I'm reposting this since Yelp removed it for "promotional content" (which it didn't have)…read more
think this is one of those instances where The Traveling Companion might be good for other people, but just wasn't for me. I felt obligated to write a review, because I think it's very important to understand what you're going to experience (especially due to all the 5 star reviews).
I think most dog owners think of themselves as dog parents as I do, so I was really hesitant to kennel or send my dog off with a stranger. Deborah was quite prompt with emails, and requires you to go to her house for a 30-minute, $20 consultation. No big deal if I was satisfied with the visit...but I wasn't, and honestly, I feel like I paid her to torture me for an hour. What could I have bought with that 20$? a meal, a shirt, a car wash? I don't know, anything would have been better.
I opened the door and was immediately greeted by a giant mob of about 10-12 dogs. It definitely threw me off because when Deborah had mentioned I needed to book quickly, she said could only have a "handful" of dogs at any given minute. I assumed that meant....5? (at the most).
Her house is essentially a dog park. They are allowed on furniture, and have in and out privileges. Good for the dogs, because they definitely know who is boss and run wild. Her roommate was spraying dogs with water bottles because they're misbehaving. For 30+ minutes I watched another dog follow my dog around and hump him while he tried to escape. Yes, my dog is submissive, but Deborah commented several times about how he was, "standoffish," "doesn't know how to play," and asking me if I ever take him to dog parks. Are you kidding me? I take him to the dog park all the time, and he's fine. I felt like she was constantly questioning my dog parenting, because she gave me several comments such as that throughout the hour. This is also ridiculous, because he was one of the most well behaved dogs there, and definitely is trained not standoffish.
The biggest problem I had was her own dog's nails were yellow, long and curled over...which honestly, it's what, 10 minutes and $8 for a nail trim? She also works during the day, so the dogs are unsupervised while she's out, and she doesn't walk them either. So... basically, you are giving her money for a storage space. I might as well leave my dog outside in my own much larger backyard with a giant trough of food/water, because it's the same exact thing. There are plenty of other people who will watch and walk your dog for the same price, have only 1-2 dogs at one time, and even send you photo updates.
I know this sounds extremely negative, but it's how I felt. She's a nice lady (as is her roommate), and I know she genuinely loves her dogs, but the environment is just not what I was looking for.