Claremore Woman Wants Answers After Dog Died While Being Boarded

A Claremore woman said she wants answers after her dog died while being boarded at Carmik Kennel in Claremore.

Chrystal Jones said they decided to board their dog Max at Carmik while her family went on a weeklong vacation in July. While they were gone, they were told Max had suddenly died.

“The owner called us on Saturday saying Max was acting fine earlier that day and they don’t really know what happened,” Jones said.

Jones said Max was a healthy three-and-a-half-year-old pup they considered part of their family.

“Max was our first inside dog, he was a mini golden doodle, he was playful and loved to cuddle,” Jones said.

She said the day after they got the call Max had died, they picked him up at Carmik. Chrystal said when she asked what happened, no one had answers for her.

Carmik‘s Training Manager Carol Ryther said they don’t know how or why Max died.

“Carmik is not negligent in anything, we wish we knew what happened so it doesn’t happen again," Ryther said.

Jones said she took Max to a vet for an autopsy but they couldn’t provide any closure either.

“We took him to the vet Monday and the vet said he had no broken bones, but due to the decompensation he couldn’t run any tests, the insides were too decomposed,” Jones said.

She said they had Max cremated and held a little service for him, but she said the weight of not knowing how he died is still heavy.

“He was one of our family members, he was part of our family,” Jones said. “We miss him every day, it’s been a little over two weeks now. We sure do miss that Max.”

Ryther said they have been in business for 38 years and there is no proof of any wrong doing on their part during their decades of being open.

“Rumors or hearsay, people are mad, people want to stir things up more,” Ryther said. “Anybody is welcome to come through our kennels at any time. We are not hiding anything. It’s all visible to our clients.”

Jones said they plan on getting another mini golden doodle eventually, but it’s too soon to think about replacing Max.