Dogtopia of Alexandria — Attraction in Alexandria

We recently moved to Alexandria, and wanted to find a new kennel in case we needed to board our 3 year old golden retriever. We found Dogtopia, and after browsing their website we saw that a meet and greet was needed before she was admitted. We wanted to knock this out, so we scheduled it 7/28/22. I took her there and received a tour of the facility, and despite the smell of urine (lots of dogs, only so much you can do), was satisfied that she would be in good hands - especially when I learned that the rooms were separated by size/personality, and there was a “Lounge” room for calmer dogs.

I was then informed that she would need to stay for 3 days of daycare before being accepted for boarding, in order for her to adjust and understand that we were coming back for her. I was also told several things about making sure she doesn’t drink a ton of water immediately upon coming home, as it could distend her stomach, and that “we promise they’re drinking water, sometimes dogs just act like this when they come home” (paraphrased). These statements/requirements left a good impression for me, as it seemed as though the safety of the dogs was a top priority.

I wanted to knock out the 3 days of daycare to get them out of the way so that she would be eligible for boarding if anything popped up, so I scheduled them over the next few days - 7/29/22, 7/31/22, and 8/1/22. She went in with a wagging tail, and when we picked her up each time, she was absolutely covered in spit. After my wife spoke with someone at the front desk, she was informed that it was her own drool. This has never happened before, so after some quick googling it seemed to be a sign of anxiety.

I felt bad for her, and decided that we would look into other kennels. Unfortunately, a few weeks later some sudden work travel popped up, and both my wife and I were out of town. Friends couldn’t watch her, and other kennels were either booked or had meet/greet requirements. Our only option was Dogtopia.

Our dog was dropped off the evening of 8/14/22, and picked up on 8/16/22. When dropping her off, my wife asked them to text her if anything was amiss, highlighting that she often gets stressed. They assured her she would, and the next morning (8/15/22) she received a text: “Good morning! [Dog] has been enjoying her time this morning Snuggled up in a corner catching up on some Zzz’s”. This was the only communication we received from them, and led us to believe she was in good hands.

When my wife went to pick her up the next evening (8/16/22), she was informed by the person at the front desk that “She did not eat this evening.” My wife asked if she ate that morning, and she flipped through a log book, and informed her that she did not - and then said “Actually, she didn’t eat the entire time she was here.” This was incredibly upsetting to say the least - and not typical of our dog - and my wife asked to speak to a manager. The manager apologized, and stated that they have processes in place to make sure that this doesn’t happen, and hinted blame at someone who had recently started. They gave us a full refund. My wife later received a call after bringing her home stating “Not that it makes a difference, but she did actually eat the Monday morning” (8/15/22).

My questions: Why was the pattern of not eating not noticed, if it was written down in a log book? What processes failed? Why were neither of us informed about this, especially as we asked to be notified of any issues? Did she even drink any water the entire time she was there? How...

Do not board your dogs here. We took our two labs to Dogtopia for the 4th of July weekend. I brought them in for their meet and greet a few days before boarding, where I had a weird encounter with one of the staff members. I was interacting with one staff member for at least 30-40 minutes when they brought our dogs into the rooms to do their meet and greet. They both passed and I was brought to the front desk to pay for the visit and to schedule boarding. During the transaction, a different staff member was having me pay – right in the middle of me paying and scheduling, she had to “excuse herself for a minute” and she displayed odd body language and tone of voice. I asked the guy I was dealing with previously, “is everything ok” – thinking there was something off about boarding or our dogs… he followed her into a hall where I overheard her scolding him and saying something along the lines of “well you are going to have to tell them, not me”. I couldn’t help but think she might have been talking about me or my dogs, as I was the only person interacting with this guy she was scolding for the last 30-40 minutes, and she felt the need to excuse herself mid-transaction. I brushed it off but left Dogtopia with a weird feeling. Boarding day comes, I check them in and they are good to go.

While they were there, I was never told that the cameras are shut off random times of the day. I was informed via text that they were “off until 8am and between 12pm-5pm”. This was never right, they were on and off at weird times throughout the day. When they were on, I saw them constantly mopping up urine and picking up feces. I even caught a moment where MY dog was drinking out of the MOP BUCKET, with the “coach” just standing there not doing a thing! A few minutes later, I see her filling up the bowls of water and ALL the dogs came rushing to it as if they had not had water all day – including my pup, no wonder she was drinking out of the mop bucket??

I arrive to pick them up, feeling terrible that they were there to begin with, just having bad feelings the whole time. I arrived and just had to ask the gentlemen in the front, “do they ever get let out to go to the bathroom? Like outside? I watched the dogs pee and poop in the room the whole time”, he replied “yes we have astro-turf. Did you notice the cameras were off some parts of the day? Well yeah that’s where there were”. First off – rude. Secondly, he added “if they have to go they have to go”. I’m not sure about other dogs but I know that if my dogs are let out an appropriate amount of times, they do NOT go to the bathroom INSIDE.

Fast forward a few days and my older dog has to be brought to the vet for an eye infection. Fast forward 8 days, to today, and we wake up and my younger dog is non-stop gagging/coughing. We bring her to the vet to find out she has BORDETLLA/KENNEL COUGH. The incubation period for this is 7-10 DAYS – perfect timing from boarding. Also, she is vaccinated. Since we’ve been home, we have not gone anywhere, not interacted with any other dogs and have stayed home in our backyard. My vet asked me to call Dogtopia to let them know that she likely contracted this at boarding and that they should expect more calls to come in from other dog moms/dads. Well, the manager was just rude (similar to the front desk employee I interacted with the first day) and got defensive and kept saying she probably didn’t get it there. We were just calling to inform you not to blame you but thanks for being rude! Anyway, we...

DO NOT TAKE YOUR DOG HERE!!! HUGE SAFETY RISK! On the last day of our boarding we were told at pickup our dog had “viciously attacked” other dogs 6 times during her stay. We were so shocked by this as she has never done so and we’ve had her boarded there multiple times with no incidents. Our first ask then of course was what happened, “she’s been here before with no issues.” The manager, Marla, told us THEY HAD NO RECORD OF OUR DOG IN THE SYSTEM.” At this point we knew something was off. She was just there for boarding in June - 3 months ago- and has approximately 10 boards in the past two years. Indeed, the last board Marla took our dog on check in and helped me sign her up for events that were occurring during the board but proceeded to tell us today she had never met our dog before. We then asked to see the video and were told we couldn’t “it belongs to corporate.” We then asked why we weren’t notified during her 5 day stay of these “attacks” and were told “we just didn’t.” I then asked what precautions were taken as I knew our dog remained in the playrooms so we knew at that point either A. They mixed up our dog with another or B. Allowed her to remain the playrooms after 6 attacks (we have video evidence from the webcams). At that point, the manager Marla became verbally and physically aggressive. She screamed at us to leave the store, picked up our dogs bed and shoved it in my chest. She then opened the door and attempted to throw our stuff out. We then left without any answers and only instruction that we could call corporate. I used the corporate contact form but haven’t heard back. I’m almost positive our dog was mixed up with another dog which is a HUGE safety concern. And if not, then our dog was allowed to remain for 5 days in the playrooms after “viciously and aggressively attacking” 6 dogs. I was really hoping to settle the hopeful “mix up” but then after learning they would let a dog who attacked 6 times remain in the playroom it makes me too concerned for my dog’s safety. This event and particularly how Marla the manager handled the situation was so unfortunate, rude, and they truly jeopardized every dog’s safety that was there those 5 days as some dog apparently did attack at least 6 other dogs. As said above we’ve had our dog here multiple times but now knowing of the safety issues, how they handle incidents, and knowing their system keeps no records of the dogs that are there (a convenient way to get around liability) we will no longer have our dog there and wanted to pass the message along to other dog owners who love and care for their pup as much...