A popular dog hotel will pay $150,000 to settle a consumer protection lawsuit with Bay Area prosecutors' offices including the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, which allege the company failed to report dog bites among other health and safety lapses.

Prosecutors contend that Wag Hotels – which has locations in the Bay Area including the city of Santa Clara – failed to properly report dog bite incidents to local health officials, had insufficient employee training on animal care and safety protocols, and suffered lapses in facility hygiene and pest control.

“Pets are family,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “When you leave a family member in someone else’s care, you are relying on that caretaker to provide the highest standard of safety, comfort, and care.”

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office worked in coordination with the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, and the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office to investigate and prosecute the civil law enforcement action.

The dog sheltering service has been embattled for years, facing customer accusations, a newspaper investigation, and a civil lawsuit alleging mistreatment of pets in their care. In 2019, a dog attacked four employees from Wag’s Santa Clara location, sending them to the hospital. Police were called.

This settlement was approved on Thursday by San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Joseph M. Quinn. As part of the settlement, Wag Hotels will pay $75,000 in civil penalties and $75,000 in investigative costs. Wag Hotels was ordered to make significant improvements to the protocols that apply to animal safety, employee training, and monitoring of dog playgroups, and must implement a Playgroup Safety Program to ensure the proper supervision of dogs in playgroups.