’s death until Chris Merz arrived to pick him up later that afternoon.

They also allege Bruce was not transported to an emergency veterinary hospital before they were notified and that his body was returned to them in a storage container. 

Police have not publicly released additional details about the circumstances surrounding Bruce’s death.

Camp Canine general manager Jayne Sigman apologized in a statement posted Saturday on the facility’s Instagram page.

“There are no words that can fully express the heartbreak we feel following the tragic loss of a beloved dog while in our care earlier this week,” Sigman wrote. “A family entrusted us with a cherished member of their family, and they are now living with an unimaginable loss because we failed in our responsibility to keep their dog safe.”

Sigman said Camp Canine has temporarily suspended daycare operations while it conducts a comprehensive review of its facility, safety procedures and emergency response protocols, including boarding operations.

When a News-Press reporter visited Camp Canine on Saturday seeking comment, staff declined to comment and accepted the reporter’s contact information. No response was received before publication.

While at the facility, a News-Press reporter observed Santa Barbara County Animal Services personnel on site.  

The investigation remains ongoing. A GoFundMe has been started to help pay for the cost cremation and memorial services.

The GoFundMe stated that the family was given “their dog’s body in a storage container in the trunk of a vehicle, and discovered he had not been transported to an emergency veterinary hospital before they were notified.”