Protect the Paws we Love

Pets are family — yet in Florida, pet boarding and “pet resorts” operate with little to no oversight. More than 1,200 facilities statewide care for thousands of animals every day, but without licensing, inspections, or safety standards, pets are at serious risk. Recent tragedies — including 12 dogs who died in a single kennel heatstroke incident in 2023 — show that regulation is urgently needed. My own family experienced this loss firsthand, and no one else should have to go through it. We call on the Florida Legislature to act now.

Christmas of 2022 was supposed to be filled with joy and memories with my grandchild. Instead, it became the season when we lost one of our beloved dogs while it was staying at a pet resort we trusted. What should have been a safe place turned into heartbreak, as our dog suffered due to inadequate supervision and lack of basic safeguards. The negligence of the facility personnel was unacceptable, because a larger dog was able to obtain access to the area where the smaller dogs were kept. Two of our dogs were attacked one was injured and the other succombed to his injuries one day later. 

The shock and grief our family experienced is something no pet owner should ever have to endure. Our pets cannot speak for themselves — they depend on us to protect them. Yet right now in Florida, pet boarding and resort facilities operate without meaningful oversight, licensing, or inspections. Families like mine are left to assume these businesses are safe, only to discover — too late — that protections aren’t in place.

Florida is home to 1,259 pet boarding facilities, most of them small, single-owner operations without standardized oversight. The industry is booming, projected to bring in nearly $9 billion nationally by 2032, but its growth has far outpaced regulation. Without state standards, even well-meaning businesses may cut corners — and animals pay the price.

The dangers are not hypothetical:

• In June 2023, 12 dogs died of heatstroke in Columbia County after an air-conditioning failure at a kennel.
• In March 2024, at least three dogs died at a Martin County boarding facility due to heat exhaustion and improper care.
• In Alachua County, two dogs escaped from a kennel; one was later found dead on the roadside.

These tragedies reflect a systemic gap — not isolated events. Nationwide, half of U.S. pet owners say they avoid traveling because they don’t trust available boarding options. That mistrust is well-founded when facilities operate unregulated and uninspected.

We, the undersigned, urge the Florida Legislature to:

1. Establish a licensing system for pet boarding and resort facilities.
2. Require regular inspections to ensure health, safety, and emergency preparedness.
3. Set minimum standards for staffing, recordkeeping, and animal welfare practices.
4. Provide enforcement authority to protect animals and hold negligent operators accountable.

Florida families deserve peace of mind knowing their pets are safe when left in the care of a professional facility. We call on the Legislature to act now to close this regulatory gap and safeguard the animals we love.

Respectfully,

The Undersigned