Dog Boarding Facilities in Virginia

William C says:
2012-08-15 06:57:46

RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!!! Wow, was I shocked. Absolutely floored. We hadn't been there in a while, but we'd had extremely pleasant experiences in the past — in fact, we had come to think of Animal Resorts as one of those "hidden gems" we had been so lucky to find. Our cat is both older and diabetic, requiring insulin shots twice daily, and the former owner, Jason, had always been car... view full comment

RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!!! Wow, was I shocked. Absolutely floored. We hadn't been there in a while, but we'd had extremely pleasant experiences in the past — in fact, we had come to think of Animal Resorts as one of those "hidden gems" we had been so lucky to find. Our cat is both older and diabetic, requiring insulin shots twice daily, and the former owner, Jason, had always been caring and enthusiastic about the animals under his care (as had the rest of the staff). Even though we live some distance away, it was worth it to ensure our pets were safe and comfortable. Our experience under the new management could not *possibly* have been further from our earlier memories. Initially, everything seemed okay. Making the reservation appeared to go smoothly — I even had to change our drop-off date when travel plans changed by a day, and I was assured that everything was taken care of. On the morning of my departure (August 9) I had a 9:20 train to catch to New York, so I went (as arranged) to drop the cat off at 7:30 a.m. — time enough to get to Union Station to make my train. To my complete surprise, there was *nobody* at the kennel, despite both the arranged drop-off *and* the posted 7:00 a.m. opening time (as clearly indicated on the website, explained on the answering machine message, and posted on the sign in the window). No answer on the phone, no way to contact anyone. A handwritten note on the door listed an "emergency" contact number, but that too went unanswered. After leaving several messages, and waiting outside for 90 minutes as the temperature rose — long enough that there was absolutely no way I would be able to make my train — I had to bring my cat back home (about a half-hour away). I *finally* got a call at 10:00 a.m. from the "manager" (curiously enough *also* named Jason), who claimed that one of his people hadn't come in that morning (no explanation as to why), but he'd be happy to take the cat now, unless I'd made other arrangements (?!?). No, I explained, there was no way I could make other arrangements on such short notice, and furthermore, I had to change my train at a not-insignificant change fee — not to mention missing a half-day of my vacation to boot. The extent of the response was a "sorry." Having no alternative at this point, I had to go ahead and leave my cat. Flash ahead to pickup time — I'm back at work, so my wife goes to pick up the cat, as arranged. Guess what? NOBODY AT THE KENNEL. Again, despite the arranged pickup and the posted hours of operation. Since she had to get to work herself, she left the cat carrier and a note indicating that I'd come to pick up the cat as soon as I could after work, probably around 7:00 — again, still well within their posted hours of operation. Both my wife and I received nasty voicemail messages from "manager" Jason complaining that they had to go out on a supply run, and she shouldn't have left the pet carrier outside their door, and they were going to have a staff meeting starting at 4:00, so if we came at 7:00, nobody would be there, so we absolutely *had* to pick her up before 4:00. Furthermore, Jason claimed that we were scheduled to pick up our cat on the 16th, not the 14th (as we had actually arranged from the start), so we shouldn't have expected anyone to be there. In other words, it was our fault. At this point, I had no choice but to take time off from work so that I could go pick up our cat. The manager didn't even come out to the front, but had crated up my cat and left her in the lobby. As much as I hoped she had been treated well, the overpowering stink of urine dashed any hopes there. I have absolutely *no* confidence that she actually received her required insulin injections, and will at the very least have to monitor her very carefully for the next several days (not to mention giving her a very thorough bath). One of the employees checked me out — not providing an itemized bill until *after* I had signed the credit card slip. I quickly saw why — they had charged me up until the 16th, not the 14th. Yes, that's right: Not only did they refuse any accommodation for the costs I incurred because of their negligence (to say nothing of lost vacation time), but they were fraudulently charging me for services not performed. I will be contacting the credit card company immediately to dispute the charge, and moreover will be filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau and contacting the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria to ensure that the facility is adequately licensed and that inspections are up-to-date (and not just held over since the previous ownership). While a bad individual experience may not be sufficient for license revocation (and I'm not trying to pretend it is or should be), and there is certainly some room for leeway in the level of care provided from facility to facility, I want to be sure that *any* animals in their care are at least safe — something which right now I seriously doubt. view short comment