Ive boarded my dog here many times and he loves it every time! He socializes with other dogs, gets plenty of exercise, what is there not to like for a dog? The staff are great! They're friendly and extremely loving and caring of animals. Its an all indoor facility so I don't have to worry about bugs or my dog getting heat stroke. Overall, the facility is safe and fun for the dogs to stay at! read more

I boarded my 6lbs pomeranian over thanksgiving break. I was kind of warned about this place that they werent very good, and just little things here and there. But I figured that it would be fine and I stuck with it regardless of what I heard. They said they were completely booked and it was going go be busy all week. When i got back to town and I picked up my dog after 6 days, she reeked of urine, and she was so gross and dirty. I didnt really complain about it because I figured she had just been playing the whole time. But it was kind of irritating. I leave my dog to be taken care of and I get her back like this. Then today I took my dog to the vet, and they were doing the yearly check up. I mentioned that she got the bordetella vaccine when I boarded her at dogtown (they did it there when I dropped her off). However I lost the receipt they had given me when I picked her up after boarding. I understand that it was my fault I lost the receipt, but the vet needed the verification on file. So I called dogtown to see if they could fax over a copy of the verification to the vet and they said that they would not do anything except call and give a verbal verification. They claimed that they do not do any paperwork there and that the only paperwork that they have is the recept that the customer gets. Everything else goes into the system. But they told me they could not go into the system for information. I don't know what kind of place they're running over there, but if they're refusing to leave a paper trail for vaccinations that they're claiming that they are doing that's ridiculous. I'm not even sure whether or not my dog really got vaccinated now. Beware of this place. read more

OK I had to update my review because I was very mad when I first wrote it-I have had time to gather my thoughts and here it is. This was HUGE disappointment-First time using them and the last. I did want to say that the staff is very nice. All the girls seemed to be very sweet and care which is why we are so baffled as to why our dogs who were only there a few minutes over 24 hours came home in the condition that they did...THEY came home not only smelling like urine but actually covered in it. We used an ENTIRE bag of baby wipes on them in the parking lot because they had urine head to toe. Our little ones stomach and legs were wet which means it was fresh..our puppy had it (fresh that is) on her ears, stomach and back. We have been dog owners for 20 Years- our dogs have been boarded in several states throughout those years and our baby dog (2 years old), up until last week went to daycare EVERYDAY and every two weeks was bordered for two weeks at a time and NOT once has this every happened. We reasonable people and know that dogs step in it..when we were checking out I could smell the urine but thought they both stepped in in on the way out as it looks like they walked though the daycare area...but after getting outside we realized how bad it was...we made it about 15 minutes down the road before the extreme anger set in as we could not figure out HOW this could be..how could they be covered in urine other than they slept in it or a really big dog peed on them?... We were gagging at the smell with all 4 windows down and mind you this is AFTER the baby wipe bath. My husband called and told them..and of course we got the "sorry that is not the norm answer" and offered a "free bath next time". I dont think we will ever be back given this situation. As our inside dogs that will ONLY pee inside when they are desperate ... I did take pictures of the YELLOW bath water as well as the water I washed their collars in because they also Reeked of urine..Mind you my dogs were just bathed Tuesday when we returned from the evacuation...so they were nowhere near dirty. I'm super disappointed and hoped for better, maybe they are so use to the smell of urine it did not stick out..but I cant image how they got in this condition. read more

My husband and i took a tour of dogtown. Upon entering, the facility looked amazing, great artwork on the walls, cute St. Augustine theme. The positives end there. I believe the girl's name was Lacey that gave the tour. She came out and said follow me. We followed her to the "back" as she called it. Immediately the smell hit us, urine and dog. I asked about cleaning and was told it was done twice a day. We didnt even get to see room because "we dont usually go throught the white doors because we dont want to bother the dogs, but you can look through the door or look to your left". Then the "playroom", jam packed full of dogs that were basically just standing in a warehouse with outside decor around and some cheap plastic slides, it was hot and smelly. Then we were brought back out. Not sure if the girl was having a bad day or if she just shouldn't deal with customers, it was like pulling teeth to get info from her. We asked about daycare and grooming services and all she could tell us was "yes we have that". Dont think we will be coming here. read more

We used DogTown for the first time yesterday (May 30, Memorial Day) and we were very disappointed. Disturbed is a better word, actually. We have used another facility in Jacksonville for several years, and have been very pleased, but thought we'd try out Dog Town (if they had openings) just so we'd have another option when we are headed South on Route 1 to St. Augustine for a day. So we called on Sunday to see if they might by chance have an opening the next day (fully expecting them to be full), and the man said, "We don't take reservations for day visits, only for overnight, so just bring her in." This was concerning to me. (Red flag #1.) How can you handle volumes and staff-to-dog ratios if you don't take reservations? So I spent a little more time on their website: the published FAQ's about "why is my dog so tired?" and "why do my dogs paws hurt after time at DogTown?" seemed like odd FAQ's. (Red Flag #2.). With some misgivings, but feeling optimistic, we decided to leave our dog for 4-5 hours to see how she did. Mind you, she is not a delicate little breed -- she is a lab, easy going, friendly, and happy all the time. When we picked her up, she nearly dragged us to the exit. She could not get out of there fast enough. (Red flag #3.) I'm sure they were nice enough to her, but they were extremely over-crowded that day, the odor was horrific, and when we asked if she had been in the pool (their marketing materials "hype" the pool) they were a bit evasive. They said the dogs had gone in the pool from 9-10 that morning, but honestly, the pool deck was bone-dry, and it didn't appear that it had been used at all that day. (Red flag #4.) When we walked back to see the indoor play area, it was so incredibly crowded and full of dogs that they were just milling around and and bumping into each other and not really even having room to play. It made me sad to see them so packed in together. This is why the whole "no reservations" thing was such a red flag to me. At some point, you have to say you can't take any more dogs if you're going to care for them responsibly. When we got home, our dog was clingy and exhausted (not in a good way) and had a poop accident in the house later that night (which never happens) and which we can only attribute to the stress of the experience for her. She comes home from her other kennel/doggy day care perfectly OK (happy, no bowel issues afterwards, etc.) so we noticed a distinct difference and could tell that this was not a "good time" for our dog. We respect the reviews of those who have had a good experiences here, but as for us, we won't be using this facility again. read more

I have been bringing my Lab mix to Dog Town for about a year now. I also adopted a dog from Dog Town that they had selflessly taken in and fostered. The Dog Town owners and staff really care about dogs. My dogs obviously love this place, because they get super excited when we arrive and the pictures the staff take of the dogs always show them with big smiles and wagging tails. The dog I adopted from them, they took in, fostered for months, had him trained and groomed and ready for his new home. I suggest anyone do what i did when I first looked at going there, just show up and ask to walk around to check out the place. When I did that, they let me right in, walked me around showed me every part of the facility. They had nothing to hide. Its always very clean, well staffed and the dog attendants seem to have a great bond with my dogs. I bring my dogs there about 2 times a week and we have also boarded them a few times. We have never had a problem. They are always content and worn out in a good way when i pick them up. They have never been injured or have shown any reluctance to go inside of the facility. I just also want to say that they foster dogs like the one I adopted cost out of hide. They take in strays, socialize them, train them and give them an amazing foster home awaiting a new family. I am so in love with my dog that i adopted from them, and my previous dog and he were best buds at dog town, so it was a perfect fit!. read more

My dog has been to dog town several times in the last year and a half when we are away and has always seemed happy when we pick him up. The first time we picked him up, one of the staff informed us that he spilled his water bowl on his bed and she was placing it in a black plastic bag. When we got home we realized the bed wasn't wet from water, it was saturated with urine. That was our first sign that we should not have returned to dog town. After rescuing a puppy, we brought both of our dogs to dog town. One time we picked them up, the puppy's food came back untouched and my older dogs food was finished. We assumed they didn't follow my directions and fed them both the same food, meanwhile both bags have explicit directions as to how much and how often each dog was to be fed. My older dog has a extreme allergy to wheat, so thankfully he had his own food and wasn't given the puppy's food. This past June 2015, we dropped our dogs off for 1 night , my husband was picking them up on Friday for the weekend then dropping them back off for the week on Monday. My husband picked them up and within 24 hours discovered that our 5 year old dog has terrible diarrhea and was refusing to eat or drink. After spending 3 days caring for the dog, cleaning up all of his accidents and finally realizing the puppy was sick as well, my husband brought them to the vet. Over $800 later, over a 10 lb weight loss in the 5 year old dog, IV fluids, blood work, antibiotics, prescription dog food, & probiotics. It took them over 3 weeks to fully recover. My conversation with George the owner was extremely upsetting. He was extremely defensive, saying, "you can't blame us" and " that's the chance you take, just like when you take your child to day care." I explained that I was calling to inform him, because he should know that my dogs were sick after staying there. I also requested a refund of my 19 prepaid days at a discounted rate. I asked him how much I was going to be charged for the one night, I was wondering if he was going to give me the discounted rate even though I was asking for a refund of the remaining 19 nights. His response was shocking, he said, "If I want to be really mean, I'll charge you the full price". Really? Was that a necessary comment after all my dogs had been through and all that we had just paid for vet bills. In the end he did give me the discounted price, but we will never return. I was actually thinking he was going to refund my 20 prepaid days and not charge me for the 1 night, that was wishful thinking. I recently spoke to a neighbor that had a very similar situation with dog town, St. Augustine. They said their dog almost died, but did pull through after a very long time. read more