So we’re going out of town for Thanksgiving. And bringing the dog along is not an option. I get online and do a search for kennels in the local area. A link appears with information about X Kennels, and includes the Internet-era phenomenon of customer reviews.
LowLife13 rates X Kennels 4 out 5 stars and submits the following review:
Friendly Service
I’ve been using X Kennels scince the late 90’s I have brought breeds of animals that other facilitys won’t board Pits and Rotwillers. My dogs have been treated with care they had a very large run a bed and or crate was provided heat lamps also provided. I was asked for shot verification one of my dogs is under meds they were givin to daily I had brought bedding that was changed. I’ve been Very happy the customer service was great I was alowed some afterhour pick ups.
Williams2929 gives X Kennels only a single star and says:
THIS PLACE IS DISGUSTING !!
X Kennels is disgusting. The place smells so terrible! They have dogs wet on the concrete floor, the only place available. They have no idea what my dogs name is, how long he will be there or his health problems. They injured him by forcing him to stay in a very small area. My dog came home so stinky & dirty it was just terrible. I cried when I first saw his condition, he had sat in his own waste & was dirty all over. We would never go back to x kennels. I think the dogs are left alone all the time & the place was feeezing cold. My sweet lab was sick for a long time with big vet bills. Very sad to run a business like that, well, they don’t have a very good business at all!!
So whom should I believe, LowLife13 or Williams2929? Hmm…. moving right along then.
On one hand, LowLife’s less than stellar spelling and grammar makes him/her a suspect witness. But Williams admission of being weepy about his/her dog casts things in an overemotional light. So maybe you should just average the star count…
Did you search under the heading of “doggy day care?” You might find more options there. (The term gives me the willies – too decadent. But there are places that will hook Phydeaux with a satin covered chaise longue and piped in Vivaldi…)
I talked to some friends with dogs and they recommended a place that refers to itself as a “pet resort” — slightly less ostentatious than “doggy day care” maybe.
Dogs do poop and pee in kennels– That’s how most kennels work. we’ve had to resort to that a couple of times, and it didn’t “undo” the housebreaking, and didn’t make our dog sick, smelly, or the least bit dirty. What healthy adult dog purposely sits in its own excrement, anyway (unless the space is very tiny)? Sounds like unhappy lady had a sick dog, period. I’d do a quick visit of the place… find out a ton more that way than looking at reviews. (does it smell ? How big are the individual kennels? Are they reasonably clean? Do they have time/place to let out the dogs?)