In my experience as a first-time client of Melissa's Prestigious Pawz in Fort Worth, several…read moreaspects of our interaction raised concerns for me regarding communication, professionalism, and billing transparency.
During our initial conversations, Melissa referenced her previous work with Eli Lilly when discussing animal care. While I respect professional experience, the way this was presented felt dismissive of my own long experience as a pet owner. For example, she strongly criticized the heartworm prevention product I have used responsibly for over 20 years with multiple dogs and suggested that products she prepares herself are preferable. From my perspective, the conversation felt somewhat condescending.
When I scheduled boarding for our pets (three dogs and one cat), I also scheduled grooming for my cocker spaniel. At the time of booking, I explained that she had been digging in the yard after a large storm and would likely need extra grooming attention. She had been professionally groomed approximately 6-8 weeks earlier at PetSmart in Weatherford. I also shared that due to several difficult personal circumstances--including the recent passing of my father on February 28, my own cancer diagnosis and treatment, and my husband's cancer diagnosis and treatment--we had not been able to bathe her before bringing her in. I shared this simply to provide context.
While we were out of town, Melissa contacted me stating that my dogs were "covered in ticks." This surprised me because our dogs have lived in multiple rural homes over the years, have been groomed regularly their entire lives, and have never had ticks. We currently live in a gated community where our home receives regular pest control, and our dogs sleep in our garage where we have not observed insects. When I asked for photos, the images that were sent appeared to show ticks in a container rather than clearly on the dogs themselves.
During that call, I was informed that we would be responsible for paying to have the facility sprayed due to the ticks she believed came from our dogs. Because we were already traveling, we agreed to additional treatments for the dogs, including baths and chemical dips, and I was later told they had been dipped twice.
Another concern for us involved billing transparency. We purchased pet food at the time we dropped our pets off and paid for it then, but we were charged again for the same food when we picked them up. Our final bill was approximately $2,000, and we were not provided with an itemized invoice explaining the charges. Without an itemized statement, it was difficult for us to understand how the total was calculated.
Despite boarding multiple pets, there was no multi-pet discount offered. For comparison, the pet sitter who normally stays at our home--who unfortunately was unavailable during this trip--charges $80 per day to care for all of our pets combined.
After this experience, I read through other reviews and noticed that responses from the business often attribute concerns to customer misunderstanding rather than acknowledging possible issues. During our own interactions, communication felt difficult at times, as conversations were often interrupted and it was challenging to fully explain concerns.
Overall, based on my personal experience, this situation raised questions for me about communication practices, treatment authorization, and billing documentation. Anyone considering boarding services may want to ask detailed questions about these policies ahead of time.
The photos we received that were described as evidence of ticks are included. Based on what we were sent, the ticks appear to be shown in a container rather than clearly on the dogs.
This review reflects my personal experience and understanding of the events that occurred. I have retained documentation of communications, photos, and billing records related to this visit.
