My family is scheduled to PCS in May, but my husband has been TDY in VA since February. I contacted Bertha at Kamp K9 back in October/November to discuss possible options for my pups in place of kenneling them b/c it could possibly be 2-3 months (We have a newborn baby and wanted to spend the time with him in VA before our move to Japan in May). She was wonderful on the phone, even when I explained that my Lab was somewhat neurotic, and gets anxious during change. She assured me that she handled all types of animals, and as long as he did not display any of the behaviors mentioned (aggression, destructive, barking, etc) they could accommodate him. She even told me that they could help (free of charge!) with PCS, and that they could transport our dogs to the airline for us for shipping to Japan if we were unable to fly back through Hawaii first. We spoke for over 45 minutes about the set-up, and I was completely put at ease about leaving them for so long, and made plans to join my husband in VA.
I set up a weekend stay-cation for them at Kamp K-9 so they could start getting used to the house in January, and was immediately turned off. Not only was Bertha not very friendly at our arrival, we walked into a house lined with giant dog cages around the ENTIRE living room, most of which included very large breed dogs. It was extremely loud as they were all barking/whining when we walked in, and very off putting for us. When I asked how many were hers, she informed me at that point that TEN of the dogs belonged to them. I'm not sure how many other dogs they mentioned were staying, but at least 2 or 3 in addition to our 2 were there at the time. (My husband and I did a little research after this ordeal and found that 10 dogs is the max for any household to have - maybe they have some special license for more than that???)
My lab was of course very anxious, and began doing laps around the room, going to the different cages. One of their St. Barnards growled badly at him on several occasions, and we were informed to not to worry about him - he was only being aggressive because he had a bone. Before we left, our lab would settle for a few min, then get up and circle the room again, but was not displaying any aggressive or destructive behaviors. Knowing it takes him a little while to calm down, particularly in new situations (as I had explained to her at length previously), I suggested that we leave, and they call us if they had any problems. We were only back at our house for 5 min (we live less than 10 min away) and her husband called to ask me to come pick up the dogs b/c the lab would not settle down. When I asked what he was doing, I was just told he was really anxious, and would settle for a few minutes, but get up as soon as one of them stood up to do something. We of course picked them right up, but Bertha did nothing but send me an email the next day explaining that she "tried everything" to get him to calm down (gave him treats and lit lavender?) and that she did not want him to be miserable. She said she can tell in less than an hour if a dog will be a "good fit" for them, and she could tell our lab wouldn't right away.
We have since found someone else who is able to care for our dogs, and has been wonderful, but wanted to write this review as a warning to anyone relying on this "kennel" for the first time for any important stay. I was so glad that I booked that weekend to test them out, even though Bertha informed me when I talked to her in October that it wouldn't really be necessary, as she could certainly accommodate our dogs. I could understand if my dogs were doing any of the behaviors listed on their webpage as "disqualifying" behaviors, because they were very clear about what was acceptable or not. But he was just an anxious dog that needed more than an hour to get comfortable in a new setting (which I had previously explained to her in detail), and was instantly sent back. I can't imagine if we had waited until our TDY/PCS to drop them off, and then had to scramble to find an alternative last minute. Maybe they are good for any animals who don't need the extra TLC, but then, isn't that the point of an in-home service instead of a kennel? If I could give them no stars I would. Her husband was very nice - maybe that's worth 1? read more