We took our 3 yr old, high energy 65 lb mixed breed dog (*** NOT a pit bull!!***) to Dog Days day care for the first time on Halloween day. We are pretty much regulars at another dog day care and boarding place but we live in SoHigh so this location would have been ideal for us. I completed the paperwork and while doing so, our dog was being held by the leash by the man at the front desk.
One red flag was that this facility does NOT require copies of shot records, rabies vaccine records, or anything else. They ask you to check the box that your dog is up-to-date but there is NO accountability for that. I knew our boy was healthy so I went ahead and completed the rest anyway. As I am filling out the papers, our dog had NO issues with that man who was holding him for me. However, on the paperwork it asked about the dog's behavior so I wrote down that he can nip when excited and that he sometimes dislikes adult males. Well, my honesty was used to punish our sweet boy.
While I was given a quick tour of the facilities by a female staffer, we passed the small dog play area and then the large dog play area. In the large dog play area, there were three other dogs and I knew mine would be in Heaven playing with them. A different female staffer inside the play pen looking after the dogs was literally sitting down and on her phone (texting or something) - not even interacting with the dogs, let alone, getting up when she saw a new client. That was my next red flag but I ignored it.
Then, I was shown where dogs would be boarded (since we do board occasionally). I was disappointed to see that there was a very large dog in the boarding area with a "baby gate" in front of his kennel so he could walk out of his crate and still be contained. Another red flag. Anyway, I knew this was a one-day trial so I agreed to leave my dog there for $26.
Upon returning, we were told that our dog was aggressive and he tried to bite a male staffer who walked by the play area and so they boarded him up in a cage AND put a carpet over his cage! FOR OVER 1 1/2 HOURS!!!!! WTF? First of all, our dog has NEVER bitten anyone, second of all, I did say he could nip when excited and he can dislike some adult males so why weren't the staffers respecting his natural behavior and doing things to prevent it????? And finally, I certainly did NOT pay $26 to have my dog boarded up with a carpet placed over his cage. How stressful for him!
To top it all off, our dog got warts from this place and had to go to the vet. Gross.
I am still so upset and believe I should be honored a full refund, however, my husband said to just let it go and never give them our business again.
So here I am, hoping my story will prevent someone else from stressing out their dog and not getting what they paid for. Too bad... we have lived in Southern Highlands since 2004 and really want our local businesses to succeed, but this one will never see another penny from us.