I've just picked up my doggy after her two week stay at Elmtree…read more
My dog is a nervous one at best and with her slightly neurotic tendencies I was looking for somewhere for her to go that was a bit more than the norm. She usually stays with my in-laws, but they were also galavanting, so I had to find another option. After some research online I found Elmtree. I went over all the reviews I could find and couldn't find anyone with a negative word to say about them. Unfortunately I wasn't able to check out the place before hand, so I was going wholly on these reviews.
The run up to her stay was very smooth. They answered all my emailed questions efficiently and kindly. I changed my mind about a few things and they were very accommodating. I was planning on getting her picked up and dropped off, but when the invoice came it was £72 each way and I decided that was just too much on top of everything else.
We dropped her off the morning that we flew, it was a particularly hot and sweaty day and we'd got lost trying to find the place. Thanks, Google Maps. (Don't walk through the cemetery, unless you know where the gap in the wall is.) I was a bit stressed because of the heat and the impending 'leaving my dog with strangers.' When we arrived the lady at the front desk was awesome; very friendly and welcoming. She called through for someone to come and get my dog once all the incidentals had been looked at, like her vaccinations card and they also asked whether she'd been spayed. Then a lady came and got her.
That was pretty much it and I have to admit, I was a little bit ..well I think shocked is too dramatic a word to use, but.. for want of a better one...
I had arrived early hoping to get a look at where my dog was going to stay and she what she would be up to, I thought that seeing as they allowed people to drop in that it wouldn't be a problem. When I asked the lady if I could come too, she said that it wasn't really convenient and started to walk away with my doggy. I started to cry and was like.. can I just say good bye to which, of course, the lady happily stopped and I gave my doggy a hug before she was taken down the corridor.
When I came to pick her up there was a similar situation. The lady came and dropped her off and was lovely enough, but I think had I not probed for questions about how my dog had been during her stay then I don't think I would have had any feedback on the last two weeks and that kinda aggrieved me somewhat.
I *know* that I'm an oversensitive pet owner (this is my first dog,) but I think that probably comes as standard for someone who forks out over £500 for their pet to be boarded over two weeks.
When I first left her with my in-laws I had written four sides of A4 for them to be aware of all her little idiosyncrasies - so yeah - a little overboard, I know - but I felt that Elmtree knew nothing of the dog they had just taken to look after. I know that this is what they do, so they have experience of all kinds of doggy behaviours, so perhaps it's not really for their info, but just perhaps more from the owner.
My friend's dog goes somewhere similar on a day basis when she can't work from home and at the end of the day she receives a little card to say what her dog had been up to what she had eaten, etc. It's the personal touches that make it - especially for this neurotic dog owner.
The only other thing I feel I should mention is that my dog is quite a bit thinner on her return. As to how grams I'm not sure at the moment, but she is visibly more boney than she was when she went in. I know for a fact that she was fed a lot because the lady who dropped her off remarked on how much she ate - so I think that it probably has a lot more to do with the constant play with other puppies for two weeks, but it's so noticeable I thought it was worth a mention.
Overall I am happy with my dog's stay at this place and now that she's been there and returned a happy looking chappy, I would happily board her there again. I think there is a good chance that I turned up at too busy a time, but if you're hella neurotic like me be prepared to probe a bit to find out the information that you want.
