I have been holding off on this review for a couple of weeks to see if even one star could be…read moreearned back. It wasn't. I'll give my timeline and it will hopefully help people to avoid making the same mistake I did. There were red flags that I ignored and I'm embarrassed of that, but, I hope that my review will help steer you away from trusting your dog with Pawsitive Actions.
I started using Rich in February of 2013 for my boxer. His reviews online were predominantly solid, his website (at that point, existing) looked good, and when we met with him, he came across as having a genuine love for dogs (which I still think he does, but that doesn't make him responsible).
Over the course of the next year, our boxer would get 2-3 walks per week along with a playgroup mixed in. We originally would get notes describing the day and how our dog did on his walk or in the group. We had a very happy puppy on our hands and were very satisfied with the service we were receiving.
There were, I believe, two days during the year where the dog wasn't taken for his scheduled walk; I was annoyed but I understand that sometimes schedules get mixed up, so I didn't think much of it.
Things started going downhill fast. There was soon no separation between walks and playgroup; I believe the dogs were being taken to playgroup daily, which entailed bringing them to a park and letting them all loose. I didn't really mind though, as my dog is very high energy and both parties were basically taking a "don't ask don't tell" approach between services and payment.
There was then a night where we came home and our dog was nowhere to be found. It was about 5:30pm. When we finally were able to reach Rich, he said he had brought the dogs to a different dog park in the South End but had been reported for bringing too many dogs to the park. We finally got our dog back around 6:30pm. Why I didn't end our business together at that point, I don't really know.
On 03/14, we came home to our dog having a deep, painful wound on his face (which I will upload a picture of shortly). I messaged Rich, and then called him, in order to figure out what happened. He didn't respond to the text message or to the phone call. I let it go, which again, I don't know why.
The grand finale of this whole debacle came on 03/19. We came home at 6:00pm to find that our dog was not home. We texted and called Rich at 6:00pm and received no response. By 7:00pm, I was calling from other numbers, trying to see if I was just being ignored; I also texted that I was going to call the police (which I did). We were in distress, thinking the worst had happened to either Rich or the dog.
I decided to go to Rich's house to see if Rich and/or my dog were there, and whether either was safe. This was around 8:00pm. Neither Rich, nor my dog, were there. I gave a neighbor my phone number and asked that they have Rich call me immediately if he came home. I went back to my car around 9:00pm feeling completely defeated and fearing the worst for my dog. At this point, I received a phone call that informed me that Rich had been arrested with the dogs in his possession, had been taken to jail, and his car had been impounded. I don't know the full details of the arrest so I won't assume, but I do know there were at least 12 dogs in his car at the time. How does one walk, or, maintain control in a park, of 12 dogs?
I called Boston Animal Control and, since they were closed, I was unable to pick up my dog. I did know, at this point though, that my dog was alive. At this point, Rich showed up at his house, where I confronted him about what he had put us through.
He tried to explain himself but there was nothing to explain at that point. I said I wanted my keys back and that he was no longer working with me.
I went to Roslindale at 8:00am to pick up my dog from the shelter he was taken to the day before. When I arrived, there were two other couples there to do the same thing, which I realized when they first said "Friends of Rich?"
The first couple had the unfortunate circumstance of being at the wrong shelter; they had taken so many dogs from Rich that day that they were unable to house all of them in Roslindale, so some had been taken to the South End.
I got my buddy back after paying a $25 fee (which I didn't even bother pursuing from Rich).
I saw Rich's dog, Olive, also being kept in Roslindale. At this point, I didn't care for Rich as someone to work with, but I did like him enough to text him and let him know that Olive was safe and where he could find her.
At this point, Rich told me that I would get my keys back ASAP. This was on 03/20 and I am yet to get them back. Instead, I got to pay for getting my locks changed. He also told me he was giving Olive up.
I hope that he kept Olive because I do think that deep down, he loves dogs. I do also hope, though, that this business is done and that nobody trusts their dog with him again.
