Monterey explores regulations for pet boarding facilities after last year’s deadly fire

Fifteen dogs lost their lives last summer after a devastating fire inside the Home Away From Home pet spa in Monterey.

“My dog has stayed at Home Away From Home before and I couldn’t imagine losing my dog in that kind of situation,” said Rachael Zalan.

Outraged by the incident, Zalan teamed up with other pet owners to form the group Citizens For Safe Boarding Facilities to require fire alarms inside all pet kennels. In a meeting with city planners Wednesday, the group was told that’s not possible because changing the city code could take years.

“We all agree that we all love animals, we want to keep them safe, we are trying to find the best solution for that problem,” said Zalan.

For now, city staff said requiring signs at pet boarding businesses letting customers know they don’t have a monitored fire alarm system is the best short-term solution.

“I think public education is all that’s needed for a business to say ‘hey I have to do this or I’m going to be lacking’ and the people will elect to go to a place that is safe,” said Dr. Kathleen Marcus.

Marcus owns a veterinary office that houses cats overnight. She said the fire was a wake-up call for many kennels and that her office is in the process of installing a fire alarm system.

“As much as everything has been extremely safe and we practice absolute strict safety polices when it comes to our animals, we recognize there’s a little bit of a lapse when it comes to overnight care,” said Marcus.

Currently, there are no health and safety standards for pet boarding facilities.

“I did assume that all these boarding facilities had fire alarms, they had somebody watching them 24/7 because things do happen. We want to make sure these dogs or cats are not paying for these kinds of mistakes,” said Zalan.

Last month, State Sen. Bill Monning introduced legislation that includes ensuring animals are checked on at least every eight hours, have enough space and have emergency care.

Monterey city leaders said their proposal could go before council next month.