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How do you report injuries during a stay?

Injury reporting

How do you report injuries during a stay?

The law now says a good deal about the second report and almost nothing about the first. Below are both: what the state requires, what its form asks, what the advisory committee has said about telling owners, and the instructions worth leaving with us before drop-off.

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Last reviewed October 10, 2026 · by the Dogtown team · reviewed by Gabriella Pope, Director of Training & Canine Behaviorist

What the law requires

Ollie's Law requires injuries to be reported to the town, and every report is investigated

Section 174G of chapter 140, added by Ollie's Law and in force since December 19, 2024, says commercial boarding or training kennels shall report injuries to animals or people that occur on their premises to the licensing authority, and that the department or the licensing authority shall investigate all reports. The same section told MDAR to create a reporting form and a time frame for filing it, and to post the form so members of the public can report injuries as well.

Two details matter for owners. The duty covers people as well as dogs, so a handler bitten while separating two dogs is reportable. And the outcome is not always private: when an investigation leads MDAR to take enforcement action against a kennel, the law requires the investigative report to be posted on MDAR's website. The Town of Sharon's guidance adds that injury information can be available to owners through a municipal public records request.

Who reports: the kennel, to the local licensing authority
What: injuries to animals or people on the premises
Then: every report is investigated
Made public online when enforcement action follows

The form

MDAR's Kennel Injury Reporting Form covers five things, and anyone can file it

The form, linked from MDAR's Ollie's Law page, is short. It records who is reporting and their link to the kennel, with boxes for owner, employee, client or other, and an option to stay anonymous. It names the kennel and its owner, asks whether a dog, a person or something else was hurt, and leaves room to describe the incident. It then asks whether medical attention was received, for whom and where. It is submitted through the local town clerk and animal control officer.

The lower half belongs to the investigator. The animal control officer records whether the kennel's license is current, expired, revoked or suspended, or whether the kennel is unlicensed, whether an inspection is needed, whether a violation was found and what action was taken. That is why the form matters even if you never fill one in: it ties an injury to the license and the inspection, the two public checks on any kennel. The questions further down follow the same logic.

Part of the form	What it records
Person submitting	Name and contact, link to the kennel, an anonymous option
Kennel	Name, address and owner
Injury	Dog, human or other, with a description of the incident
Medical attention	Whether it was received, for whom and where
Investigation	License status, inspection needed, violation found, actions taken

Telling you

The law is silent on how owners are told, so settle it in writing before the stay

Nothing in the statute sets how quickly an owner must hear about an injury, and the regulations that might do so had not been released as of the March 18, 2026 advisory committee minutes. The committee has discussed it. At its January 6, 2026 meeting one member said emergency care should be sought before the owner is notified, given the urgency, and another suggested six hours as a reasonable window to reach an owner. Neither view is a rule, but together they mark the questions worth asking now.

The channels you already have with Dogtown are the daily update in the Dogtown app, messages to the front desk and the phone, 978 491-5922, during opening hours. What happens after an injury is agreed at the consult: which events mean a phone call rather than a note, who calls, how fast, which vet sees your dog and who approves treatment if you cannot be reached. Write the answers into your booking, especially if you will be traveling during the stay.

Which events mean a call rather than a note
Who calls you, and how quickly
Which vet sees your dog, day and night
Who approves care if you cannot be reached

Before drop-off

Leave instructions that let a hard decision happen quickly

The slowest step after an injury is usually reaching someone who can say yes to treatment, so fix that before the stay. Give us your own vet's name and number, a second contact who knows your wishes and a spending limit you are comfortable approving. Tell your vet the dates you will be away. For after-hours care, the City of Gloucester keeps a list of local emergency veterinary offices, and Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital in Woburn takes emergencies around the clock.

After any injury, ask for the details in writing: what happened, who saw it, what treatment was given and what changes for the rest of the stay. Keep the vet records with the updates. If you ever feel an injury was not handled properly, the clerk's office or animal control in the kennel's town is where a report or a concern goes, and the public form exists so that an owner can file one directly. Our page on Ollie's Law and training kennels covers the rest of the law.

01
Give us your vet's name, number and after-hours plan
02
Name a second contact who can approve treatment
03
Set a spending limit you are happy to approve
04
Agree which events mean a phone call, and how fast
05
Ask for any injury details in writing, with the vet records

At Dogtown

The stay behind the paperwork

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Asked and answered

Questions people ask about this

Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.

Do minor scrapes count as reportable injuries?

The statute says injuries to animals or people on a kennel's premises are reported to the licensing authority, and it does not set aside minor ones; MDAR's form simply asks for a description and whether medical attention was received. Ask at the consult how small injuries are recorded during a stay and when you would hear about them.

Can I see injury reports about a kennel?

When MDAR takes enforcement action after an investigation, the law requires the investigative report to be posted on its website. Short of that, ask the town clerk; one town's guidance notes the information can be available through a municipal public records request. It is also fair to ask any program directly about its injury history.

Can I file an injury report myself?

Yes. MDAR's Kennel Injury Reporting Form lists client among the roles a reporter can tick, offers an anonymous option and is submitted through the town clerk and animal control officer where the kennel operates. For a kennel in Gloucester, that means the City Clerk's office at City Hall, 9 Dale Ave.

How fast will I hear if my dog is hurt?

That is agreed with you at the consult rather than set by law, because the statute says nothing about notice to owners. Ask which events lead to a phone call, who makes it and how quickly, and what happens if you cannot be reached. Emergency treatment comes first, so name a second contact who can approve care.