I urge everyone to do check out any place you are going to leave your fur babies. Safe, responsible, and honest places. Unfortunately, I cannot say these things about Animal Boarding Center. We have been both customers and employees. We experienced things that were not safe for dogs nor people and have tried to resolve things directly; however, they refused to respond to any of our requests. This is my story.
We were hired for what we thought was part time work caring for animals and using my administrative skills to create systems that run more smoothly. Instead, we were tasked with facility maintenance duties that had been long neglected - piles of soiled, nasty laundry in multiple locations and dirty dishes that had been there for at least a month. It was so infested with mice that my parents' small dog that hunts and kills small critters gave up, just lying on a blanket with large amounts of mouse poop under it. We offered food storage solutions to fix this that were ignored.
Cages have sharp edges that cut us and the dogs and they weren't always clean when dogs came in. We would clean them for a dog coming in and then another dog would be put in the clean cage and incoming dog would be put in a dirty cage. They spread lime on outdoor waste to keep other dogs from eating it. We did not feel that was safe for us or the dogs.
We worked on sanitation and tried to understand how things were run without a clear system, i.e., customers are told their dogs will go outside every 2 hours but it's more like every 3 to 4 hours with a few exceptions. This worked for the owners, as they know the dogs, but not for anyone else. I was told multiple times how amazing my daughter was and how she hoped one day she would want to take over the business. If further issues had not come to light, we likely would have stayed to help them get things on track.
However, bigger issues did occur. A larger dog did not get to go out as often and got a UTI. Usually very sweet, but not feeling well when I took her out on her leash, she yanked the leash and my arm so hard it was dislocated with nerve damage that I am still dealing with and will for the rest of my life. When I told the owner, she said it couldn't be that bad since that dog doesn't pull hard. Well, maybe not under normal circumstances. She slinged my arm for a couple of days but did not alter work hours. I sought medical help and asked for every other day shifts, but she gave me back-to-back shifts each week. After an MRI and starting physical therapy I asked about workers comp since the injury was at work. She denied responsibility even though I was on the clock, on her property and she was in charge of when and where I worked and my tasks. I discovered workers are hired as employees but are paid and reported as independent contractors. I explained that because of the way she was managing her workers they were considered employees and not contractors, and the legal consequences of this and encouraged her to research it. We had to stop working there. She said she was sad we didn't want to work there; I told her it wasn't about wanting to, we needed them to do things legally and take responsibility for their employees and be honest with employees and customers.
Before leaving your fur babies with them, ask questions...are employees covered by insurance; food storage; rodent and pest control; tour the entire facility; look at the halls the dogs use; where are the dogs groomed AND bathed; inspect the shelves in the store; any recent client health issues; overbooking policies. Daycare dogs, ask if they get the same kennel every day or check the kennel before you leave them each day. These things will let you know if they are running a quality business that is safe, honest, and responsible.
The other negative online reviews mirror our own experiences. My hope is this review along with other feedback they have received from the community will only help them improve their business. read more
