Pet Lodge and Day Spa — Attraction in River Vale

This review is seriously overdue! TLDR; Jac and the team at the Pet Lodge are truly phenomenal and like no other!!

This summer I had my first baby. I reached out to another kennel months prior to ask if they could hold a spot for our pup when I went into labor. They assured me they would--even after numerous confirmations, and then the weekend of my induction they accepted some last minute reservations and told me they couldn't help. Needless to say, I was panicked. I was set to be induced on Sunday, and Friday evening I was realizing that I may have no place for my dog to stay. At the time, the hospital wasn't allowing support people to leave and come back, and we had nobody who could check on her. I emailed Jac at the Pet Lodge after-hours on a Friday night to explain my situation (not expecting a response but hoping that maybe my message would be seen), and they responded immediately and said they could take our pup at any time and for however long we needed. I was a complete stranger to The Pet Lodge, but I was treated like family.

Throughout our hospital stay we saw lovely photos and felt so at ease knowing she was well taken care of. On top of that all, we have an English Bulldog, and usually we have to nurse her back to health after boarding her (we've sort of accepted that nobody will be as diligent with her fold cleanings as us and that sometimes she may over-exert). But that wasn't the case with the Pet Lodge. Our pup came back in better condition than we dropped her off! Jac and the team REALLY know bulldogs.

While our path to the pet lodge wasn't linear--we're so glad we found our way here and cannot recommend them enough. They are true professionals and true...

This place felt misleading as I was under the impression it was more of a farm style to lodge your dog as I'm not a fan of boarding them traditionally. As soon as I arrived, my dog was taken somewhere. Meanwhile, they handed me a sheet of paper asking me to sign it when it just had her name and how much she ate on it. Then they tried to send me on my way. I had to ask to be shown around as to where they kept the dogs during the day and at night. In the two minutes I was "shown" the property, my dog was nowhere in sight. Upon departure, I had let them know a generic time of when I'd be back to pick her up. Ie Monday morning. Upon arriving at almost 11am to pick her up, my dog was still locked in the kennel. Not only did she smell of urine but her whole butt was raw from god knows what. I didn't see the owners once even though this is really just their house with an addition and a caged in backyard next to a cemetery. You can only pay with check or cash and things seemed quite transactional. I personally don't recommend and am quite shocked by the glowing reviews. My dog was very...

I wouldn’t bring my dog back here. She was boarded for 9 days while we were on vacation and came home with a double yeast infection in both ears, diarrhea that lasted a week, and an intestinal parasite.

I don’t blame the lodge for her getting sick as that can happen anywhere, anytime, for many reasons. What I do blame them for is not communicating it. Her ears were red, swollen, and clearly infected, and her stomach issues were ongoing. These symptoms didn’t just appear the moment I picked her up. I should have been contacted right away. Who knows how long she was suffering for. Any dog owner expects their pet’s health and well-being to be taken seriously, especially while in someone else’s care. For a business whose purpose is to care for animals while their owners are away, failing to do so is unacceptable.

Lastly, we did not receive any updates while we were gone. For me, the lack of communication was the biggest issue. If you want to feel confident that your pet will be cared for and that you’ll be kept in the loop, this isn’t the...