Animal Motel

To start, I have never left my pets in a boarding facility before. So, for this to be my first and their first experience away from me, was traumatizing. On the morning of July 20th, 2021 I took my cats to Animal Motel. When my mother, I and the cats arrived at the boarding facility, the initial smell of the lobby caught me off guard. It smelt like a humane society. I ignored my initial instinct that this was wrong and continued to check them in. I asked to see the area that they would be staying and one of the (owners from what was told to my mother and I) refused, stating that due to covid restrictions they were not doing tours at the moment. This is obviously a red flag for us. Given the situation of having chemical treatments done in my apartment, I honestly had no where else to take them and so I finished checking them in. I was told I could check up on them throughout the day but that I would not be allowed to see where they were staying and if I wanted pictures that it would be an additional charge. This was also a red flag. When we were all checked in the owner told us it was ok to leave, he had not put them in their area yet and there was another person waiting in the lobby. I refused to leave until they were taken in back. After 5 hours we came back to pick them up. My cats are usually frantically meowing while in carriers. This time there wasn’t even a peep out of them, which is highly unusual. None of them were trying to get out of the carriers or making a sound. My mother immediately became worried. The lady at the desk (whom had never met me or my mother) never asked our names when retrieving my pets nor an ID. This could have been anyone picking them up. We got the carriers in the car, which was in the first handicap spot due to my mother’s and my disabilities. Once in the car my mother put her finger in the cage door to pet my one cat, Yoshi. He’s a 17lb boy that loves everyone and everything. He barely gave her the time of day and looked terrified. She told me him and his carrot toy felt wet. Knowing that a stressful environment can cause him to hyperventilate and drool, I passed this off as drool, this was a mistake. We made our way home, 40 minutes away. The entire ride, none of them made a sound and stayed to the back of their carriers. When I picked up Yoshi’s cage to take him from the car to the apartment I could smell urine. He has never before peed in his carrier so I was very concerned and tried to bring him upstairs as soon as possible. We got to the bottom door and he got excited, pushing at the cage door. The cage door came off. IT CAME OFF. They had not completely placed the cage door in the carrier and my cat escaped! I lunged instantly, cutting my hand and wrenching my finger on the cage door that came off to tackle this large boy to the ground, hurting my back in turn. This is when I realized he was covered in urine. I had to wrap both arms around his belly because he was flailing frantically. I was then, also, covered in urine. I ran him up two flights of steps like this, getting him in the apartment, into the bathroom and shutting him in the bathroom to retrieve the other pets. Once I did this my mother stayed with them in the living room while I bathed him head to toe. My Black and white kitty was black and yellow due to this. I called them distressed. They immediately gave me a run around. I was told that he was dry when they put him in the carrier and that he probably just sprayed from anxiety. They refused to take responsibility for the door being inappropriately put on the carrier. I was also told that this was the first time they ever had an issue like this. This is a lie, I have numerous accounts of the exact problems I experienced from other people on their google and facebook. When I told them I wanted a refund and their staff to get better training I was met with a reply of “well, in order to give you a refund I will need you to sign an NDA.” There was no way that I would ever accept this! After a day of waiting I was told he saw nothing inappropriate on the cameras. I told them I wanted to see either footage of where my cats had been or stills from their cameras showing this, every mention was derailed by changing the subject. I will NEVER bring a pet here again and I will do my best to make sure that no one else ever goes through anything similar.

Dog was nicked during grooming. Not a big deal. But nothing was said about it at pick up. Found my dog bleeding when she was removed from my car at home. When I called to inquire what happened and why wasn't I told, I was told there is no proof they are responsible. They would not let me talk to groomer without manager listening in. I got a lot of attitude and the run around from the desk manager. They are under new management and I don't think they want to take responsibility for their errors. DO NOT TRUST THEM!!

very smooth. 2 healthy cats went in; 2 healthy cats came out. very nice. i would board with them again.

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Okay- with a puppy, she came home very nervous.

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They were great. It was the first time we boarded our lab.  They were very professional and friendly and took good care of him.  They also gave a "report card" at the end of the visit so you could see how your dog did.

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The price advertised was $26/day but I was charged $29/day.  I didn't notice it until after I had already paid and left.  But other than that they took good care of my cats.

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I used them several times.  At all times, their service was highly professional.  They took in my dog right away and cared for him very well. 

I was originally scheduled to be gone for 7 days, but was delayed and had to leave my 14 year old dachshund at the motel for a couple extra days.  They were very accommodating, and took excellent care of him.  I think this was his fourth time staying there while I had to travel.  He seems to like it there, but of course, he's always happier to be home.  I had talked to my vet before leaving my little guy anywhere, and he recommended the Animal Motel.  I highly recommend them now too.

Like I said before, we are used to using a more luxurious kennel (bigger pens, fewer dogs, better atmosphere - but how much does the dog really care?), but this was certainly adequate.  I would definitely use them again, if our regular kennel is not available.

The facility was very nice and the space provided for the cats was appropriate.  Our cats are very big (18 & 22 lbs) so it was important that they were comfortable.  Additionally, both cats are on prescription food and one on a daily medicine that needs to be administered by mouth.  Our cats appear to have been well taken care of as there were no changes in appearance or behavior when we picked them up.  The price was fair for the specific accommodations we required and the extra care for medication.  We wouldn't hesitate to use them for our cats again in the future.

I have used this company for about a year and half. My mom primarily uses the service. The staff is very friendly and the facility is very clean. You do not have to wait very long to get in and out. They take great care of the dog and appointments are very easy to schedule.

We enrolled our pup/dog in a training class at the Animal Motel and were extremely pleased with the results.  We had worked with trainers before and our dog had been in basic obedience classes but the class at the Animal Motel was of significantly greater benefit.  Don, the owner of the Animal Motel, has been a dog trainer all of his life (more than 50 years) and he has forgotten more about dogs than most trainers will ever learn.  Chris, his fellow trainer, also is extremely accomplished.  Both of them are advocates of training a dog to please its owner rather than "working for treats" and the focus in these classes was on instilling a greater bond between owner and dog with praise and love the "treat" rather than a piece of liver. 

Don and Chris also advocate the use of a prong collar , which they describe as "power steering for dogs" and they were right.  Our pup thrived under the program and we went from having a naughty and disobedient dog to a confident, well-trained dog we can walk proudly and who sits, stays, lies down and comes when we give the command.  We cannot say enough about the quality of training we received.  Obviously, the real training is for the dog owners and Don and Chris are experts at that.

Please see previous details.

My vet recommended Animal Motel. They were ready for my dog when we arrived and took him back right away. They were done faster than expected and he walked out looking well groomed and happy!

Everything went well.  It did not seem like there was much space for the dogs to go out for a walk.  They have many kennels.  I would use them again, but would also wish for a kennel with a little more space for the dogs to go outside.

|Our puppy may have been to young and when we picked |her up she was some what traumatized.

They provided good service, took care of of our dog and we were happy with the service. We have no problems with them.

Greeted in a friendly manner. Dog received good care, treats, play time, bath and nails . 24 hours attended facility. Dog ready to come home at set time. Great place.Great people.

This was the first time bringing my dog here for grooming. I messed up on the appointment and brought my dog in a day early, but they took her anyways, even though they were very busy. To my  surprise my dog was done by 1:00pm. When they brought her out she looked good but they also offered to make any adjustments I wanted. I was really pleased with the overall professonalism and particularly with the grooming job.