The Dog House of L. C. & L — Local services in Niles Township

I am a small business owner. Because of that, I ALWAYS give businesses grace and do not turn to a poor review haphazardly as I understand there are two sides to every story. With that said, here is my story and it's based only on facts. I just returned to town from a very short trip to Mexico, sent by my company to award people time to rejuvenate after working hard to meet a goal. I had made a boarding reservation for my dog a couple weeks back. I called on Saturday at 11:52am to confirm drop off hours. The gal said the Saturday window closed at Noon. I said did not realize this and was not home at the time and grew panicked. I asked if later in the day was possible? Or perhaps even Sunday AM? The gal put me on hold and encouraged me not to worry and that someone would be there on Sunday at 7:00am. My flight was at 9:30am so I thought: great. This will be okay. I arrived at 7:00am to find a completely desolate space. I hung around for a bit wondering/hoping if someone was just running late? And then it became abundantly apparent that Louie wouldn't be welcome until the 9:00am dropoff as posted on their website. Okay, I messed up and I'm still not blaming anyone but myself at this time, and I considered the gal I spoke with last night was misinformed and that's okay. I found a gracious neighbor to take him there and ran my key to her mailbox before my Uber arrived.

Now moving on... On Sunday, I receive a call that Louie was in an "incident". Mind you, I am in Mexico and my reception is spotty at best so this communication takes a solid amount of time for me to subsequently understand that he is mostly okay. Louie is a very sweet and friendly dog who has grown up being a part of boarding and daycare as some folks rely on trusted providers to fill their gaps. I asked for a picture. I find it unclear if he is truly hurt or they were just documenting "an incident"? My parents who live in Niles were kind enough to go by to take a quick look and they confirmed he seemed happy and okay. I feel better, at least in the moment, as dogs are animals at the end of the day and I consider myself a mostly reasonable person until Monday rolls around and I receive another text I will share here.

By this point, my patience runs thin. YOU HIRE SOMEONE TO CARE FOR YOUR DOG AND YOU EXPECT CARE. It's very simple. Louie was again injured and this time more significantly. Also, I was told both times it was "not his fault!". I have little tolerance by now. One time? Perhaps I understand. Two times? That's an organizational issue and my opinion was confirmed when I picked him up tonight and asked: How big was the dog that attacked Louie the second time? The gal said 70 something pounds. My dog is 32 pounds. Why are you not better regulating your guests? Do you just throw them into a giant room and hope for the best? Certainly this is not the first time this has happened but people are not as vocal as me. I could keep going on and on but if you're a dog owner and expect your baby to be safe, I think you understand.

I will never ever again return to this establishment. The anxiety informed my vacation. The teenagers that were texting me about him were doing their best to communicate so I do not blame them. They are probably hourly workers and realized I was sincerely and genuinely worried so wanted to keep me informed which I appreciated. The only thing I will add is they did not charge me for the stay but truly: I'd pay double for my dog to be happy and healthy. It's not about the money - it's about trust and care.

I experienced neither and worse, I have a sweet dog with an outright injury that I will closely monitor now that I'm back home. I am very upset and you would be,...

I have been going since 2011-12 and they were good. I always got express which is $25 extra for the comfort of my dog and me, so neither is stressed. Money lately has been tight. Most recently I went in there and the groomer (who is a holdover from Canine Corral which supposedly was sold to new owners and renamed The Dog House) asked me if I was aware that my dog would take 3-4 hours without paying the extra $25 for expedited service. I asked her how long it would take if I did pay the extra money and she said about 2 hours. I don't have a lot of money like I did before so I just figured my dog would be okay for an extra 60-90 minutes. They called me to say he was ready 1 hour and 15 minutes later. I went in and paid $49 for grooming. I said to the guy at the counter "That was quick!" and he refused to respond. He was mute. Then the groomer came out front with my dog and I said to her "That was quick!" and again I was met with silence. Then she said "He went in the tub right away." So the groomer Jeannie was trying to hustle me another $25 when my dog would have been out of there in 1 hour 15 minutes regardless. I have been going here for 4 - 5 years due to proximity to home. But after they tried to hustle me another $25 (50% increase) and again my dog looks ridiculous, despite me telling her to leave his face long, I had to post this review. I know I can't go back there after this review, but I don't want to. I am so sick of this place now. I would have gone elsewhere but they insist on proof of yearly vaccine elsewhere and I try not to overvaccinate my dogs for the dangers talked about online so I stayed here at The Dog House of L. C. & L. f/k/a Canine Corral (supposedly different owner but the same groomer Jeannie). I'll just go somewhere else, like another dog groomer, even closer, at Nagle and NW Hwy. How low, trying to hustle me for another $25 when I paid $49 and she had him done in 75 minutes. I tip her between $5 and $10 time and time again and have paid $70 per dog (I have 3 dogs) since 2011. This is their lack of loyalty to customers, so what goes around comes around. REVISION: Maybe they cut dogs short because I don't groom as frequently due to costs and don't comb daily due to the obvious. My only frustration then is the attempt to hustle me for $25. One time before, though, right around new owner transition, Jeannie did go out of her way to prevent me from paying express ($25 extra) when she knew there was no wait. So, it's possible the new owners are the ones insisting she try to convince me to pay extra to get my dog back faster. (This is revision because, in all fairness, I can't complain about close cut if my dog's hair is matted.) But, they need to remember people aren't made of money and it's not right to hustle people by playing off their love for their dogs. But vets do it too. Even the good ones. Stop it, all of you. What goes around comes around and you'll lose every dollar you hustle at the worst time. GOD is always watching. That's advice/warning coming...

I just had a horrible experience on the phone with Lauren the owner of the dog house LLC on Milwaukee avenue accusing me of being a racist. I would not go back there ever again and I would not recommend for anyone to go there.

I was there yesterday getting the dogs nails trimmed and the receptionist came out twice pressuring me for my PIN number on my debt card instead of running it through as credit like I told her twice after finally giving her a credit card because you don’t ever give your pin out!!!!

The girls lied saying to the owner saying they called asking for it when they never did. She was rude and rolled her eyes several times when I explained I’m not giving my pin out.

The owner Lauren who I wrote an email to asking her to call me because I told her on the phone today it is poor business practice had the nerve to say it’s because the girl was African American. Not once did I bring up her race because it doesn’t matter it’s poor business practices!!!! For her to sit on the phone and accuse a customer of that and be defensive and rude is ridiculous.

DO NOT go here unless you want to be called a racist and discriminated against for no reason and judged on your race and skin color!!! Lauren the owner doesn’t even know what nationality I am or her staff...