My husband and I have boarded both of our dogs at the hospital for short trips that totaled 6 or 7 visits this year. This past visit, we were extremely disappointed with how a situation with our dog w... Read More
My husband and I have boarded both of our dogs at the hospital for short trips that totaled 6 or 7 visits this year. This past visit, we were extremely disappointed with how a situation with our dog was handled. Upon picking up the dogs, Doris, the receptionist at the desk, immediately started to tell us that our Lab mix almost bit someone last time, but actually succeeded in biting a someone this time ("a kid" as she said, who is a kennel attendant that is not a kid). Immediately, my husband and I were upset she would do this as she is the sweetest dog to anyone she meets, we have four young kids who are around her, and we have never had any issues with her biting or being aggressive. However, we also understood that dogs can be different when their owners are not around, but didn't understand why she would just start this behavior now. We were obviously concerned and asked her if the attendant was okay and how bad the bite was, but she wouldn't give us any details. Instead, she was quick to tell us it was under their liability so we weren't responsible, but our dog could no longer be boarded there. She continued to tell us that our dog growled when an attendant would come to the cage or while being put back into the cage after she was taken outside by leash (because they are not equipped with a facility that opens a door out into a run for when they need to get exercise or relieve themselves). When we asked for her shot records so we could take her to a more suitable boarding facility, there was a banner on the shot history that read, "Too Dangerous to Board' in bold letters across the middle of the sheet. We were surprised at this because there was no documentation on her past behavior or the bite incident and animal control was not called to our knowledge. It wasn't until we got home that we saw this on the paperwork. When Dr. Marvin called us back, she told us that our dog did not in fact bite anyone, but she came close to doing it and our dog was getting more and more aggressive every time we brought her there. This upset us even more because they never told us about this behavior at all. If we had known, we would have worked with them to find a solution for her anxiety and cage aggression or we would have stopped bringing her there to board. Dr. Marvin explained that we still couldn't board her there and that the hospital has a policy around this kind of behavior to protect her staff; we completely understood this. She did offer to take the 'Too Dangerous to Board" alert off the shot record, but when I went into pick up the new paperwork, Doris referred to my dog as "the one who tried to eat one of us last week" and how biters couldn't be boarded there cause they are too dangerous, even though it was already established that she lied and our dog did not bite anyone. Dr. Marvin and another employee were standing right there and said nothing upon hearing this. I am not one for confrontation so I ignored her and waited patiently as Dr. Marvin looked for the new paperwork so I could leave.
The staff was wonderful at boarding the dogs within a day or two's notice and getting one of them in quickly for an emergency and customer service had been courteous up until this point, however, we will not be taking our dogs to board there again because:
1. No one documented or notified us of any aggressive behaviors during past boarding visits and they falsely labeled our dog a 'dangerous dog'.
2. We found a facility that is better equipped to care for our dogs and understands when a dog shows anxiety over being put in a cage it doesn't mean they should be labeled a dangerous dog.
3. Doris's poor customer service skills around this situation that included unnecessary comments about our dog being a biter and lying about her biting one of the attendants, when she didn't. THIS WAS ADDRESSED ON THE PHONE WITH DR. MARVIN and neither she nor Doris apologized or took responsibility for her lying to us. DORIS worded it exactly the way she wanted to and no one seemed to have a problem with her lying or talking to a customer that way. Read Less