Alright here goes my crazy…read more
I strongly discourage anyone from sending their dog to Ruff House. Based on my recent experience, I do not believe they have their clients' pets' best interests at heart.
Yesterday, I took my one-year-old dog to Ruff House for daycare. Unfortunately, I made a mistake and told my husband the wrong pickup time. I mistakenly thought they closed at 7:00 PM because another daycare we use has those hours. Ruff House closes at 6:00 PM. When my husband arrived at 6:15 PM, the facility was completely empty--there were no employees, no vehicles, and no one available to assist us.
I spoke with the manager, Ann, the following day about the situation. The conversation began pleasantly but quickly became dismissive and confrontational. Rather than addressing my concerns, she attempted to tell me things about my dog that I know are not accurate. She also openly shifted blame onto individual employees, mentioning them by name and attributing the situation to their mistakes.
During our discussion, Ann confirmed that Ruff House does not have an after-hours emergency contact number and has no plans to establish one. This was particularly concerning given that they are responsible for caring for other people's beloved pets. While I fully acknowledge that the initial pickup issue was my mistake, I was surprised that no one attempted to contact me by phone, text, or email to verify whether we were coming. I live only seven minutes from the facility and could have been there immediately.
What concerned me even more was learning that boarded dogs are left unattended overnight for approximately 13 hours. According to our conversation, all employees leave at 6:00 PM, and no one returns before 7:00 AM. I understand that facilities may not be staffed 24/7, but 13 consecutive hours without on-site supervision seems excessive. When I worked at a dog daycare in college, staff remained with the animals until 9:00 PM, and morning staff arrived as early as 5:30 AM to care for them.
To make matters worse, my dog was fed without my authorization or prior communication. Since returning home, he has experienced vomiting and diarrhea.
After this experience, I contacted several other local dog daycare facilities, including Puppy Haven, to ask how they handle situations involving late pickups and overnight care. Their policies place a much stronger emphasis on communication with pet owners and ensuring the safety and well-being of the animals in their care.
While everyone makes mistakes--including me--the way this situation was handled left me deeply disappointed and concerned. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend Ruff House.
**As of today, there is no business by this name with an active business license with the State of Georgia according to the Secretary of State's website. All businesses in the state of Georgia are required to have a business license and all are searchable on the website as they are public records.**
