My experience here has been good; most of the people try really hard to help you find solutions to problems, and considering how few hours they are alloted to schedule associates on any given day, they try to be as attentive as possible.
One thing about the Petshotel, since I've noticed a lot of reviews complaining about this kind of thing; you CAN NOT put a note in your dog or cat's belongings asking the associates to give your pets treats "whenever they're good", or to give your dog its vitamin with such and such a meal, when you failed to bring it up with the lobby assistant during check-in.
The associates are required to go by the info in the computer, which is input during check-in (changes can be made during the pet's stay if you call the hotel and speak directly with a lobby assistant). During busy season there are sometimes upwards of 10 associates there AT A TIME, which means if they followed your note to treat your dog whenever it was good, your dog would end up sick, barf or have diarrhea all over itself, and end up having to go to the vet, as Petsmart corporate has policies in place surrounding how the hotel handles ill pets.
Also, it doesn't matter what your dog or cat's pill/ointment/unguent is for, even if it's an over the counter vitamin, grass-saver pill, or saline solution for cleaning its eyes; ALL OF THESE, in addition to pills for pain, epilepsy, etc. are considered MEDS by Petsmart corporate, and associates are required to input them into the computer upon check-in, or during your pet's visit after it's been seen during a Banfield visit. All you have to do to get a prescription for vitamins, supplements, and other otc stuff is talk to your vet during a visit, say "hey we board at a place with strict med rules, and we give our pet glucosamine/rinse its eyes with eye wash/etc., and we need a prescription on file so it can get these things during its stay, can you help?" Any vet should say yes, and give you a scrip.
ALL MEDS must have a prescription from your vet in order to be given to your pet during its stay, AND be in its original packaging, AND be communicated to the lobby assistant during check-in, AND have a med sheet filled out, in detail, explicitly detailing how the med is given to the pet, AND how much of the med is in the bottle must be detailed (pills must be counted, yes, even if there's a jumbo-bottle of 500 of them), AND a daily med fee of $2.00 must be paid for each day any of that med is given (this is because only someone with Senior or Manager status may give meds, according to Petsmart corporate policy). Corporate policy requires any meds found mixed in with a pet's preportioned food by an owner to be picked out, bagged up, kept under lock and key, and given back to the owner upon checkout. This is because all meds must be locked up at all times, may only be handled by a Senior or Manager, and may only be taken out of the locked Med Cabinet or fridge Med Box when meds are in the act of being given, and must be signed off on after every instance given. This ensures none of the meds that have cross-species (ie. human/animal) use can be stolen, sold and abused by new associates who wanted the job because they thought they'd have access to meds like Tramadol, Valium, or Prozac.
How do I know all this stuff? I've boarded my pets at Petshotels before, have read all material they've given me to sign thoroughly before signing, and have ASKED QUESTIONS and LISTENED WHEN THEY ANSWERED. It really isn't that hard folks. These people really do love and care about your pets, they are not doing this stuff just to screw with you or make your life hard; they do it for your pets' safety and health. Maybe if more customers didn't act like a-holes when they aren't in and out in 30 seconds, and took the time to engage with the lobby assistants (they're nice, I swear!) and asked them a few questions about this kind of stuff, they wouldn't be so shocked when associates failed to violate health and safety procedure for them. read more