08/28/2025
Hello everyone,
Recently, we have heard about a certain individual who has a dog daycare/boarding business in Surrey and the accusations/misconduct; also know as Terra Nova Canines. We have had time to reflect on this horrific situation and cannot sit back and not say anything about it. As a mother/daughter team, we wanted to raise our own opinion on this matter since dogs are living beings, just like us.
As some of you may know, we have taken our business private; rather than in a facility.
When we were starting our business last year, we created a dog group on Facebook. This individual asked to join it; this was not a problem. Most Facebook groups have a Sunday only policy for advertising businesses, like ours. This person tried posting her business multiple times a week. It got to be too much where we had to block her. This person opened her facility shortly after ours. She saw our advertisements and deliberately copied some of the things we were doing. However, as forgiving individuals, we let it go.
Fast forward to now. We have been recently made aware of the absolutely atrocious and horrific experiences that are online. Some of these stories we ourselves cannot even read since they are traumatic. We read a paragraph of some of them and are so disgusted by the actions of an individual who was trusted to look after someone’s family member. The level of hurt that the dogs and owners are going through we have no words for. We just hope this does not happen again.
Firstly, looking after one dog takes a lot of responsibility and maturity. If a person does not think they are fit to do so, they should not. Period. Dogs are just like children, they need security, warmth, and love. Leaving dogs for days at a time without nutrition or hydration is another form of evil. When you also get the privilege to have your own facility, overcrowding should not even be happening. This is a literal business 101 moment. You have a specific number of dogs you can take in at a time. If you are permitting too many, this not only creates stress on the dog but ultimately more serious issues later on down the road.
When accusations (with proof) are made and you are still advertising your own business like nothing happened, that clearly indicates that you do not care about the welfare of dogs but your own brand. For us, this is purely an immoral thing to do. Some of these services this individual still advertises also are fully nonrefundable. In todays day and age where everyone is trying to get by, charging people with a nonrefundable policy is ludicrous and selfish. It goes to show that the almighty dollar matters more than the welfare of a dog.
Another thing that is important for a business are reviews from clients; this is a literal make or break. When you are deliberately getting negative reviews off and keeping only the positive ones raises questions. This shows the person is not transparent or truthful, especially since they are not wanting to acknowledge a customers experience. As a business owner, if someone has a non satisfactory experience, you try to make it right and hear their point of view out, not mask it because you want that 5 star review status without taking accountability.
Previously as a counselling psychologist, I also wanted to point out that mental health is something that needs to be taken very seriously. While people can have certain issues, that does not justify them for their behaviour or neglecting another being. Dogs do not have a voice to speak for themselves, only humans do.
From all of these experiences, we believe she should not be trusted ever again with a dog; especially with how many stories and experiences there are of this misconduct. We are hoping that the proper steps are taken for this abuse to stop. Some form of justice should be served, not just for those who have been heartbreakingly affected but for future families that could be. Our hearts truly go out to all of those who have been affected by this individual who is not equipped to be looking after another dog. Please, protect the dogs.
