Country Kennels and Dawg Waterpark — Attraction in Murrieta

We felt as comfortable as we could about boarding our dogs here for a weekend based on the reviews and our tour of the facility. When I dropped them off on Friday morning, the man at the desk asked if I would like to have them bathed on the pickup day. He said that since we were going to pick them up later in the day it would save us some money, because by paying for the bath we would avoid paying for an extra day. I agreed, thinking that was a good idea to have them bathed before we picked them up. On Monday when we came to get them, they looked different. We thought it was just that they had lost weight being upset from being left in the kennel, but later realized that their eyebrows looked different and had been cut oddly. Our boy had one eyebrow shaved almost completely off and the girl's had been layered oddly. We had just had them groomed the day before dropping them off by their regular groomer, so grooming was definitely not necessary.

When I called to inquire about what happened I was informed that they do perform breed specific grooming with the bath, and specifically mentioned paws and face. The groomers weren't in that day so someone was supposed to contact me. I ended up having to call back later in the week and ask to speak with someone about it again. I finally talked to someone who after sending pictures (day before being dropped off and after), they informed me that it was caused by the dryer and if I wet and comb them that it would fix it. That didn't work because we had already bathed them and it didn't look any different because there wasn't enough of his eyebrow left to comb. They offered to see what they could do about fixing them if I brought the dogs back in. After thinking about it I decided I didn't want to go through this myself or put my dogs through it. I declined their offer and request money back to recover the cost of the grooming we had paid for just prior to dropping them off. They responded by insisting again that nobody trimmed the dogs and that they had even reviewed their video footage. They offered a lower amount than what I requested which I finally accepted because I just wanted to be finished dealing with them.

Since this happened, the only person that we know that has used Country Kennels in the past, mentioned that their previous dog (same breed) appeared drugged after a stay at the kennel. I would recommend using extreme caution if you choose to board your pets here as the owner and staff will lie...

Very clean and the dogs in the water park seemed to be having a blast. Hit or miss with the staff; one of the young females that greeted us was not very welcoming or friendly, but the young woman who was there when we picked up the dogs was very friendly and provided us with personal information about our dogs' stay. We don't have the easiest dogs...one young, one old; neither boarded before and both very nervous and unsettled. We learned the younger of the two was very anxious and protective of the older dog, so the staff was unable to get to close or exercise the dogs, but regardless, the staff ensured that our dogs were fed and had the comforts of home in their enclosure. The only reason for the 4 vs 5 stars is that we provided the gentleman who checked us in with clear instructions on administering my older dog's medication, but 48 hours after leaving our dogs there, I received a call asking is there was a trick to giving her the medication. I informed her that we left lunch meat, but she claimed there were no notes or instructions about that. She was able to find the lunch meat that we left, but also asked me what the medication was for. When I informed her it was for a skin condition, she confirmed that it wasn't for something life threatening, like seizures. Of course, that made me question whether or not she had received her medication during her first 48 hours there. When we picked up our dogs, there was no leftover medication, but my dogs skin condition appeared that she had not taken her medication as prescribed. I could understand if my younger dog's behavior may have prohibited giving my older dog her medication, but that information was not disclosed to us and the medication was not returned to us. I'd definitely use them again, I would just check-in daily to ensure medication was being...

I’ve placed my pups, all 5 Golden Retrievers, in the supportive care of Country Kennels for nearly twenty years. Over the course of that time, “da boyz” have consistently received the highest commitment to care in support of boarding and great looking grooming provided on a professional level. Da Boyz actually would run into their welcoming hands and hearts, each looking forward to the TLC they all quickly learned to have and hold making our experience confident and reassuring. I also want to commend them on my support while on deployment of several fires that periodically required my extended time away, beyond my control, wherein they stepped-up to offer peace of mind and continued support. Consequently, I couldn’t have been more grateful and have become very close to the staff and the Bruesch family who own and operate this fine facility. I refer to them as my extended family and enjoy living and loving our shared commitment to all the dogs that pass through our lives. Today, I have but one retriever, an English Cream (my first) named Buster and just like all his predecessors has been welcomed, cared for and loved by County Kennels. He loves the Dawg Pool Park which we visit frequently and romps and runs and plays with all the pups that visit. This facility is as close to creating the perfect dog heaven anyone could imagine and it’s no wonder so many dog rescue groups bring their displaced animals here in search of potential adoptions and frequently leave with their forever...