Owner wants answers after dog injured at kennel near Walnut Creek

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (KGO) -- An East Bay family says it wants answers about what happened to the family pet while it was boarded at a kennel over the New Year's weekend. The dog suffered extensive injuries in a fight with another dog. The family says Shadow was attacked. The kennel says he was the aggressor.

The injured dog's name is Shadow. There are numerous sutures in Shadow's head and around his ear along with drains to help fight off infection.

Owner Elizabeth Iannaconne says, "He has over 18 puncture wounds in his ear and part of his head was ripped off and they had to sew it."

The Iannaconne family had used the kennel in the past without problem and decided to board their two dogs there again while they celebrated the new year at Lake Tahoe.

Elizabeth says she got a call New Year's Eve from a kennel employee that Shadow was injured and rushed to the vet. "he's just really traumatized. He's just in a lot of pain and he shakes. He's a sweet, sweet boy," she said.

Elizabeth says they've received very little information from the kennel owner about exactly what happened or even whether the other dog has had its shots. She's posted photos of Shadow's injuries on Facebook received numerous sympathetic posts in return.

But, a volunteer at Northgate Kennels tells a different story. She witnessed the fight but doesn't want her name or face shown.

"It was not mauled, there was no puddle of blood. It's ear was ripped. It wasn't an innocent animal. It was an aggressive pit bull," she said.

The kennel volunteer adds that the business has received threatening phone calls since the story broke. The owner is not on site now and has not returned phone calls. Meantime, the Iannaconne family continues to search for answers.

"I don't ever want this to happen to another family," Elizabeth said.

The ABC 7 News I-Team looked into the background of the North Gate Kennels.

Nobody at the county had records of any violations pertaining to the boarding of cats and dogs but An official with the treasurer's office told us that the kennels do not have a valid and current business license.

The official says if Northgate Kennels does not take steps to get a valid license, that they could face fines or be shut down.