LINDAS CAMP K9

The first adopted dog we got attached my husband when he got home from work & later that evening we had to take it back, we then tried another this one lasted all of 3 hours before it bolted from the house when putting leash on to take for a walk, when we finally found him owner took him away, wouldn't let us have him back, wouldn't return adoption fees nor would she return phone calls for resolution of problem to all parties satisfaction. Besides that food we bought was found to have mold & was over expiration by 4months.

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I have never had an issue with the staff or care given by Camp K-9. The grooming has far exceeded my expectations as my dogs are groomed on how I asked them to be. I have tried several places in the area and this is by far the only place that did what I asked and did a top quality job! As far as boarding, my dogs LOVE it here. We turn onto the street and my dogs go crazy because they know they are in for a good time. Every time that I have taken my dogs to Camp I have never had a bad feeling or regretted taking them there. I have always been beyond happy that I have a place to take my dogs where I know they will have fun, be cared for and loved while we are away. Even when my dog was a few months removed from having ACL surgery, the staff at Linda's Camp K-9 limited my dogs play time (which I asked them to do if needed) and monitored him. When I picked him up they were even able to give me some detail on what he did and didn't do that day because how he was acting with his leg. This facility has far exceeded my expectations as a boarding facility and I am glad that it is available to us! We will continue to keep our dogs here when we are away, give them a play day and get them groomed here. If you want your dog(s) to have an amazing time while you are gone and know they are being loved, be sure to send them here. There are times they even post pictures of your dogs on their Facebook page so you can see what your lil' ones are doing!

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She was great. She was wonderful!

When I adopted my dog, he had been fostered by Camp K9 for several months. That was in 2010, and I've been taking him here ever since, any time we need to go away for a weekend and can't find a dog sitter. I also take him now and then for doggy day camp, when he needs to burn off some excess energy.
I've probably boarded him at Linda's a dozen or so times in the last 4 years and taken him for day camp at least once every couple of months. The only issues i've had were when he injured himself, either playing too hard (2 dogs diving for the same frisbee, and he got a poke from a stray tooth -- not a bite -- on 2 separate occasions), or shoving his nose where it shouldn't be (literally -- a scrape on his nose). And they always called me immediately when it happened. The on-site nurse did a decent job patching him up, but I did take him to the vet for one of the injuries since it pierced the skin completely and I wanted to be safe.
He loves camp, and it would appear the many, many other dogs there are having a wonderful time as well.

It is with a very heavy heart that I write about our painful experience at Linda's Camp K-9. Our Newfoundland dog, Lena, had gaping bloody, pus-filled sores all over her face (up to her eye), on her chin, on her neck, and on her chest, when we picked her up after a week of boarding. Veterinarians explained that this painful skin condition-- moist dermatitis-- is caused when a heavy coated dog is left wet for too long a time. Employees of Linda's Camp K-9 admitted that Lena was left wet overnight that week, and photos posted on their Facebook page showed pictures of Lena in filthy pool water. Lena now has scars on her face, chin, neck, and chest as a result of their negligence. But it is not the fact that this avoidable injury occurred that has caused me to write this review; rather, it is the callous and unprofessional way we were treated by the owner, Linda Candler, that makes me believe it is in the best interest of the community to share our experience so others will be forewarned.

Lena's Injury at Linda's Camp K-9

My boyfriend and I boarded our two dogs, Lena and Teddy, from June 14 -20, 2014. Before this incident, we had been loyal customers for over a year. We had spent well over a thousand dollars at Linda's Camp K-9, which makes the fact that we were treated in such an appallingly unprofessional manner by the owner, Linda Candler, even more perplexing and heartbreaking.
On June 14 we dropped off Lena and Teddy for a week-long stay while we were on vacation out-of-state. During that time, we were told, Lena spent every day in the pools and there were photos posted on the Camp K-9 Facebook page of her in the pool. I called every day to check on Teddy and Lena. We picked them up on June 20. Lena was given a bath that day before pickup. We believe that the groomer suspected something was wrong--she told my boyfriend that she had trouble and quot;washing the drool offand quot; of Lena after giving her a bath. (Everyone with a dog knows that drool easily comes off with shampoo and a rinse.) But if they did notice anything amiss, they didn't tell us explicitly. By Friday night, Lena was lethargic and refusing to eat. On Saturday night, we discovered what felt like scars on her face and neck, and her fur around this area was foul-smelling and matted with pus. It was clear that Lena was in serious pain. We immediately took her to the emergency vet and were told she had moist dermatitis.

The emergency technicians took Lena to the back, sedated her, and shaved down the fur on her chin, face, neck, and chest, revealing open, bleeding wounds and infected tissue. We took her to our normal vet the following Monday, where more sores were discovered, necessitating more shaving. The vet confirmed the diagnosis of acute moist dermatitis, for which we were given antibiotics, a steroid, and painkillers. The vet told us that the combination of heat and moisture under Lena's chin would provide an ideal environment for bacterial growth if she were not adequately dried off. Although Lena spent the first years of her life in Florida swimming in pools regularly and, like all newfies, drools a lot, this was her first case of this painful condition. She is up-to-date on her flea medication, has no known allergies, and we groom her regularly.

The Response from Linda's Camp K-9

I called Linda's Camp K-9 that day to tell them what happened, and we were told that employees could not totally dry off all of the dogs after they used the pool. We were told to send the vet bills to Linda's Camp K-9 and the owner would consider payment. When we asked our veterinarian's office to fax over the records, they said they would. However, when we called Linda's Camp K-9 to check to see if they had received the faxes, they claimed they hadn't. Finally, we had to drive over and drop the bills off in person since the faxed records were mysteriously never received.

From this point on, we were told to deal exclusively with another employee named Tammy who apparently does customer service. It took us a while to get in touch with her, but my boyfriend and I finally managed to get her on the phone on Friday, July 11, after weeks of trying to talk to her. At first, the owner, Linda Candler, picked up the phone and hung up on me after I identified myself-- twice! Then, every time I called back, she refused to answer the phone. Only when we used a different phone number did they finally answer our call, although they then put us on hold for at least twenty minutes before speaking with us.

At that point, I asked my boyfriend to take over the call after the long time we were on hold. He again explained what had happened to our dog and told Tammy that it should be standard operating procedure to thoroughly dry off heavy coated dogs in the summer after they have used the pool; she agreed. In other words, she admitted that a practice that should have been in place and that could have prevented the harm was not in place. My boyfriend reminded her that we had spent literally thousands of dollars over the years at Camp K-9 and that the last thing we wanted to deal with after having just arrived home from our vacation was the stress and expense of a painful medical problem. After about twenty minutes, during which the employee offered no justification for not paying the vet bills beyond saying (1) that the harm was not intentional and (2) that she did not think it amounted to neglect, the employee told me that the owner would not pay the bills. And that, apparently, was that. We never actually spoke to the owner (aside from me being hung up on) and were never told why she wasn't going to pay. We have since been told that Linda's Camp K-9 cares for way too many dogs than the few employees can handle, and we have doubts that they are dried off at all after using the pool facility.
Overall, we were just flabbergasted by the indifferent and callous treatment we received after having spent so much money there. Not only did the owner not pay our bill or offer to reimburse the cost of boarding; she refused to explain why she didn't, or even give us the basic courtesy of speaking to us.

What is even more appalling is that after we left reviews on other sites about our experience, Linda Candler publicly posted on Facebook about us. Even though she refused to ever speak to us over the phone (apart from hanging up on me), she commented on Facebook that our story is a and quot;complete lieand quot; and that this is a and quot;classic caseand quot; of pet owners trying not to pay. Again, I must emphasize that prior to this incident, we had been loyal customers for a very long time without making a single complaint. This is not only rude and unprofessional, but defamatory.

The Bottom Line

The way we were treated by owner Linda Candler, and the pain and suffering our dog went through, has been a heartbreaking experience for us. Even though Linda's Camp K-9 employees admitted that Lena was left wet overnight, resulting in her contacting moist dermatitis-- gaping bloody, pus-filled sores all over her upper body-- and even though we spent $400 in vet bills as a result, we never received so much as an apology from Linda Candler, much less a refund for the boarding or an offer to pay us back for the vet bills.

I am sharing our story in the hope that no one else will have to go through what we have gone through. Our precious dog Lena has been left scarred as a result of their negligence, and my boyfriend and I have been left saddened and shocked by our treatment at the hands of this business owner.

We take our dog there all the time he loves it. The staff members are wonderful and treat our dog like he's their own. We never worry when he is there. We can call and check on him. They even made a card for us from him!

They are always friendly and are affectionate to my dog, even though I know they have to be super busy. I wish more businesses were run like this!

You have to go through all the things with papers and they have to be checked out to make sure that they are not going to harm other dogs. The dogs have to be neutered and checked in order to be out there. They also have a service that includes overnight boarding. The difference between them and other kennels is they have what they call counselors to engage the dogs and watch them. Even if they are boarded overnight, they let the dog out, so they also have the benefit of running around all day long and socialization. When my dog sees the building, he really goes bananas. He becomes really excited to get there. Linda is very ethical. She will take in really docile animals that are calm and take them around to the schools around here and then the kids can read to the dogs, which they are much more inclined to do than just to read aloud. Linda does that voluntarily.