Camp Canine—where Bruce the English Bulldog drowned—did not have a permit to operate a pool for dogs, according to public records reviewed by the Santa Barbara News-Press.
Bruce drowned in the pool in July. The Santa Barbara Police Department has investigated the incident and referred the matter to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office for review. The DA’s office confirmed that they have the case and are reviewing it.
In addition to Camp Canine lacking a permit for the pool, the facility did not have the appropriate building permits to operate the dog daycare facility, according to city records obtained by the News-Press. Overall, the facility has operated since 1992 without the appropriate permits from the Santa Barbara Planning Department.
Camp Canine did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this report.
Since 2024, Camp Canine has been working with the city to address a series of code violations, including the unpermitted dog pool, public records state. According to a February 2026 planning document, “the animal day care is not recognized as a legally permitted use on the site.” The city never ordered the facility to shut down; it was working with the company to come into compliance at the time of Bruce’s death.
Community Development Director Allison DeBusk told the News-Press that she could not comment further on Camp Canine’s permitting status because there was an open enforcement case against the property, telling the News-Press that the “documents speak for themselves.”
Santa Barbara Police Department Cmdr. Nathan Beltran told the News-Press that “the investigation into the incident remains active, but “at this time, no reports or records associated with the case are releasable.”
Beltran said the department is aware of code enforcement issues.
“Investigators are aware of the prior Code Enforcement case involving the wading pool, and that information has been considered as part of the investigative process,” Beltran said. “The case has been submitted to the District Attorney’s Office for review.”
The DA’s office does not investigate civil permitting issues.
Bruce, a one-year-old English Bulldog, drowned July 16 while attending daycare at Camp Canine, prompting a police investigation and public outcry over the circumstances surrounding his death.
The city was aware of code enforcement issues.
An October 2024 enforcement record states that “Camp Canine has been operating without a planning permit since 1992” and would need to go through the city’s permitting process to obtain approval to operate.
The issue dates back to a 1992 planning application to convert the property from an office to an animal daycare. Although the project received planning approval, the required building permit was never obtained, causing the approval to expire, public records show.
More than three decades later, city inspectors opened an enforcement case at the property.
During a November 2024 inspection, officials found what they described as “extensive construction” used to create a dog park with a water feature and pool. According to city records, the inspector marked the property “In Violation” and noted that the owner’s daughter understood the violations needed to be permitted.
The city issued a formal Notice of Violation the following month, which identified an “unpermitted wading pool for dogs in excess of 18” deep,” and directed the property owner to either obtain a building permit to legalize the work or demolish it.
Records show the owner began working with the city to address the violations and was granted multiple extensions; in October 2025, the facility submitted a pre-application seeking to legalize the unpermitted improvements.
But by February 2026, however, the process was not yet complete.
In a planning consultation letter that month, the city outlined additional approvals and a formal planning application that would be required to bring the property into compliance.
Five months later, Bruce drowned.
Records produced by the city do not show that Camp Canine obtained the required planning approvals prior to Bruce’s death, nor do they show that the dog pool ever received a building permit or final inspection.
The News-Press reached out multiple times to Camp Canine General Manager Jayne Sigman for comment on the city records, the permitting status of the business and pool, and the steps taken to address the violation, but received no response to questions.
Animal Services Director Sara Aguilar said the agency had three dogs boarding at Camp Canine at the time of Bruces death, but they have since been picked up and placed into foster homes.
The agency is not involved in the investigation of the facility. Camp Canine recently held a soft re-opening and is accepting dogs from its clients.
