This facility offered me a discounted rate of $400 for 10 days for two dogs on Rover. Since it was…read morediscounted, I wasn't able to go through with them on the app. I mentioned that I had special instructions for my dogs, and they were okay with that. Almost everyday they sent me a mini 5-second clip of my dogs outside, which I appreciated. However, I am giving them 1 star due to their unprofessional communication and possible lack of care of my dogs.
Communication with this facility was consistent, and they always responded promptly. However, oftentimes their communication sounded rude/condescending and were not professional and clear (see pictures for reference). For instance, they sent me an instructional text explaining where to park upon arrival. When I got there and couldn't find the "driveway" they were referring to and texted them for clarification, they responded with "instructions explain how." They also asked me how I was paying and when I told them with "card," they said they cannot do card at the moment (this should have been previously communicated, not when I am on the way to their place). When asked to extend the dogs stay, they gave me an incorrect rate amount and blamed it on how early it was in the day.
In addition, I had mentioned to them that I am providing them extra food for my dogs just in case when I handed my dogs over to them. Upon the end of their care for my dogs, they mentioned that there was extra dog food and that they threw it away as this was their protocol. While they offered to reimburse me for the wasted food, they should have communicated this ahead of time so that I would have known not to provide any extra food.
Additionally, due to privacy concerns, they would not let me see the environment of their house or where they would keep my dogs. This was odd as every dog sitter on Rover I had been to welcomed me into their home and allowed me to see that my dogs would be kept in a clean environment.
It appears that my dogs were not given enough water and were possibly fed incorrect food or were not being supervised when eating. As soon as I brought my dogs home from their care, they ran straight to the water bowls and kept drinking water after refilling them twice. Then, one of my dogs rushed to go outside and had terrible diarrhea. For the next few days, she had uncontrollable, non stop diarrhea (inside and outside the house). I understand that dogs can have stomach issues due to boarding anxiety. However, my dogs have been boarded so many times at various facilities and have never had any issues.
I do not recommend this facility. They cannot guarantee dog safety, provide reassurance of a clean dog environment to the owner, and communicate professionally.
Update: I had previously given them 2 stars, but because of their lack of professionalism with their response, I am reducing it to 1 star:
- I had communicated about my dog's diarrhea the following morning because I wanted to wait and see if it was just anxiety related (one off situation) and wanted to give it 24 hours before reaching out.
- Also, their instructions state to pull into a driveway and there is no mention of what type of payment they accept.
- I had mentioned that I was providing a lot of extra food just in case when I handed over the dogs.