Canine Country Club

I had an appointment to have my six month old husky boarded for the weekend. Was going to drop him off on Saturday, and pick him up on Sunday. I had made the appointment the Thursday before. I was told and confirmed at least two times on Thursday that I could drop my dog off any time after 7am on Saturday morning. As I was on my way out of town around 2pm I drove in to the parking lot only to find it empty with no one there. Doors were locked, I could hear dogs barking inside. I made a phone call to them, only to have it go to voicemail. How could no one be there at 2pm? We boarded him so he could have a chance to run around and play with other dogs. Now I have a feeling the dogs that are there are kenneled all day and don't get any interaction with one another. This is not what I expected. I left a voicemail for them on Saturday as I drove away trying to figure out what to do with my dog. I still have not received a phone call or email back from them to say sorry or anything. I will never recommend this place to anyone, as it seems the dogs are left alone for the majority of the day.

May 4, 2015Revdex.comComplaint id #[redacted]ResponseI received the listed complaint on Friday and have taken several days to interview all parties as I do with any complaint.On April 24th we received [redacted] and [redacted] into our facility and escorted them...

back to their run.  As part of our daily activity, we inspected them upon arrival.  Both were observed to be injury and tick free as well as clean and healthy.  The dogs were placed in our 400 building, which is designed for small dogs.  They had a run that was 3 ½ feet by 18 feet, the largest space for small dogs in the valley.  This is an indoor/outdoor space- our most popular.  They were given clean and fresh water bowls.Ms. [redacted] suggests that she gave her dogs day care because if she didn’t they would be left in their poop and urine all day.  Nothing is further from the truth.  The first thing we do every morning is to pick up the poop throughout the whole facility.  Since the dogs have access to their outdoor space 24/7, they go outside to poop on their own schedule.  This is usually early in the morning.  After we pick up the poop, we Sanitize EVERY space EVERY day for the health and well being of all of our guests.  Since dogs tend not to poop just once a day, we are picking up after them all day long.  The staff is instructed “If they see poop, pick it up”.The day care she says she was not informed of when she called in is strictly an option.  Every customer is given the choice of adding this service to their stay but is not forced to do so.  Fifty percent of our customers do and a like amount don’t.  It is offered as a way to make the dogs stay more enjoyable since they get to interact with the other dogs.  The charge for this is $12 for four hours of play per dog.  She chose to add two of these days to her five-day stay so you can see there were days she chose not to.When I received the complaint, the first thing I did was look at the kennel card to learn about the food issue since she says one of the dogs lost a half-pound while here.  Losing weight is not uncommon in particular because the amount of activity and stimulation dogs receive while here is usually greater than they receive at home.  Both dogs had their own food and the instructions we received were to feed them each 1/3 cup in the morning and evening.  The kennel card reflects this was performed every day here.  If they had eaten all of their food and were observed to still be hungry, we would have used our own food to supplement at no additional charge.  A small percentage of our clients do not bring food with them even though it is recommended and we feed them with our food at no extra charge.Ms. [redacted] claims that her dogs were left in their own filth for five days.  Again nothing is farther from the truth.  Anytime a dog is observed to be dirty, we would take them to our groom room and clean them up.  Since she had two day care days, we would have had an additional chance to observe them if this had happened.  On the day a dog is going home, our groomer checks all of the dogs first thing in the morning.  This provides an opportunity to clean them if needed.  Our groomer said they were not filthy as suggested in the complaint during her morning check.  In addition to the morning check, every dog is given a second inspection at his or her departure time.  The senior associate who brought them up said they did not smell of urine or poop and he actually carried them in his arms, something he would not do if they had poop on them.  They may not have smelled bath fresh but this certainly could be attributed to two days of playing in the yards with other dogs.  If she thought they needed to be cleaned, we could have and would have taken them back for a quick bath.  All she had to do was ask.  It is customary to offer exit baths for a small fee and we even provide them at no charge for stays in excess of seven days.When a customer arrives, the first thing we do is make sure we have emergency contact information in case there is an issue.  If a dog has diarrhea, the office is notified and we will attempt to contact the customer.  No diarrhea was observed while the dogs were here.  If they are scared, they might be moved into the office if they are a small dog like these were.  That was not a problem either.  Quite the contrary.  They enjoyed their time in day care and had the staff smitten with them.  All was good.As for the rude lady on the phone, my experience tells me that everyone has their own opinion of what rude is based off of the moment at hand.  Our staff genuinely cares for all of the animals and enjoys communicating that to customers.  I don’t want to speculate as to what may have led to this feeling but I know it is not a common impression.  I work with the staff regularly on customer service issues and I’m sorry this was the impression left.While I am confident that everything was handled properly and the dogs were in good care, I will reimburse Ms. [redacted] the cost of her day care since she seems to feel she was coerced into doing it.  I also personally saw the dogs daily while they were here and they seemed happy and healthy the whole time.  Since Ms. [redacted] lives close by, I would be happy to provide complimentary baths for both dogs at a time of her choosing.[redacted]

Review: I'm writing to the [redacted] because quite honestly I don't know who else to contact. Enclosed is a copy of my letter to Canine Country Club regarding the resent stay for our dog [redacted] andher condition when I picked her up after her stay. I don't know what agency issues license to business like this but who ever it is should do a through inspection and make sure the facilityis clean and bug free. I talked with the owner, [redacted] (not sure of the last name spelling). He told me how they inspect each dog when they are released for ticks. I told him that wasnot true because our dog was at the vets shortly after release and had several ticks and the vet was not able to remove all of them. It has taken a month to finally get rid of these bugsfrom our dog and our carpeting. If you can help with th is problem for other people the community will be very appreciative. The least a dog owner can expect when trust their animal to any kennel is that it be clean.Desired Settlement: I would expect a response to the letter and some sort of help with the expense we have had as a result of your kennel.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],In response to the complaint, I spoke to Mr. [redacted] at length a few weeks ago. I explained to him our cleaning processes, pest control processes and inspections.Every day beginning at 6:30, 6:00 during the summers, we begin our cleaning process and are involved with it all day long. This includes a complete sanitizing of the spaces the dogs utilize daily. Since our runs are indoor/outdoor spaces, the dogs are free to go inside and out 24/7 and thus we are cleaning throughout the day, every day including holidays. Twice a month we have professional exterminators come in to spray the entire facility in an effort to keep pests away. This is an ongoing process because again our spaces are indoor/outdoor. Even with all these efforts, we cannot guarantee that a dog won't get a tick while here. For this reason we offer [redacted] (the leading tick treatment in the marketplace) to clients at our cost so they can be given an additional level of protection. Some choose to have it applied, some are already treating the dogs and others like the [redacted] choose not to. [redacted] will not only kill the ticks within 48 hours but they will also kill any that come from eggs carried by another tick. We try hard to cover all the bases.Again, since we cannot control the environment, we have inspections of the animals when they arrive and when they leave. We are checking for injuries, ticks or anything out of the ordinary. I explained this to Mr. [redacted] and as you can see in his complaint he said that we did not inspect [redacted]. I spoke to the kennel tech who brought [redacted] up prior to speaking with Mr. [redacted] and she told me that she checked [redacted] and the logs support that she did (see attached logs). I have no reason to disbelieve her since she is so committed to the animals. She hopes to be a Vet Assistant someday and does it because of her love of animals.While I don't doubt Mr. [redacted] word that [redacted] had ticks, I tried to explain all of this to him and how it is impossible to achieve the perfection he thinks we should have. We are always looking for better ways and after speaking to him, I purchased a larger and brighter inspection lamp for the groom room to help the staff improve upon their performance. We are inspected multiple times a year and have always received a great grade. These inspection are random and without notice. We despise ticks and are sorry if [redacted] received some while here. [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 9727213, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

In answer to your letter of 10-01-13 the dispute has not been settled with Canine Country Club. I have not heard from Mr. [redacted] except through [redacted]. We are still finding ticks on our dog and in our house.[redacted] has treated our house and property twice and will be here tomorrow for the third time. Needless to say this has been a very bad experience. If the Canine property was treated as Mr. [redacted] indicated this would be a controllable situation.There is one major problem and that has to do with inspecting the dog when it was released. [redacted] was was infested with ticks when we got her home. Two days later I had her at our Vets and they removed several. If [redacted] had been checked for ticks they surly would have been found. When we are satisfied that the ticks are gone then I will present Mr.[redacted] with the total cost then we can end this. I appreciate the work that [redacted] did in this dispute.

Regards,

Business

Response:

I am in receipt of Mr. [redacted] response. I understand his feelings about his dog having ticks as we go to great measures including offering individualized treatment for each dog. This treatment is the ONLY way you can be sure a dog will not get ticks. As I mentioned to Mr. [redacted], our facility is an indoor/outdoor facility and we cannot guarantee that a dog will not get ticks regardless of the efforts expended. You can ask the same of any vet's office and they will tell you the same if they understood the facts. While he stated they have never had ticks before, a dog is exposed anytime they go outside. That is why these products are available. I have never disputed that the dog could have received the ticks here,but she could have gotten them anywhere.When we check for ticks, we check the fur, ears, toes and any other spot they might hangout. This is not a guarantee that we can identify all ticks but is a best effort to find them. Until a tick attaches itself to the dog, they are very small and difficult to find. Mr. [redacted] continues to state that this inspection was not done and I stand behind my employee who said she did it. She is a caring and loving dog person who hates ticks like all of us.In a sign of goodwill, I will refund the entire fee paid of $141.63. All of this could have been avoided by accepting the offer of [redacted] for a fee of $16-our cost. I will place a check in the mail to Mr. [redacted].

Review: I just recently went on vacation, and boarded my 2 dogs at the Canine Club, because there was a [redacted] deal for their establishment. I had never used this company before, nor had I ever boarded my 2 dogs prior to this. When I left the dogs there on April 24th, they were clean, healthy, and up to date on all of their vaccinations. Upon dropping them off, I was informed that the dogs at the club were never brought out of their runs during the day, meaning that they were left to stay in their own feces and urine in their runs. Upon hearing this, I paid extra money to have them brought out of their runs on 2 days for play with other dogs. I was not informed of this charge when I first called in to the establishment. During my vacation I called to check in on the dogs, and was met with one word replies by the very rude desk lady, who did not give me any details of how the dogs were doing. When I finally picked them up yesterday, they both stunk extremely badly, their hair was matted and greasy, and they had terrible breath, and my black yorkie was emaciated and slightly lethargic. Upon bringing them home, they immediately ran to their water bowl as if they had been deprived of water during their time at the club. All of last night and today, my yorkie had very loose, very [redacted] green diarrhea, and she was lethargic, so I was forced to take her to the emergency veterinarian. They couldn't squeeze her in today, but said they want to see her back tomorrow as she appeared very ill. Never in my life have I read such terrible reviews of a company, and this seems to be a trend of theirs that I have seen all over yelp and other internet searches. My dogs were left to remain in their own filth for 5 days, they were not taken out to go to the bathroom, nor were they fed or watered properly, as my yorkie is 1/2 a pound lighter than she was when I dropped her off, which says alot, as she is only 5 1/2 pounds. I would never recommend anyone to drop their pets off at this place if they actually care for them, and now I am forced to pay extra expenses for a veterinarian to correct the health problems that occurred with my dog while she was there.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund of either part or all of the expenses paid for my dogs' stay at this facility, to cover the costs of veterinary bills incurred from leaving my dogs in this dirty establishment. If this cannot happen I will be contacting local authorities and agencies for an investigation of the practices of this business.

Business

Response:

May 4, 2015Revdex.comComplaint id #[redacted]ResponseI received the listed complaint on Friday and have taken several days to interview all parties as I do with any complaint.On April 24th we received [redacted] and [redacted] into our facility and escorted them back to their run. As part of our daily activity, we inspected them upon arrival. Both were observed to be injury and tick free as well as clean and healthy. The dogs were placed in our 400 building, which is designed for small dogs. They had a run that was 3 ½ feet by 18 feet, the largest space for small dogs in the valley. This is an indoor/outdoor space- our most popular. They were given clean and fresh water bowls.Ms. [redacted] suggests that she gave her dogs day care because if she didn’t they would be left in their poop and urine all day. Nothing is further from the truth. The first thing we do every morning is to pick up the poop throughout the whole facility. Since the dogs have access to their outdoor space 24/7, they go outside to poop on their own schedule. This is usually early in the morning. After we pick up the poop, we Sanitize EVERY space EVERY day for the health and well being of all of our guests. Since dogs tend not to poop just once a day, we are picking up after them all day long. The staff is instructed “If they see poop, pick it up”.The day care she says she was not informed of when she called in is strictly an option. Every customer is given the choice of adding this service to their stay but is not forced to do so. Fifty percent of our customers do and a like amount don’t. It is offered as a way to make the dogs stay more enjoyable since they get to interact with the other dogs. The charge for this is $12 for four hours of play per dog. She chose to add two of these days to her five-day stay so you can see there were days she chose not to.When I received the complaint, the first thing I did was look at the kennel card to learn about the food issue since she says one of the dogs lost a half-pound while here. Losing weight is not uncommon in particular because the amount of activity and stimulation dogs receive while here is usually greater than they receive at home. Both dogs had their own food and the instructions we received were to feed them each 1/3 cup in the morning and evening. The kennel card reflects this was performed every day here. If they had eaten all of their food and were observed to still be hungry, we would have used our own food to supplement at no additional charge. A small percentage of our clients do not bring food with them even though it is recommended and we feed them with our food at no extra charge.Ms. [redacted] claims that her dogs were left in their own filth for five days. Again nothing is farther from the truth. Anytime a dog is observed to be dirty, we would take them to our groom room and clean them up. Since she had two day care days, we would have had an additional chance to observe them if this had happened. On the day a dog is going home, our groomer checks all of the dogs first thing in the morning. This provides an opportunity to clean them if needed. Our groomer said they were not filthy as suggested in the complaint during her morning check. In addition to the morning check, every dog is given a second inspection at his or her departure time. The senior associate who brought them up said they did not smell of urine or poop and he actually carried them in his arms, something he would not do if they had poop on them. They may not have smelled bath fresh but this certainly could be attributed to two days of playing in the yards with other dogs. If she thought they needed to be cleaned, we could have and would have taken them back for a quick bath. All she had to do was ask. It is customary to offer exit baths for a small fee and we even provide them at no charge for stays in excess of seven days.When a customer arrives, the first thing we do is make sure we have emergency contact information in case there is an issue. If a dog has diarrhea, the office is notified and we will attempt to contact the customer. No diarrhea was observed while the dogs were here. If they are scared, they might be moved into the office if they are a small dog like these were. That was not a problem either. Quite the contrary. They enjoyed their time in day care and had the staff smitten with them. All was good.As for the rude lady on the phone, my experience tells me that everyone has their own opinion of what rude is based off of the moment at hand. Our staff genuinely cares for all of the animals and enjoys communicating that to customers. I don’t want to speculate as to what may have led to this feeling but I know it is not a common impression. I work with the staff regularly on customer service issues and I’m sorry this was the impression left.While I am confident that everything was handled properly and the dogs were in good care, I will reimburse Ms. [redacted] the cost of her day care since she seems to feel she was coerced into doing it. I also personally saw the dogs daily while they were here and they seemed happy and healthy the whole time. Since Ms. [redacted] lives close by, I would be happy to provide complimentary baths for both dogs at a time of her choosing.[redacted]