I initially spoke to someone who was very nice about scheduling a trial day. My first time ever trying daycare. Had to call back to reschedule due to an emergency and no one answered the phone, and there was no VM (during business hours). Emailed the cancellation and rescheduled for today, which she confirmed. I emailed all Eddie's records ahead of time per their request. I was happy about how close they are to me, the reviews and the woman I spoke to on the phone, Jessica, I believe. She was reassuring the staff was experienced, it was a safe, clean place and he would be well-cared for.
We show up, and I'm struck by no yard for the dogs to play in or potty, no uncovered windows on the building either. We go in, and the daycare is "behind a door" so you can't see anything. (I get it might distract the dogs, but it looked fishy to me from the start). Then find out they don't have us on the schedule, " I have you down as "cancelled", the woman at the desk said,. So I pull up the confirmation email written by the woman in front of me. "My bad, but we have room", she says.
Then another staff member asks if I completed the info. online. Yes, a couple weeks ago. I had to ask to see the facility- seems like a tour for new clients would be best practice, but no. The woman replies, "after I introduce your dog to the other dogs I'll let you "peek" in). Um, no. If I'm leaving my dog here for a trial 3 hours, I want to see the environment I'm leaving him in.
I reluctantly allow her to take Eddie back, but I should have demanded to go along, or to see the"facility" first without ever letting go of his leash. I asked where they potty the dogs and then she tells me the city of Littleton won't allow them to have a yard so they have AN INDOOR AREA FOR THE DOGS TO TOILET IN- that "gets cleaned up right away", and I shouldn't "worry about him getting confused at home and going in the house" WHAT???? And somehow the this is allowed by the city and any regulatory agencies for this kind of business? Apparently so.
She was back there awhile, and so I then asked the desk staff person about the Groupon they have for daycare. I discussed this with "Jessica" over the phone. This woman said the Groupon was for "boarding only". Again, I disagreed and pulled it up. "Oh , I never saw that Groupon". "Can you email that to us or print it out? " No, the purpose of a Groupon is to attract new business and be easily redeemed onsite. The company created the Groupon and so presenting it should be all that's needed. Do they even know what they offer?
Finally the other woman returned, stating she "introduced my dog" and then had to tell me again she'll give me a "peek" but not to put my hands in the where the dogs are. Upon entering, I am literally dumbfounded- and not in a good way at all. It's a huge room, it was hot and stuffy with no real ventilation. Two very large areas separated by a flimsy, plastic dirty barricade. Looked like 15 or so various sized dogs meandering around on a bare stripped floor. Whatever artificial turf is in the picture is GONE. The floor looks unfinished and dirty. No toys, no mats, no dog beds, no visible water bowls (I literally glanced around quickly, so if they were there, they weren't noticeable. ) Just a corral where all these dogs walked around and a staff member cleans up their poop- and I guess they just urinate on the floor and it's cleaned up? How well can you clean flooring that's stripped? Isn't a coating on the flooring needed to help keep it clean from liquids and germs and odors? Really?
I was shocked. I immediately said I'm not comfortable and want to take my dog and leave. Again, I should have demanded she get Eddie while I was standing there but she asked me to wait in the waiting room so she could "go in and get him". No reason why she could not have gone into the "pen" and hooked up my dog and handed me the leash. Just weird.
How can this place get such great reviews, have a couple helpful, nice folks handle their customer service via phone and then THIS is what they offer? AND, I might add, they offer up to 12 HOUR daycare in addition to boarding... 12 hours in a poorly ventilated, empty, dirty corral, with 15 other dogs where they all urinate and defecate on a stripped bare floor? No walks, no outside playtime, nothing of comfort visible- No thanks. They have a certificate of some sort taped to their door, which I should have examined more closely. I'm shocked they pass a regulatory assessment as it is. I'm going to check into their regulatory and inspection status.
It's great if you can claim you have the best pet-loving, "trained" staff known to man. But by the same token, if these same "pet lovers" work for a company like this that warehouses dogs in a dirty room all day to wander aimlessly, are they really "qualified pet lovers"?
Buyer beware. Demand a tour. Don't turn your pet over until you do. Ask questions while there. I left in tears.
1 review 