We boarded our 4 year-old French Bulldog at Ruffner's for four nights (Saturday night through Wednesday afternoon). This was our first time boarding her and we were quite nervous... We did a decent amount research and facility tours before deciding on Ruffner's. We took into consideration the price, the cleanliness of the facility, and the friendliness of the staff. We really liked how the Doggie Suites for boarding at Ruffner's were more than just wire cages... The Suites are setup with walls (like drywall) on the sides, to make them more private for the dogs. Additionally there are elevated beds for the dogs to lay on, rather than laying on the floor.
Upon dropping our Frenchie off for her stay, we were greeted by two friendly young ladies who assured us everything would be fine! The one staff member told me a lot of dogs think they are the vet and asked me to walk towards the back room with her, so my dog would go along easier. Although I was sad to leave her, I knew she would be in good hands. Ruffner's encourages you to call or email to check-in on your dog, so we waited until Monday morning to do so. They told us she was doing fine, but not eating much (she is a picky eater to begin with and we weren't surprised by that). Hannah told us they were experimenting (with our approval) by adding some cheese to her food to see if that would entice her and were going to keep trying new things until they found something that worked. We picked her up on Wednesday afternoon and Hannah told us that pureed baby food mixed with our dog's food did the trick! Yay! I'm so glad they took the time to try new things to get our dog to actually eat.
Our dog has a sensitive stomach and with her not eating much for two days, she ended up having a loose stool during her stay (which is not unusual for her even at home). Rather than just pretending everything was okay, Hannah was upfront and honest with us, letting us know she made a little bit of a mess in her doggie suite. They were nice enough to launder the bedding (towel) we had brought from home and you could tell they even wiped down her booty!! Way above and beyond...and much appreciated!
I figured our dog would be depressed and mad at us for leaving her there for four days, but immediately upon being reunited in the lobby she was all kisses and super happy to see us! Surprisingly, she did not smell like a kennel at all (we still gave her a bath when we got home), but she didn't smell bad. She seemed to be her usual self immediately upon returning home...other than a little "hungover" / tired, which is to be expected.
We couldn't have been more pleased with our decision to use Ruffner's to board our dog and will definitely be using them again in the future when we travel out-of-town. I would highly recommend them if you are looking to board your dog. read more