Dog owners take legal action against training facility after beloved pet dies from heat stroke during 10-day stay

HOUSTON – For Devin and Jessica van der Hahn, Einstein and Kramer is their pride and joy.

“He was a little bit of a scaredy cat. If someone rang the doorbell, he would run upstairs and hide behind the bathtub, actually,” van der Hahn said.

On May 25, 2022, the couple boarded the pair together at Underdog Training to help resolve Einstein’s social fears and reinforce the skills Kramer had previously learned.

“I actually conducted a background search on the principal, Sarah Reyes. We looked up client experiences. She’s got a great Instagram. We were very careful because Einstein was very, very important to us,” van der Hahn said.

The couple’s beloved pets were supposed to go for a 10-day stay, but only one of them returned home.

“Einstein was delivered dead to the veterinary clinic,” van der Hahn said.

According to court papers, Einstein collapsed and died of heat stroke while under Reyes’ care. His body temperature was 110 degrees.

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“What she told me several times was this was a freak accident and this was a one-time thing,” van der Hahn said.

As for Kramer, he wasn’t doing well.

“Kramer was sick. Kramer came home with Giardia,” Jessica van der Hahn said. “I actually acquired Giardia also,” said Devin van der Hahn.

When the couple wrote an online review, the floodgates opened.

According to court papers, other customers came forward to report death, disease, and mistreatment.

“Our best data shows that four dogs died in Sarah’s care,” van der Hahn said.

Court papers also state countless dogs have been malnourished or returned to their families with diseases.

“One after another. Every single day. Several reviews. They were alarming reviews,” Jessica van der Hahn said.

After the loss of their beloved Einstein, the van der Hahns said they felt a moral responsibility to take legal action to spare others the insurmountable grief they’ve had to endure.

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Reyes, the owner of Underdog Training, referred KPRC 2 to her attorney for comment. The attorney declined our request for comment.