Pet Owner Reports PetSmart PetsHotel Employee Hit Dogs, Employee Still Has Job
A pet owner from Alexandria, Virginia said that he saw a PetSmart PetsHotel employee strike several dogs while he was waiting to pick up his dog from the PetsHotel.
Matt, the pet owner, said he watched a live video stream of the day care room and saw an employee in the middle of a group of dogs. Both Matt and his wife saw the employee raise his hand and hit a dog. After telling a front desk employee about the incident, the couple saw the same employee hit a few other dogs.
A store manager came out and said that the situation would be investigated and that he would watch the video of the employee. The next day, the store manager said the actions of the employee were “horribly inappropriate” and that the employee would no longer work with dogs.
The next day, a District Manager called Matt and said that a full investigation needed to be done, and that the employee would still be working with dogs while they were investigating.
After ten days, Matt said the District Manager called after watching the video. She said the employee was simply playing with the dogs and not striking them. She refused to let Matt and his wife watch the video again.
Here is what Matt wrote about the PetSmart PetsHotel experience:
On Sunday, October 21, my wife and I picked up our dog from the Petsmart Hotel in Alexandria, Virginia (at Potomac Yards) where he had been boarded for one night. As we waited for our dog to be retrieved, we watched a live video stream of the day care room on a monitor facing us. The room appeared to be overcrowded with more than a dozen large dogs in a relatively small space. One employee could be seen in the middle of the crowd of dogs. Suddenly, both my wife and I saw this employee raise his hand and strike a dog. We were shocked by what we saw. Outraged, we immediately pointed this out the desk employee and requested to see a manager. As we waited, we continued to watch the video feed and witnessed the worker strike two or three more dogs. The Pet Hotel manager came out and we explained what we saw. We asked that this matter would be investigated and that the individual we saw strike the dogs would be removed from caring for dogs. We weren’t looking for any deal from Petsmart or to threaten any legal action — we just wanted a firm answer that this employee would no longer be left in the care of any animals.
The following day we received calls from both the Pet Hotel manager as well as the store manger. The Pet Hotel manager told me personally that she watched the video and found the worker’s actions “unacceptable.” In a separate conversation, the store manager stated that he watched the video “about 12 times” and also found it horribly inappropriate. Next we received a call from the District Manager who was incredibly evasive in her statements and stated she would get back to us after a full investigation, but that the employee in question was still working with dogs while the investigation took place. Ten days after the incident, the District Manager called us back and stated that she watched the video in slow motion, and that while she could understand how we interpreted the employee’s gestures to have been inappropriate, that she has concluded that the man was just playing with the animals, did not in fact strike any dogs, and was not inappropriate. In response, we very reasonably asked if we could watch the video with her so she could show us what she saw. She said no.
Since this incident, we have canceled all his future stays. We are outraged by what we saw and even more troubled that despite two managers having told us that they agreed that the employee was inappropriate, the district manager not only concluded otherwise, but refused to show us her interpretation. Petsmart has handled this in the worst possible way, excusing the conduct of an employee who hit dogs he was entrusted to care.
We feel the right thing to do is to let the community know about this incident so that dog owners can consider this incident when finding care for their dogs. Needless to say, we feel strongly that Petsmart Hotel is not a dependable or safe place to trust for care of D.C.-area pets.
Source: The Consumerist
November 8th, 2007 at 8:18 am
Very valuable info and a reason that I will never allow any of my pets to be groomed or cared for in any way by any of the Pet Speciality stores. But the problem being so many people will never know this and will continue to spend their money at these places and leave their pets in the precarious care and at the mercy of PetSmart and Petco and any other place (some vets included) while they place their trust in them.
November 8th, 2007 at 9:15 am
PetSmart strikes again…….oooooohhhhhhh, puuulllllllleeeeezzzzzzz
November 8th, 2007 at 10:11 am
someone needs to alert the Washington Post newspaper…
November 8th, 2007 at 11:04 am
OK PetSmart…like you don’t have enough problems with no one buying the poison pet food you sell. You aren’t going to make up that revenue with District Managers like like this.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:17 am
Their Banfield vets are incompetent as well!
November 8th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
I’ve been going to PetSmart for a while now. Recently I had my dog groomed at the Sterling, VA location. We dropped her off at 11 AM and she wasn’t ready to go until nearly 6 PM. When we got her home she drank from her bowl for literally 5 minutes straight. She had never done this before and has never done it again. I believe that she was left in a cage without water for the entire stay (nearly 7 hours!). We will not be going back to PetSmart for our grooming needs.
As for banfield, I’ve had good luck with them. I’ve done the puppy insurance plan in the past and I found the doctors and nurses to be fairly competent for the most part. We had our 1st dogs spay surgery done by banfield and it turned out great. Her incision healed quickly and she had no problems after. Banfield is a less expensive option for me, especially in the Northern Virginia area where everything costs so much more! My dogs can get their shots and routine check up for a lower cost than going to non-chain vet. With that said. The dogs are still very young and we plan to switch to a private vet when the get a bit older, as we expect they will have the usual cocker spaniel issues.
Other boarding options in the NOVA area: The Animal’s House (we love them!) and Happy Tails
Best,
HB
November 8th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
I think some mass mailings to PetSmart (not so smart for pets after all . . .) might be in order here. That is simply inexcusable. We need to help get the word out.
November 8th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
this is one reason I never go anywhere unless my dog comes with me. I have missed many great trips and vacations but it’s worth it. An animal is a huge responsibility.
November 8th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
I have only boarded any of my cats once, for nearly a week, and it was with a kennel for whom I had worked part time. When I travel in a few weeks, I will be boarding my very elderly cat at my vets’ office. He is diabetic and will need insulin twice a day.
Other than that, we do not board our pets. We get friends to look in on them. In my time as a kennel worker, I and my ex have witnessed and heard far too many horror stories.
I live in Montgomery County, one of the wealthiest counties in Maryland. Oddly, I can count the GOOD kennels here on one hand and have fingers left over!
~The Lioness
November 8th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
lioness, what are the good kennels in MoCo? Any opinions out there on Cleverdog?
November 8th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
One more reason to stay out of PetSmart.
November 8th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
fg, I’m not familiar with Cleverdog.
I used to work for A Critter’s Groom and Board over on Southlawn in Rockville. The owner knows what she’s doing. She’s very attentive of whom she hires and any problems are quickly squelched. She cares very much about the animals in her facility. It was a pleasure working for her.
I exaggerated when I made my comment. I am only familiar with a few.
STAY AWAY FROM POTOMAC KENNEL! They are a menace. (Hopefully, they are no longer open.)
If you are in Montgomery County or near it, join an email list (yahoo) called CafeMontgomery. People post with questions all the time, and others have good responses.
~The Lioness
November 8th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
PetSmart Hotels should be required to have video tapes released with you when you pick up your dog if you ask for it. This is just like kinder care and the watchful eye of a camera to ensure saftey of your dog.
If employees know you will see how they interracted with your dog, they will be more prone to doing what is right or if they cant handle the job then find another one.
Sounds like a good policy to bring up to state lawmakers.
Robert Davis
November 9th, 2007 at 3:06 am
Seems to me we have to do a number on ALL PetSmart facilities everywhere and show them that animal lovers will not tolerate this employee withing one mile of any animal.
Get ready folks - another email attack in the works.
Will hunt down financials and key decision makers in this debacle. Look back at this blog later for info.
Matt, thanks for speaking out.
November 9th, 2007 at 3:25 am
OK, here are contacts for Petsmart corporate:
Go to this link where all the names of Board of Directors are listed:
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/ph.....l-govBoard
I haven’t been able to get email addresses for each of them but if you call the general number below, someone ought to be able to give you an address by which mail is deliverable to each and every one of these persons. Worse comes to worse, make one letter and send it individually to each member of the Board. That’s what I will do. Let them get swamped with these letters and perhaps they’ll “get it.”
PetSmart, Inc.
19601 North 27th Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85027
Phone: (623) 580-6100
PetSmart Corporate Communications
E-mail: corpcommunications@ssg.petsmart.com
24-Hour News Media Line
Phone: 623.587.2177
In addition to contacting CEO’s at Petsmart and reading them the riot act, I would strongly encourage you to call your local news station and contact your major newspaper and link them up to this website.
Come on, folks, we can make a difference for the animals. Let’s make Petsmart stock plummet. [”PETM” on NASDAQ.]
November 9th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
LIONESS!
I too, live in Montgomery County, Maryland, and I have to tell you from first hand experience that leaving your diabetic cat at the vet in Montgomery County Maryland may be the absolute worst choice you could make!
I arranged for my diabetic cat Toonces to have a “medical board” at his vets — Kindness Animal Hospital in Wheaton Maryland. But little did I know that this hospital did not have ANY licensed veterinary technicians on staff, and little did I know that the veterinarian was going to leave my cat in the care of his SON over the weekend. His son is NOT a vet tech, and this young man used the WRONG SYRINGE to give my cat his insulin — one three times too large! When I went to get my cat the following Monday, the vet first tried to tell me that my cat was seizuring and nearly dead due to a BRAIN TUMOR or seizure disorder. Later that day he admitted that my cat had been given a massive 30-unit insulin overdose by someone he called a “vet tech” — only I learned later it wasn’t a vet tech at all, but his SON. By the time I reported him to the state board he was denying the overdose again, even though he had admitted it to the world, but the vet board fined him, suspended his license (although they stayed the suspension), and put him on probation.
In fact, I learned that in the state of Maryland there is NO requirement for vet techs to be licensed, and that a vet can call someone a “vet tech” without any trainign at all — he can grab a homeless person off the street and call him a vet tech! This is very dangerous.
I have participated for a long time in the Feline Diabetes Message Board (www.felinediabetes.com) and sadly, I must tell you that SEVERAL other cats in addition to my own have been given insulin overdoses by veterinarians and “vet technicians” who weren’t licensed — in one other case also known to have been caused by the use of the wrong syringe.
I really recommend strongly against leaving your diabetic cat at any hospital that does not have staff physically present and monitoring the animals 24 hours a day, as well. I believe the reason my cat was so badly damaged by what happened to him is that he was left alone without treatment for over 13 hours on a Sunday — the day after the admitted overdose had occurred. If your vet does not have someone there 24-7, then if your cat hypos overnight or on a Sunday, no one will be there to treat it.
Where do you live? If you are near me (Wheaton/Kensington/Silver Spring/Rockville), and if you are not going to be gone for an extended period of time, maybe I can offer to come home test your cats blood sugar and give him his insulin. I’m not kidding. I won’t be able to give him 24-7 supervision, but I definitely won’t make a mistake with his dose, that’s for sure!
Stefani
The Toonces Project
http://www.TheTooncesProject.com
“Is Your Pet Safe at the Vet?”
PS— As for counting good kennels on one hand, its true for vets here as well. It is very odd that in such a wealthy county, almost NONE of hte animal hospitals (except perhaps VCA) use LICENSED vet techs, but over in Virginia, the old hospital I went to in Alexandria uses ONLY licnsed techs.
November 9th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Petsmart is HORRIBLE. I hope this isn’t news to anyone here. I can’t even tell you the horror stories a former employee told me about the groomers. Avoid at all cost. Support a local store! Better products, better employees.
November 9th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Is there any protest planned? I am local to this PetSmart.
November 10th, 2007 at 12:02 am
Anyone know how to contact Matt? I would like to find the person who claims to have seen the hitting of pets. If someone can steer me in the right direction, I will look into doing a tv story on this.
November 10th, 2007 at 4:18 am
Bill:
I searched the internet hoping to find a link to Matt but was unsuccessful. His posting surfaced in the Consumerist and if you email them at
tips@consumerist.com
and refer to their webpage at
http://consumerist.com/consume.....318626.php
and explain your interest in the story, they might be able to put you in touch with him.
I’d love to see a story about this or any animal abuse on the news. Creeps like the employee who beat the animal at PetSmart need to be prosecuted.
Good luck!!!
November 13th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
I volunteer at the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria (where the store is located) so I immediately contacted some of the folks there. Here’s what I got back (from the head of Animal Control):
“Allan and myself went out to the Petsmart and reviewed the tapes with the Manager and District Manager.The employee never hit the dogs and has a great record with them. The employee is 18 years old and was basically being a kid. He was play-grabbing at one dog in particular, nothing that would be cruelty to animals, but the dog he was playing with is a very submissive dog; including with its owners. We spoke with the teenager and advised him that if the dog is submissive then he should not be playing with the dog in that manner, also we advised the Managers that they need to do more training with their employees and explain to them how to read dog’s behavior, etc. Also the employee states that no one told him what was acceptable forms of play in the playgroup. In any case the dog was not hit and the employee was talked to about the situation and will get better training. The dog was not physically hurt. The actions of the employee could be interpreted wrong by someone looking in, but if you review the tape, frame by frame as we did, you will see exactly what occurred and he did not hit any of the dogs. According to the Managers the complainant was a disgruntled client.”
Chaun Gorden–Director of Animal Control
4101 Eisenhower Avenue
Alexandria, Va.22304
November 14th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
I’d like to address a couple things: I’m very sorry that some people have had bad experiences at Petsmart. As an associate for over five and a half years now I understand how frustrated you must be that these things have happened. I hope you don’t stereotype all Petsmarts now though, as many of us strive to help the customer any way possible. I work at one in Michigan and I know that if something goes wrong, our store managers are on top of ensuring the customer is happy and that all pets are safe. But I would like to say to 2CATMOM: You mentioned Petsmart selling poisoned pet food. I assume you’re talking about the giant pet food recall. That was national and the food was carried by all pet stores; not only petsmart. Petsmart was rewarded for quickly getting the food off the shelf, keeping lists constantly available with updated foods, and we NEVER kept any of that food off the shelf and it makes me very angry that you are accusing Petsmart of selling poisoned food. Ok SHANE DOUGLAS: Your message said :Petsmart is HORRIBLE. I hope this isn’t news to anyone here. I can’t even tell you the horror stories a former employee told me about the groomers. Avoid at all cost. Support a local store! Better products, better employees. That’s really insulting as well because you are generalizing. You’ve heard stories about groomers in your area I presume, so it’s completely unfair that you are concluding that every petsmart is horrible. If you ever visited the Livonia, Mi store I guarantee you would be very pleased. All we ever do is ensure the pets in our store are healthy and that our customers are happy, often having to put aside our own pride and judgment, even when we are insulted or manipulated, because we are conditioned to believe customers are always right and believe me, it’s embarrassing and hurtful when a customer gets his/her way because of something THEY want even when it’s not policy or right. I’m asking you guys to look at the good things Petsmart has done. Just go to the website; over 3 million pets have been saved because of our charities. We support only charities that don’t put animals to sleep; they foster the pets. I can’t tell you how much time we spend helping customers and educating them just to make sure they’re happy. I work in pet care (fish, birds, reptiles, small animals) and we’ve gotten so many compliments from customers for our patience, knowledge, and attitudes. So please don’t pigeonhole each Petsmart and assume each would hire and keep an employee who would hit a dog like the first person posted. AND we have never sold poisoned pet food after the recall; that’s just a lie. I hope everyone reads this and thinks of their positive experiences at Petsmart. Thank you.
November 16th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
ok never used the pethotel and never will. I work long enough for this company that I know how animal are treat in the specialty department hate think what they do with some loved pet.
as for bandfield they tend to hire vet looking for a job, one that comes to mind is in central va. the vet left a low cost spay/neuter clinic that went under and now work (is a partner) at this bandfield. he did a catrastion on my male siberian and left a testical behind that was up in the abdomin. now we have to get it removed before it turns to cancer. a second run in with this vet was at bandfield, took a new siberian pup in they gave shot that were not need ( but because they chain vet , they do what corprate say not what the owners say or want). they refused to due the hip screen which we pay for in the wellness package, they also never saw the catracts the many times she there.
this little girl’s new vet saw them as plan as day with just taking her to a dark room and shine the light on her eye.
as some of the pet train have not got a clue to breed standards, like telling a siberain owner to drop lead and call. for those who do not know this breed that any chance to run and lead you on a 5 mile game of chase, they do not come when call even though they been taught to.
I personly think petsmart need to go back to the old ways and encourage each and every employee to learn about every breed of animal. what different what works and what does not. they use to have test the employee took to earn star toward a gold name tag. that covered small animals, horse, dogs, cats, fish, training animals, health care, and grooming. this made the employee have stay power and better able to help the pet owners that shop at the store.
November 20th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
I used to work at a Petshotel in Arizona, I would NEVER leave my dogs there. I work at a boarding facility that is affiliated with a vet clinic, so it wouldn’t be ethical for me to tell a client NOT to go there, but I certainly would never reccomend it. PetsHotel is profit driven only, they over book everything, and the pet parents never know that the dogs do not get what they have paid for. They don’t let you come back to set up your dog at check in because they don’t want you to see the dirty conditions (all low paid teenagers work there now) and the fact that it might be a smaller room than you are paying for. If you actually care about humane treatment and ethical standards, don’t ever work for or go to a PetsHotel.
November 20th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
One more thing, when I left PetsHotel I work a very detailed letter to the CEO of Petsmart telling of everything that went on during the year I worked there. I have never heard back from anyone. Once again, I will never give them one penny of my money or one minute of my time. There is so much deception in the company…
December 11th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
You people are all crazy, yes Petsmart is money driven BUT not all the managers that work for the Petshotel are what you are calling “Animal Haters” I don’t think there is one Manager that is not a animal lover at petsmart!! I am a Petshotel Manager and I take alot of pride in what happens at my hotel and how the pets are treated. We are a very clean faclity and we have also saved some pets medically noticing they have UTI! That owners dont even relize there pets have!!! So just cause you had a bad experience in something your not even sure you saw. Not all Petshotel run that way if any!!!
December 13th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
Just thought I’d add a quick note about Petsmart. I am a Pet Care Specialist in the PetsHotel and I love all of the animals dearly. Everyone I work with is just as in love with animals as I am. We would never miss treat an animal and if someone did I would agree they should be fired. I think each Petshotel is probably a little different because the people are different and I would suggest going in and meeting the workers in your area. As for selling poisoned food, the food they push at the store (Blue Buffalo and Nutro) is made in the USA and had no poison scare. Also Petsmart adopted out their 3 millionth animal this year by donating store space to the humane society and local no-kill rescues. Yippy for the animals! All I can promise is that the store and hotel in Kentwood, MI is full of people who love the animals that come in like they were their own. Oh, and Banfield is NOT run by Petsmart, it’s outsourced, Petsmart just offers the space for convience for their customers. I think we should be more involved in the hiring of the Banfield staff but we aren’t. So please, give your local Petsmart a chance, I bet you’ll find an animal lover around every corner, from the managment to the stock crew.
December 27th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Ah, the great deluge of corporate-sponsored posts. Guess they emailed all the employees. You guys are so transparent. Itchmo readers are too smart for this ploy, take your public relations campaign somewhere where there are suckers.
Stefani
January 27th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Stefani, grow up!! Petsmart did not e-mail any employees regarding this issue. I just did a google search seeing what is out there regarding the Petshotels since this is basiclly a new thing for the company. I am not promoting the company at all. There are things with the company I can’t stand! But this is NOT one of these issues!!! I am truly sorry if any one had a bad experince with the company but like Erin said you can’t judge all petshotel by one pet parents experince. I don’t know any managers or employees at any other hotel. And to be deadly honest with you some of these pet parents that come in to use any of these services are a little nuts no matter how much you do for certain people it’s never good enough and they always complain about something!! But I have learned in life you can’t make everyone happy!! You can just do what you do and be the best you can be! PEACE!!
January 28th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
This is far from an isolated incident. I too have had several horrendous experiences with Petsmart and will never patronize them again. Petsmart is terrible, particularly its grooming facility and grooming manager in Bethesda, MD. My family made the mistake of trusting Petsmart time and time again - they cut my dog, making him bleed, on three different grooming occassions. Upon complaining the Bethesda, MD grooming manager told me to come back in so she could look. She barely looked, did not put a treatment on the wound, and told me it was too bad and she would not help me. She was so offensive and aggressive that I feared retaliation. I will never go back. They have rightfully earned the worst reputation amongst petstores and are cruel to their clients, both animal and human.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:37 am
wow if that really happened erica I would call request the phone number for a regional manager or something, that really seams extreme
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:57 am
Last week, we’ve used their pet-hotel for 4 days. We have a very shy large baby. He is almost afraid of everything but never tries to bite or attack. Anyway, before we left him I warned them how shy our baby was. And they told me they would take care of our baby as we do. When we came to pick up him, he didn’t seem happy to see us. He just wanted to LEAVE the place. Anyway, after we left the place he immediately peed. His pee color was very dark and I told my husband, he seemed like he hadn’t drank water for a long time. Also when he was in his cage, he was heavy breathing and he continued heavy breathing all the way to home. When we arrived at home, he drank 3 bowl of water. Our baby’s color is white and what I realized his stomach hair color turned to yellow because of pee.
Before we gave our baby there, I read all kind of reviews about petsmart hotel, and they all mentioned how good it was. I don’t know what the problem was, maybe they are not good with large dogs but what I know is I would never give my baby in this place again.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:58 am
I am the proud owner of a 5-year-old miniature schnauzer, and am a DOG FANATIC. I am very, very picky about where I let my dog stay over the holidays, and I have got to say, the PetSmart PetsHotel is fantastic. Yes, unfortunately, you’re going to have some rotten-apple employees, but PLEASE, don’t GENERALIZE. The cages your dogs stay in are the same size you’d find anywhere else, and you CAN opt for the larger rooms. Plus, there’s the option of letting your dogs play with others… for 8 hours a day! It’s a big room, better than, say, a 5 or 10 minute walk for the day.
Oh, and I don’t know about the other PetsHotel locations, but the one in La Jolla has windows all the way around the play pens… so anyone in the store can look in and see what the employees are doing.
March 14th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
I find the PetsHotel to be simply amazing. I highly doubt that any of the employees I know from going there every day would even come close to thinking about harming a dog. They truly are hand picked for their love of pets, and there is no better place to board a dog. You people are just idiotic.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
It’s unfortunate that this happened at this particular PetSmart, but I just have to say that I just picked up my 6 month old lab puppy from spending 3 days at the PetSmart Pet Hotel in Clive, Iowa, and he had the best time ever. The employees l oved him, and gave me daily updates when I called to check on him. They treated him like their own, even calling first dibs on caring for him each day when they arrived. I think that the incident above is an isolated case, and people should not pass judgement on all PetSmart locations.
April 30th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
I am sorry to hear that so many people have had a bad experience with petsmart, but I have to be honest in saying that I trust them with my animals lives! I take my 1 year old Westi/Corgi mix as well as my 4 cats there to be groomed (the cats get their nails cut there.) and I have an awesome experience every time. The girls in the grooming salon are friendly, and knowledgeable, and they treat my dog with the utmost care. He always comes out prancing, and has to stop to kiss all the girls on the way out! I love the petsmart in wilmington delaware :). I recently also boarded my dog at in one of the New Jersey stores, while going away on vacation with family in the area. He seemed to have an awesome time, and during his exit bath, one of the girls there pointed out to me a potential problem. After taking him to our local vet, it turns out he had an ear infection in the making, something I would never have noticed, but the girls there did! I use banfield for all of my pets visits and love the girls there. Kudos to Ashley in wilmington for always making my babies feel loved. I hope you all won’t generalize all petsmarts based on the issues of a few. That would be like saying all dogs are bad because you had a bad experience with one. Always be aware of whats going on, but don’t judge based on other peoples bad experiences. Most of the time they are blown out of proportion anyway!
May 17th, 2008 at 8:12 am
I am a PetNurse [vet tech] at the banfield in leesburg, va. And I completely agree that the way some Banfields and pet smarts are run is terrible, and the staff is negligent. I’ve taken taken previous pets to random Bandfields up and down the east coast. Having bad experiences and good experiences. I think y’all are looking at bandfield as a whole instead of as individual vets. Just like with other private owned vets, some will suck and others will be amazing. The staff in leesburg, va is brilliant. I wouldn’t be working there if I didn’t like the people. We do not have to take certain steps to get from point A to point B, the vet where you went to probably had no idea what he/she was doing. Both vets at the Banfield in Leesburg are very competent. Not to mention all of the staff cares for animals deeply. 5 Stray kitten got brought in last week and 3 went home with the Banfield empolyees, and the other two went home with petsmart employees.
Not every place is going to be run the same. That’s true no matter where you go.
May 26th, 2008 at 12:44 am
I was about to enroll my Minature Pinschure in the Petsmart Hotel in Alexandrea VA, however after reading this review im thinking otherwise. I mean I go to petsmart alot and always see the dogz playing and everything but there is one problem, If I was watching some live video feed and saw my dog being hit or being played with rough and the manager wouldnt let me see that tape, you better bet i would be going back there and finding that damn manager and probably make a huge scene till the tape got into my hands or the police are called because thats bull shit, why wouldnt the manager let you review the tape? Whats she hiding? I believe Petsmart needs to have a open policy! SO THE QUESTION IS.. DOES THE GUY STILL WORK THERE? The thing is its D.C. and not alot of people have respect for anything really. Its easy to say how much you care for and love animals but do you really?
SGT 2nd Det
Arlington Police Department
Arlington, VA 22202
May 26th, 2008 at 12:55 am
Here is the VA LAW 3.1-796.122. Cruelty to animals; penalty. So let it be known under no contract weather it be petsmart or ANY other agreement does this law not apply, it may not apply to Petsmart but directly to the person commiting the crime. If ya dont believe me Cruelty to Animal court records are public records I can give you some for review.
June 1st, 2008 at 11:07 pm
I’m amazed at some of the comments here. We’ve had nothing but the highest praise for our local PetsHotel in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We just came back from an 8 day vacation and had left our 1 year old German Shepherd mix at the PetsHotel. As with all of our PetsHotel experiences (our dog has had multiple visits to the Doggie Day Camp), this extended stay was very positive. I was able to walk back to the atrium kennel area with our dog, get her settled into her room, and ask all sorts of questions of the kind staff. To help our dog feel even more comfortable, they even got her a Poochy Cot (though I hadn’t requested one) as well as a peanut butter filled Kong treat to munch on for her first night away from home.
All of my interactions with the staff left me confident that these workers truly cared about the dogs entrusted to their care, and that each of them viewed their work as not just a “job” but as something they poured their heart into. I called several times each day while our family was on vacation, and every time I called the staff was very helpful, compassionate, and gave me up-to-the-minute details on our dog’s potty behavior, play time reaction, overall health, and ongoing social adjustment to her surroundings. For a day or so after she arrived, she didn’t eat much, and each time I called the staff relayed to me the exact amount she was consuming — I was given the distinct impression that they were monitoring our dog’s dietary and bathroom patterns very precisely, and this helped reassure our family that our dog was being well cared for.
Also, she tends to be very fearful of new surroundings and I was worried how she would adjust to all those days away fom home, but the staff took very good care of her and worked with her to help her overcome some of her fears. Our little girl was also battling an infection that she had developed the day before our trip, and every day the staff lovingly applied a warm compress to her infected area and also administered her antibiotics we had provided from our vet. Our baby’s infection is almost gone now, in large part thanks to the compassionate care she received from the PetsHotel workers. When we went to pick her up after our vacation, we were greeted by several workers who gushed on and on about how much they liked caring for our dog and how cute she is.
We are so glad we found the PetsHotel since our dog can definitely be “high maintenance”!!, but we were very careful about choosing the absolute right kennel for our precious baby girl. We will definitely use the PetsHotel for our upcoming vacations.
June 13th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
The PetSmart in East Hanover, NJ is awesome. The store employees are friendly; the grooming manager is amazing, and we just switched to the Banfield Vet at this location–after so many friends have ranted and raved how good she is. I have not checked out the PetHotel—that’s why I was on the internet–looking for info about where the dog’s go to the bathroom.
We just started going to the Banfield Vet after getting disgusted with the vet we were using that was charging too much for every visit…..The Banfield in East Hanover basically saved my dog’s life. The prior Vet never tested for Lyme. Our cockapoo had it and discovered it the first 30 minutes of our first visit and is under treatment. This is proactive care at a very reasonable cost.
Today they found she had an infection in the sacs near her poop hole….they were expressed and she was given antibiotics.
The groomer we have at the East Hanover is the manager of the place and she gave our dog a Posh spice-like haircut–after requesting that she not make her look like a poof poof poodle. It was the best grooming our dog has ever had. Another groomer clipped her nails too close; yet another clipped her behind the ears. Since taking her to Petsmart in East Hanover, NJ, she doesn’t leave traumatized like she did at other groomers. She’s happy and looks amazing.
I don’t think you can generalize. There are bad employees in every type of business…not just dog care. How many people had a really bad doctor? Car mechanic? Waitress? It’s unfortunate. You need to judge individual stores and staff. It’s not right to generalize. Of course you are going to hear about the worse stories….People always like to complain.
When good service is provided, it’s only fair to express it. And I am NOT any way associated with a PetSmart—-nor is any relative of mine—-I was googling to find out where the dog’s poop, and found this site.
I would agree that PetSmart should ensure that the locations that do report problems improve their training or replace their employees. Bad service should not be tolerated. But please, don’t generalize. Our PetSmart in East Hanover, NJ is great!
June 14th, 2008 at 11:02 am
anyone who says petsmart sucks or is good HAS TO MUCH FREE TIME
June 21st, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I share my experience with everyone that I used to work at the pet shop as a bather in 1987 but it was not that Petsmart. One day I saw an employee hitting the “calm, quiet” large dog’s face with AN METAL OBJECT, while the dog was in the bath tub for bathing him. Hitting the dog’s face UPSET/SHOCKED me so, one week later I told the store manager I had to quit a job but didn’t give him the specific reason why I resigned. I just told him I got another job.
I never work at any pet shop again if they’re MEAN!
Mic
June 25th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
WOW! I was going to take my dog here while we are on our honeymoon! Thanks for the input, there’s no way I’m leaving my dog with them ever!!!!
June 29th, 2008 at 12:33 am
I cannot believe people still post on this. Oh well I am no better. I love how everyone has comment but yet no one knows anything beyond the story that is made available.
July 25th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Please DO NOT take your dog or cat to the Petshotel in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. I took my brussels/yorkie mix in yesterday for the first time to the daycare. It took me 20 minutes to check him in (15 minutes of which was spent waiting with nobody even asking me anything). There was only one other couple there dropping off their dog. Despite the numerous staff - 4 of them at the front desk alone, it still took them 15 min before I was called forward. The actual check in took 5. I left him a container of food with instructions to feed a small handful at 1pm. The staff member wrote this down and assured me that he would be fed accordingly. I came to pick him up at 4pm hoping to avoid the rush at 5pm. Someone promptly cashed me out and then called in the back for my dog to be brought out. I was the ONLY one there. I waited for 25 minutes silently listening as 3 staff members at the reception talked about their social plans for the evening - nobody seemed to care that I was waiting. In the meantime I could see my dog in the playroom with the other dogs and finally I asked them what the problem was - the staff was extremely rude and said they would go to get him. Finally someone walked into the playroom, put a leash on him and dragged him, repeat DRAGGED him through the door. I was horrified as he looked completely distraught. When they handed me the leash, there was only attitude from the staff member who seemed annoyed that I was even standing there. I grabbed my little dog and fled to the front of the store asking to speak to the manager. When I expressed my concerns to him about the horrible customer service and the dog being dragged, he simply said they were understaffed - ok, this is ridiculous, they have too many staff - just not enough qualified staff. My dog looked quite disturbed when I took him into the car - and he has been to doggie daycare before - and was always happy when I picked him up. This time he looked listless and upset. When I got home, I saw that his empty container of food - they had completely disregarded my feeding instructions and fed him the entire container - this is like 4 meals at once.
What a horrible experience - I would never take my dog there anymore - rude, unqualified and abusive staff - please if you live in the area, avoid this PetsHotel and honestly, I will never buy anything at Petsmart either.
July 26th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
I travel a lot and unfortunately must leave my dog in the care of Petsmart. At first, I loved Petsmart, but there have been a couple of incidents where I have had to contact Petsmart corporate office. The response from the corporate office left NO doubt in my mind that Petsmart only cares about the money. They pretend to care about your pets, but believe me, they couldn’t care less it’s all about the money. Not to say that some of the folks doing all the work don’t love the animals, but don’t be fooled…corporate doesn’t care.
July 28th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
We are planning to take our 15 year old tabby Oliver to the PetsMart Pet Hotel in Bethesda, MD for 5 nights–the rest of the time he’s staying w/my cousin who adores him. But she’ll be away for 6 days, and we’ll have to leave him there. I visited, and everyone seemed pretty nice, the place was spotless, and the person I talked to sounded very helpful and friendly on the phone.
Anyone had experience with the Bethesda, MD Pets Hotel? We leave in 3 days, so any feedback ASAP would be much appreciated.
August 6th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
well…i work at Petsmart and have done for 7 years. I can honestly tell you that i have been working with animals for 20 years and Petsmart is FAR more likely to take good care of your pet than any private/local store. #1 they have a “p&p”-policies and prodecures-set up that employees must follow. The employees are monitored by a department manager, who is monitored by several store managers, who are monitored by regional managers..so on down the line. If the p and p’s aren’t followed it gets noticed and things get done about it. That doesn’t mean that an incident will never happen-you can’t gaurantee that ANYWHERE. What it does mean is that if something does happen it will be looked into, unlike a local store where they are only accountable to themselves and no one else! For example-I currently work in the grooming salon. Last week a new groomer “nicked” a dog’s pad with her clippers (and let me tell you we work with VERY sharp equipment on animals that are often unruly! So we have very few accidents but sometimes yes they happen.) The pad was not bleeding, but there was a scrape on it. The groomer at the point takes the dog to the vet, the salon manager notifies the store manager and the customer. Petsmart pays any and all vet bills from anything that WE did. Compare this to a local salon that was in the news where a groomer cut a dogs ear OFF and glued it back on!!! So trust me when I say that any accusation of animal abuse is taken VERY seriously at Petsmart and investigated fully. Sadly, there are customers that are just-well-crazy and completely blow things out of proportion. Another example-I had a dog come in last week that was a 1 year old Maltese that had NEVER been groomed and apparently never been brushed-he was matted to the skin. The man that brought him in was drunk and even so I explained that the dog had to be shaved completely with a #10 blade (1/16th of an inch) and he agreed and signed the paperwork. Well he picked the dog up, paid his $43 (which i received half of as my commission, and considering it took me 2 hours to do this dog I think well underpriced) and the next day his DRUNK wife called and screamed at me, my boss, etc, told us she was going to plaster her apartment complex with flyers bearing my name that I ruined her dog. So Petsmart gave her her money back which was probably what she wanted in the first place-something for nothing. I know I am going on a LOT but it infuriates me how some people just like to bad mouth everything, just because they are so miserable themselves!
August 8th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Bonnie - obviously by your tone you obviously are not into customer service, instead of trying to defuse the problem, you choose to go onto a webforum and complain about what a customer has done to you…. Let me ask you this… if you took your child to a doctor, or hairdresser, and they clipped your child and they were injured, would you not be angered? I know personally if you did that to my dog you wouldnt want to be around for the aftermath. All things considered if the customer got a refund because the dog was injured Petsmart is getting off easy.
Secondly, to turn to someone on the internet and accuse customers of being drunk and unruley because of your own frustrations, then you either need a head check or need to choose another profession so you dont have to deal with the public.
I have also experienced terrible service with Petsmart hotel (almost the identical scenario as Janice in Richmond Hill, Ontario), I find they employ 18 year old girls more interested in there social lives than actually looking after animals, they also dragged my dog out by his leash, since he is only a 10 lb miniture doberman, I wanted to go over the counter at them.
You mention there is a guide book and regulations that they need to follow. Those regulations Im sure are forgotten after the 20 minute training video that Im sure each one of them get before becoming “certified”.
I would love for you to pass me your regional managers information and contact information so we should share your comments with them since you are so tightly regulated.
August 11th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I worked a Petsmart near Marietta Ga. for a time being trained for a grooming position, so I worked as a bather/recetptionist and assisted the groomer. I NEVER Groomed or was ever trained. I always did bathing and the brushing out simple stuff ( I worked in the show field for some time before moving to Ga), Anyway That tub room was DISGUSTING! The Groomer had FULL Control of the Grooming facility and it seemed as though the manager didn’t really care about my concerns. I also had my own schedule from Petsmart Management, which I never missed a day. THe GROOMER though had a tendency to change the schedule on my days off to suit her needs and never said anything. I reported it to the management and said to follow my schedule. I cleaned and arranged and even YES SANITIZED the kennels and tubs in the back room. I was told that I WOULD be gettting my reg check plus commussion now that I was doing the job of 3 people.
I saw the Groomer put a small poodle on the table that had never been groomed before, she put her in the grooming noose and LEFT HER! THe dog freaked out and about strangled herself to death! The groomer was mad at me because I was bathing a DOG! I Never went back, I told the manager I would be in for my checks. I went in and I they said they sent them to me. I never GOT THEM and I went to there to talk to the manager and he said that I wasn’t going to get paid for the time I had worked Over 3 weeks! I even called corporate and they said there was nothing they could do.
DON”T WORK THERE and CERTAINLY don’t take your animals to be GROOMED THERE Either! THey are HORRIBLE and THEy DOn’t WAtch out for your Pet!
August 12th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
I work as a groomer for Petsmart and I love it!. In any community your gonna have an asshole. Don’t assume everyone is like that. I work in a store and grooming salon where every manager and all employees act as if they are the saftey Nazi! Meaning…. Everyone cares about the saftey of all the animals in our care. I’ll tell you this though. We see animal abuse and neglect all the time due to an owner who shouldn’t own a dog. Fleas so bad that the water and shampoo run blood red. Ears eaten by flys to the point that the ear leather need to be cut back. Maggots burrowed in the skin and fur. Ear infections so bad that you can literally scoop out a handful of yeasty wax. I once saw someone bring a dog in that the collar did not fit anymore and they had used heavy twist wire to connect the clips together and it had the twister part scraping a deep infected line all around the neck like a pipe cutter. I had two beagles come in one time that had over 50 ticks on each, the ears were partially eaten off by flys and oh my god the fleas were more than bad not to mention the hair had grown into there collars that had mold growing in them! These beagles were owned by a well known Doctor of Familly medicine. Even people who can afford to take great care of their dogs still neglect them. We see long hair dogs that are so matted(tangles like tight dread locks, sometimes incasing the dog in a hard shell) That we can’t even safley shave them. We are not going to risk and injury to a pet nor do we want to cause them any pain. We tell the owner flat out to take the dog to the vet so they can knock them out and shave them safely and pain free. So the next time you walk into Petsmart and think bad things about the employees maybe you should look at the customers and try to figure out how many dog abusers you just past in the aisles while shopping!
September 3rd, 2008 at 12:40 pm
I wanted to take advantage of our local site in Framingham, MA and was told my dog would not be able to interact with others because of her breed, they said her disposition had nothing to do with it even though they indicate they check dispositions before letting dogs interact, I wonder if I went there anyway they would let me in because of my breeding?
September 19th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I have used the PetHotel in question on a number of occasions, and have never had a problem. In fact, the employees there have gone out of their way to accommodate my dog. Even though I only board my girl every couple of months, they all know her by name when we walk in. My dog seems excited to be there. Additionally, prior to boarding her there, she would show aggression toward other dogs while on a leash. Since attending the Day Camp during her PetHotel stays, she has learned to socialize and is generally a better behaved dog. One time when I boarded her, the staff accidentally neglected to return her collar with her tags on it. I called them, and they overnighted it to me (even though I only live a short distance away), and included a coupon for a free night for my inconvenience. The PetHotels require a current bordetella shot. They called me a week prior to a scheduled reservation to let me know that they showed my dog’s vaccine as expired. I told them I had just taken her to vet, and I could fax them a copy of the print out. Instead, they offered to personally call the vet and verify so I would not have to go through the trouble. The two main day camp rooms at this particular PetSmart are windowed and open to the general public. And as the original poster mentioned, there are video feeds of a back play room. There is no time that the play group is not visible to the general population. Additionally, there is a window from the lobby into the actual room with the boarding cages. These ALWAYS appear clean.
I have boarded my dogs a a number of places over the years, and can honestly report that this particular PetSmart in question has been the kindest and cleanest with my pet. Especially in the Day Camp. My dog gets attention from the workers, socialization with the other dogs, and exercise. On top of the play time, they also walk the dogs twice a day.
I applaud the original poster for making a fuss about what he believes happened. We should all be so vigilant. However, if the director of animal control for the city reviewed the tape frame by frame and determined there was no physical contact, you have to put some faith in that. After all, they are the people responsible for investigating such claims. If anything, the one thing I can fault PetSmart for is perhaps not providing training to their employees for dogs with atypical needs or personalities, such as a skittish pet.
October 31st, 2008 at 5:55 pm
They killed my Newfoundland “Tahoe” in July of 2006 when one of their “pet care specialists” tossed my beloved dog a Kong that was too small and he choked to death on it. The company should go out of business. I will never forgive them for their complete and utter incompetent handling of my beloved Tahoe. Their advertising for the Petshotel is a complete lie. There is no 24 hour Emergency care and their “pet care specialists” are too inept to care for anything let alone our precious animals. The Emergency vet they took him too (after it was too late) said they couldn’t understand why Petsmart brought him there. They thought they had a 24 hour vet on the premises as well. This company lied to me, they killed my dog, they covered it up to begin with, and there is no way I will ever step foot in one of their stores, I will bad mouth them at every opportunity I get.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:05 am
PETSMART IS TURNING OUT TO BE AN ABUSIVE PLACE FOR ANIMALS. PETSMART GROMMING IS A HORRIBLE PLACE TO TAKE YOUR PETS TO HAVE THEIR COAT GROOMED. I AM LOOKING TO MAKE A FORMAL COMPLAINT AND ALSO HAVE THE A TV CREW TO INVESTIGATE WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE THEY HIRE TO LOOK AFTER OUR INNOCENT PETS. MY DOG USED TO LOVE TO BE COMBED AND GROOMED UNTIL IT WENT THROUGH HELL WITH THE GROMER AT PETSMART - IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT PETSMART GROMER YOU TAKE THEM, THEY ARE ALL INEXPERICENED, INPATIENT AND DOWN RIGHT CRUEL AND INHUMANE TO YOUR PETS. WE NEED TO PUT PETSMART’S BANFIELD ANIMAL HOSPITAL AND GROMING OUT OF BUSINESS.
FOLKS ITS THE 21ST CENTURY, WE ARE APPROVING PROPOSITION 2 FOR CRUELFREE FARMING, DON’T YOU THINK IT’S TIME TO HAVE THE SAME WHEN IT COME TO OUR GROMING AND PET CARE FACILITIES?
PLEASE BE PROACTIVE IN WHERE YOU TRUST YOUR ANIMALS TO STAY AND BE SERVICED, YOU MAY FIND MORE HEART RENCING THINGS THAN WHAT YOU MAY THINK?
December 1st, 2008 at 1:22 pm
I just picked up my golden retriever from the Bethesda, MD location and he was covered in urine. He smelled horrible and was totally matted and sticky. He was only there 4 days, and it looked like he was a homeless stray by the time I picked him up. There was no effort on their part to clean him up unless I prepaid for a bath. This is another example of Petshotel not carring for the well being of the pets that stay with them.
Even if I had ordered a bath and groom, he never looks like he had a grooming. I don’t know what they do back there, but they obviously don’t “groom” them.
I will never take any of my pets there again. This is unacceptable neglect.
December 7th, 2008 at 11:03 am
When any company gets too big and greedy tragedies will occur. They hire people who do not have the proper training and/or are just there for the paycheck.
I am saddened to hear the disasters which have taken place; Kelly, you have my heartfelt sympathy. There is no excuse for your Tahoe to have lost his precious life at a daycare.
I hope you took the proper action against this company.
December 18th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
I left my dog (10 months) at the Richmond Hill (Toronto) Store several times for doggie daycare. I think they are fantastic. I never had to wait, they adore my dog. They followed my instructions, everything is on the computer. I phoned several times a day; and they gave me reports. I think they were all very professional. I have no complaints.
January 12th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
I think that certain locations may be better than others, but we have boarded our 6 month boxer/shepherd mix at both the Whittier, CA and Long Beach, CA PetsHotels, and can’t say enough about either place. Both places it seemed like she had a great stay and got individual attention. In Whittier, every attendant that was walking by/around knew her by name and told me what a great dog she is and how they couldn’t wait for me to bring her back. The same happened in Long Beach. In both places, she got a bath and arrived fresh and clean to take home. Don’t generalize- just go to the PetsHotel you are looking at before you leave your dog there to see if you feel comfortable. Also- you aren’t supposed to let your dog have water for 4 hours after he/she comes home because they will drink a lot just from the excitement of being back home etc. For those who were saying it seemed like their dogs weren’t given any water because they were gulping it as soon as they get home, that is why.
April 17th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
I used to work at an Arizona PetsHotel. I would never leave my dog there for any reason. The groomers are very unkind to the dogs behind doors. All the dogs would be afraid when the groomers came to get them from the boarding area. PetsHotel hires teenagers because they are the cheapest, that is all Petsmart cares about. From personal experience, I have seem a lot of deception regarding what is told to the pet parents and what is actually happening with their animals. As far as Banfield Vet, nobody that worked at the Petshotel took their own animals there…
April 21st, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Cedar Park, Tx - PetsMart PetsHotel
I have worked at Petsmart PetsHotel now for awhile and I can say things have changed quite a bit. The hotel has gone from having a large staff to almost running a with a skeleton crew. There are not even enough people to their Day Camps properly. A lot of the employees don’t care enough about the pets, especially during spring break. If you were unlucky enough to have your pet boarded, you should know that they hardly ever got their play time you paid for. Their cages were most likely not cleaned well either. The PetsHotel was so short staffed that morning walks lasted only about 2-3 minutes per dog, and they spent the rest of the day locked up until their evening walks. A lot of time you could walk by a dog, and find them sitting in their own urine, or poop left just sitting in their cages. If you boarded cats I feel even more sorry for you as the cats maybe saw someone for 15-20 minutes through out the entire day. I would never leave my pets at any of the PetsHotel for any reason as their compassion for animals is far and few between, I’d advise you look elsewhere when goign to board your dogs or cats.
May 29th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Tampa, Florida - PetSmart Pets Hotel
Not every PetsHotel is the same. These stories I am reading about all of the terrible things that happened I can’t believe. [not to say that you’re lying..it just doesn’t happen at my store] None of the associates neglect and refuse to care for the pets staying for Day Camp or the boarded guests. I work for the only hotel in florida and have for almost a year now, and trust me, if you came to our Hotel you would change your mind. Everyone who works there cares for the dogs and cats and gets to know them better than even the pet parents do. I can’t count the times where a dog has been checked out and the pet parent see’s their Pawgress report and reads that their baby was chewing on numerous toys, and turns to me and asks “she wont play with toys at home EVER..what does she play with here?” or “you got her to eat? she’s going on a hunger strike at home!”, or “wow his attitude has changed SO much. He is so much more friendly with all the other dogs now!”…or my personal favorite that gets me every time..”I love it..when I get to the light to turn in to the parking lot, my dogs goes crazy! She/He just starts pulling me towards the hotel, even if we’re just in here for a vet visit. She/He loves it here!” I personally get to know every dog and cat that comes to stay with us, no matter how often or long. These pets are more than pets to us. They are our family and we could never, and I mean NEVER let anything happen to them. So, before you write off any PetsHotel, think about all the other hotels out there who are doing more than asked.
June 7th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Highland, Indiana
Not only is most of the staff idiots, but the managers as well. I saw a guy in the reptile department (who also looked like he hadn’t shaved for a year) drop a log on a frog and walk away. This same employee when asked about some information on the reptiles stated I don’t touch those things. I also heard a employee tell a manager he had to leave or he was going to “kill someone up in here”. Yea, like I will ever go back there. The head manager Sharon doesn’t know anything.
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:23 pm
To all of you that claim you worked at PetSmart stores and witnessed abuse, it’s your fault for not saying something. My guess is you were a poor employee and this is your revenge.
July 8th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
As a private pet groomer I know I get more “pet something” disgrutled groom clients than any other shop in my area. Everytime the new clients says a boxstores name our eyes roll. Why? Because, we know for sure this pet has not been trained to groom, more than likely handled ruffly and left in a crate for hours during previous grooms. Not to even mention the eyesore created for the client. Just so you all know, the kids, yes kids working on your pets in grooming are untrained, in correct breed standards, coats shampoos not to even mention handling. Boxstores were sues so many times for neglect that caused death to our pets that they can’t be trusted with heat dry, so everything is cool dry. This is why it takes so long to get your dog back from a groom. They have cause such horrible injury to pets on grooming tables that they have to use break-away grooming leads, which means they just fall off and break a leg instead of hanging to death. At our grooming conferences they try and slam as much money into them to get some of us to work for them. I just laugh because no reputable groomer would be caught dead at thier booth. BTW, in my 4th year of grooming I thought I would go to a boxstore for the insureance and a steady check, that lasted 2 weeks. I couldn’t belive what I saw and I didn’t want to be there when someones little buddy got hurt or worse……If you care about your pet, groom at a real grooming salon, board with a licenced private boad, and if you want your dog trained get a pro who has gone to school for animal behavior and training. This isn’t costco people! Really would you go to school somewhere where you could buy your food and get your hair cut too? Think about it.
July 9th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
I work at the Naperville,IL location and I have done so for about a year. Although for the past 3 months I have been working as a General Service Associate(GSA)up front taking rezervations I still come in before my shift just so I can indivually play with some of the dogs. Althiugh not every hotel is the same, the one I work at has the highest of standard care I could imagine. I personally bring my dogs there and probably wouldn’t consider bringing them to another Hotel just because I don’t know the people working there. We ocassionally have a bump here and there but we strive to make our hotel the safest and happiest for your dog.
July 15th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Took my elderly Lab to the Pets Hotel in Hurst Texas when a business trip came up suddenly and couldnt get him to my vet’s kennel. Big mistake. They claim to be able to take care of old dogs and puppies and give them more playtime and attention, and then said they would give him a bath before I picked him up. I show up to reclaim him, and they brought him out and I didnt recognize him.. his fur was wet and sticking out, and was still dripping off his belly. He was limping and walking very slow. I asked why was he still wet and I was told they couldnt dry him because he wouldnt stand up for them! (Then they told me I couldnt bring him there again because he was too old and too much trouble.) So they put him back in the kennel he stayed like that til I got there. When I got him home, I had to dry him with towels and a hair dryer. Then I saw his lip was bleeding. Then next morning he could only eat a little of his meal, and then later had violent diarrhea. I will take him to my vet tomorrow. I tried calling the store to complain, but the manager wasnt there, just as she wasnt there when I picked him up. Tried going to their website to send them an email, but they dont have a way on their site to record any complaints! $74 for two nights and this ‘bath’ and now probably $200 for vet visit tomorrow. I didnt have time to check out this operation before I took him there, so it’s my fault, but these folks are no better than puppy mill breeders. Be careful. Sorry for venting but I needed to.
August 5th, 2009 at 8:38 am
I work at Petsmart in Il. First off, the company does not provide enough employees to handle the dogs, much less the camps,food, and cleaning. There is never enough cleaning products to make a safe enviroment for the dogs as well as people at times.They hire young kids to work for the summer that do not know how to play correctly in camp and the dogs dominate the camp and cause fights. The supervisors do not feed the dogs or cats correctly, when it say add water or add cheese, they don’t, so the dog won’t eat. The night time crew is too busy cleaning and leaving lights on for the dogs to get a proper rest. Then they sit in the kitchen and sleep for an hour or two.The manager doesn’t pay attention because she’s busy picking on employees, she loves to cause drama, she talks about every employee in the kitchen or front desk where everyone can hear her. But then goes in her office with the door open or in the kitchen and has phone sex with her husband.Both the manager and pet store manager forge documents of employees and customers and have had employees sign papers with someone else’s name on it.They also are suppose to throw out certain items after they are written off, but instead they take them home for themselves.Many people have quit due to them. but everyone seems to be afraid to tell corp. because you can only leave a message and that message gets played back to the manager who knows your voice and then makes your life hell until you do quit.So what’s an employee to do who care, to change things to make it better for the dogs and cats?
August 6th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
I am a hotel manager with petsmart. Each and every associate we have, has a passion for pets and their care. We throughly screen and then train every associate before they are able to play with and care for the pets. Our facility is nearly spotless and our pets are happy!
August 14th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Dear Matt,(pet owner and reviewer of Petsmart/Pethotel,Alexandria/Potomac Yards,VA)
Thank you for your posting, as a resident of Alexandria, Va this posting is of great help in my search for a boarding facility. Although, I am not fond of the corporate run chain stores for the care of pets, I would love to hear from others who have used the facilities at the Alexandria/Potomac Yards location. As well as other local boarders/groomers, such as Dogtopia (seems like a great place) - Off of Duke street, and the other daycare center right down the road, on Richmond Highway (Rt. 1)towards Old Town, from Petsmart/Pethotel Potomac yards.
When posting remarks it is most helpful when the location in question is identified. General sweeping remarks from Employees/Managers/Patrons like the one above from petshotel employee/ hotel manager is of no use, since this person can not possibly know the day-to-day activities of all locations.
Thank you.
August 14th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Does anyone have any information about the Petsmart PetsHotel in Stamford, Connecticut. We are considering boarding our two dogs there for a few days and I wonder if any pet owners out there have used that particular Hotel. We are not from that area and are searching for boarding facilities in Connecticut. Thanks for reply!
August 22nd, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Um, the incident in question was investigated and the kennel cleared of any wrong-doing. Indeed, no one seems to even be able to confirm whether “Matt” is a real customer (as opposed, say, to a competing kennel owner). So why are people still posting?
Robert in Arlington
September 25th, 2009 at 11:05 am
I would be very interested in hearing a follow-up comment from “Associate” from the Tampa PetsHotel. We’ve been leaving our dogs there since they opened in early 2008. We’ve always felt that many (especially the very young) on their staff were a bit inexperienced at dealing with various kinds of dogs. But we had faith in their core employees - management and the older, longer-term employees. And we figured the younger and less experienced employees would improve with time.
We travel a lot, so we’ve boarded our dogs with them quite a bit. We have also taken advantage of the day camp on numerous occasions.
Lately, the Tampa PetsHotel seems to have really gone down hill. Their turnover is high and the staffers are more inexperienced than ever. Recently, they abruptly decided not to take our larger dog in day camp anymore because he exhibits dominant (NOT mean or aggressive) behavior and is protective of our smaller dog. Thus, I guess, they suddenly can’t handle him. This, even though four days prior to this decision, we got a glowing report about how happy our dogs were in playtime, etc. (Oh, and by the way, we got this news through a middle-of-the-daycamp-day telephone call from a person who apparently had only a first name and no title and who offered me no other details.)
In any event, I would be curious whether “Associate” is still employed by the Tampa PetsHotel, and what his or her take is on the situation there.
Thanks
October 2nd, 2009 at 4:15 pm
I worked in the pets hotel for 3 years, I worked at the sugarland pets hotel and the 59 and 610 hotel in houston. I have seen my share of animal cruelty at both petsmarts, but sugarland always took care of it and made sure that the employes were takin care of as well as the dogs, sugarland petsmart is a great place to take your pets…. But the 59 and 610 pets hotel is extremely horrible. I saw many employes hit or make other dogs fight each other on many occasions. When I told the managers to look at the videos they always came backand said well we didnt get a good look or we did not see it. After many dogs had to go to the vet for stiches or even died, and nothing was ever dont to stop it, I contacted the corporate office and told them, nothing was ever done, even after many atempts to tell them whats goin on I threted, that I was goin to tell the owners of the pets and they told me that I would be fired and could even be sued. the next day I quit. NEVER TAKE YOUR PET TO 610 AND 59 PETS HOTEL IN HOUSTON. FOR ANY ? OR IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ASK ME ANYTHING E MAIL ME AT wooldridge_cody@yahoo.com
October 3rd, 2009 at 10:14 am
I use petsmart every tuesday for Doggie day camp. I board him several times a year, the staff do everything to make him comfortable. When I get him back he smells wonderful )I do not use their groomers) and he is happy and no side-effects of any kind. The staff seems to be the same and I have not seen a lessening of employees. My petsmart is in Springfied, Pa. I have recommended Petsmart to many friends and they have had very good experiences also.
October 18th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
I’ve worked in the PetSmart grooming salon in Appleton, and Eau Claire Wisconsin. I love working there and have not yet seen any animal cruelty at the stores I have worked at. I love grooming and I LOVE animals! The only thing that would be kind of scary in the salon is the high valocity dryer we use to dry the animals. But if the dog is to scared I will stop and let them kennel dry. Just because one store had a cruelty incident doesn’t mean that ALL PetSmarts are cruel! If I ever saw any cruel behavior in my store I would report it right away and make sure something is done about it! Grooming dogs can get very stressful at times due to dogs arent like humans getting a haircut, they are figity, wiggly, loud, bite, and sometimes will have accidents on your table, and after a dog doing that I am still able to keep my calm composure! SO DON’T KNOCK ALL PETSMARTS! THEY AREN’T ALL BAD!
October 30th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
OMG….I have plans to take my 3 mini schn. to the doggy day camp in Yorba linda,ca..Now Im not sure. I have taken them there one other time and happen to go be and see them on my lunch breck, and when I got there nobody new where they were. I then panic. needless to say I came alive on the kid that was working the front desk. After a few minutes went by the manager came out and said they were in a room cause they had too many dogs booked. so mine were locked up all day. who knows what goes on behind closed doors.
November 6th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
DENVER, CO. We left out twin calico cats at a Petsmart Hotel in Littleton, Colorado so we could go to Seattle without worrying about our cats being ‘home alone’ for 3 days. We were really thrilled that we could ‘look in’ on the cats via our computer while we were away!
We did ‘due diligance’ in scoping out the pet hotel, then visiting and finally making a reservation a few weeks ahead of time in order to be assured of getting the ‘prime spot’ where the kitty condo would face out to the lobby. We left detailed information regarding their eating schedule; likes and dislikes; as per their ‘intake form’. We brought their own food, food bowls, along with a single sheet of paper with easy to read instructions (Large type). Which one ate dry and which one ate canned food; as they both got contaminated food a number of years ago (melamine); and PLEASE DON’T PLAY WITH THEM. They were traumatized when some friends brought their daughter over and SHE chased them all over the house no matter how many times we asked her to stop.
Not only did they NOT get the reserved kitty condo with a view; but the facility did not have the video connection so we could see how our cats were doing. We left phone numbers and email address’s so if anything were to go wrong we could be reached.
When we got back the cats were so distressed that they didn’t recognise us and hissed and scratched both of us. We left instructions that they were not to be played with; just feed them ~ THAT’S IT!
One of the staff said that we could use the LEATHER ORANGE GLOVE to get them into the cat carriers. She said she had to use it when she tried to play with them. This made sense as the cats were so upset; but when they saw her they really were afraid. She apparently used the glove to try to play with them. ????
I asked if they read the instructions we left and we got a blank look and she said ‘what instructions?’ They apologized, probably due to the blood dripping from my hand from the deep scratch I sustained getting the cats into their carriers. The corporate office NEVER responded to email or phone messages.
Just 3 days at Petsmart Pet Hotel took several weeks for them to get over. The previously loving pets now hissed at EACH OTHER and us.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANY PETSMART PET HOTEL!
November 11th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Here is the truth about PetsHotels…when the economy collapsed, staffing at the hotels was minimized to the point of there not being enough staff to properly care for the pets. Everyone involved knows this is true, but the bottom line is more important than the care of your pet. There is no time for playing AND cleaning, so something falls by the wayside. Staff is no longer properly trained (not enough time is given for training), and the managers who once were over seeing the staff and the care of your pets are now making reservations and cleaning up waste. No one is watching out for the welfare of the pets and complaints to upper management are never addressed. You are made to feel there is something wrong with you if the work cannot get done. My advice….don’t use petsmart until the economy reverses and you SEE for yoursefl that staff levels are rising and the committment to you and your pets health and safety are a priority.