The DogTown pet hotel, located in a private residence in the village of Sharapovo, Moscow Region, was promoted as an exclusive establishment. It offered dog training programs ranging from two weeks to three months. However, it has emerged that animals at the facility were subjected to abuse, confined to filthy cages, and beaten. The alleged mistreatment came to light after a client received her dog back from the hotel with undeniable injuries.
Following numerous complaints of animal cruelty, the Investigative Committee questioned employees of the DogTown pet hotel in Chekhov, near Moscow. The facility, marketed as an elite dog boarding and training center, offered various stay options: two weeks for basic skill development, a month for advanced command refinement, and three months for «turnkey training.» The owners promised to create «the most comfortable dog,» with boarding fees set at 3,500 rubles per day.
In reality, animals were kept in unsanitary conditions in cages, beaten, and subjected to electric shocks. Despite these horrific conditions, the establishment had accumulated many positive reviews. The owners, Karina and Maria, would send clients photos of seemingly well-cared-for dogs, briefly taking them out of their cages for these staged pictures.
The full extent of the abuse became apparent when one client retrieved her dog from the hotel suffering from visible injuries. Alexey Sklyarenko, an honorary lawyer in Russia and author of a Telegram channel, commented on the situation:
«To say this is a frequent practice would be incorrect, but it`s certainly not an exception, 100%. Media outlets repeatedly publish similar information. This constitutes animal cruelty, covered by Article 245 of the Criminal Code, carrying a maximum penalty of three to five years of imprisonment. However, such severe real prison sentences are rarely applied unless it is established that all or multiple employees at this location engaged in equally cruel treatment of the animals. The investigation will then determine if it was a group of individuals acting in preliminary conspiracy or an organized group. I believe a three-year sentence could easily be handed down. This is not a grave offense, so I think the chosen preventive measure will be a travel ban.»
Alexey Sklyarenko
Honorary Lawyer of Russia, Author of a Telegram Channel
Animal rights activist Olga Eremeeva discussed the prevalence of irresponsible pet boarding services and how to assess their quality:
«Is this an exception or a common practice? The thing is, such pet boarding and training services are indeed in high demand. It`s truly a goldmine, with hundreds of options in Moscow and the surrounding region. One might expect that with such fierce competition, the quality of services would improve. But this isn`t about the specifics of the business; it`s, as always, purely about the human factor. When an unscrupulous person finds it very tempting to conduct such activities without any oversight. For instance, a dog was picked up in Moscow, and its owners were told it would live in an apartment, sleep in a bed, and receive humane dog training. I`ve seen all these videos and photos, and there`s zero remorse. And it`s understandable, why feel remorse if you`ve run this business for several years, and it looks exactly as it was exposed – with animals in dirty cages and so on. Unfortunately, this is a common story. Regarding the quality of a pet hotel, one needs, firstly, critical thinking, secondly, intuition, and thirdly, not to trust written reviews but to trust your own eyes. They are excellent psychologists in the moment. But you need to understand that this service isn`t entirely right from the start; when you`re going to work with your pet, you should invite a trainer to your home yourself, and trust, but verify. Say, `Can I come visit?` If you realize that the first time you try to visit, they say, `Oh, the car broke down,` and two days later, when you ask again, `Can we come visit?`, they respond, `We`ve been flooded` – that is, when you realize they`re refusing your visit a second time, you should already be alarmed. Go there immediately, without waiting for all these `convenient-inconvenient` excuses. Go pick up your animal and see what`s happening. Which is, ultimately, what people did. It`s just a pity that so much time passed, and animals were abused for a prolonged period.»
Olga Eremeeva
Animal Rights Activist
In total, approximately 50 animals suffered at the DogTown facility near Chekhov. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has opened a criminal case. After questioning, the owners of the pet hotel were not detained. Another DogTown animal hotel under the same brand operates in Podolsk, Moscow Region.
