Pet Paradise Ocala — Local services in Ocala

When this boarding business opened, we gave it a try because it was so close to home. There were some obvious issues, but thought they get smoothed out with time. The place looks good and staff seems to be friendly, but that’s a little deceiving. As time has gone on, the yards have gotten very over crowded. There are 3 to 4 times the number of dogs that should be in the common areas. This is a franchise business and run like it’s a cash cow for their owners. First time we boarded our dog, I got a call that my dog aggressively went after another dog and she wouldn’t be able to stay there again. I told them my dog only gets aggressive if another dog is aggressive first, such as biting her face. The staff refused to share the video saying it was against company policy. After contacting their higher company, the local manager called me and changed their tune to say our dog was just correcting another dog and all was good. A month or two later, we took her back for a few hours of playtime. No issues on this visit. Took her a second time and didn’t go so well. Should note she was in the area for large breeds who are supposed to be well socialized and behaved. They advertise there are two staff per yard and at least one is present at all times. Half hour after dropping off my dog, decided to check the video feed. There was no one in the yard with the dogs. Another dog was trying to mount my dog. Went on for quite a while. I tried calling their front desk twice to bring it to their attention, but they didn’t answer. I went immediately to pick up my dog. Manager essentially said I was not telling g their truth about what happened. I was trying to explain they need to prevent that aggressive behavior for the safety of other dogs. While I was going back and forth with her, the same dog tried to mount another dog in the yard next to a staff member. Obviously a poorly socialized dog with behavior issues that shouldn’t be in with such a large group of dogs, which was about 30 in one enclosure. I could go on and on about issues with this business, but surely can’t...

Hi, my name is Deborah. I have been at Pet Paradise 7 days a week for the last 5 months. My dog Cricket plays in Doggie Day Camp. I drop him off and pick him up everyday so I am in this facility. I am deeply aware and watchful as I made my living grading safety and service. I also have had dogs my entire life. I have had cats and a horse as well. I was the Spokesperson for The Texas and Hearing Dog school in Austin, TX. I have rescued, nurtured and paid for the medical care of 89 dogs. I trained a service dog. Animals are my passion.

The insults I have read about this facility being a place of unhealthiness or having low standards is far from the truth. My heart does go out to any dog that had an incidence of sickness but to blame the facility with intention or lack of protection is not fair. A dog can enter with an invisible or unseen manifestation of sickness. Most of the time, getting sick is called on onset. There is a progression from well to sick and most of the time it seems to take days. Even a Veterinarian can miss the evidence of a pet getting sick and send it home only to have it get sicker in the following days. I have had my own experience of not noticing one of my pets was getting sick.

The point is, if you are to blame, then blame with truth. Also judge with truth. Absolutely no employee at Pet Paradise, would knowingly let a sick animal in the door. Their own pets are brought to work and playing in the yards alongside ours. The workers love love love the dogs. They know them by name. They even hug and kiss the dogs. Each worker exudes devotion and kindness. It is a highly motivated work group.

This is a 5 star facility. The common remarks on a daily basis are words of gratitude. It is a place of joy and immaculate in cleanliness. Read about the levels of safety established and adhered to on a daily basis. The standards are being upheld. You can take a tour of the facility. It is beautiful place with state of the art security and safety equipment.

Best wishes to...

The only good thing I can say, is at least my babies didn't contract kennel cough like the other reviews had said. Aside from that, BELIEVE ALL THE BAD REVIEWS!

While they have webcams, they're only in a select handful of "convenient" places. If your fur baby is not outdoors or in the ONE indoor area, you're not going to see them the entire visit which was unbeknownst to me. There was no view into their kennel to see how often they had been out (my one male required being out individually or with his brother due to still being intact), they say they were but was never in a place where the cameras could see and the one time my fixed male was out, he was pacing and visibly stressed looking for his brother. This was at the point I called and clarified where my other dog was, and magically my fixed male was not seen on video again. In this day and age, there is ZERO reason they can not be at least scanning the pups/animals every time they take them somewhere. Especially since they make them wear those hazards of plastic wristband 'collars'.

Out of a 4 day stay I received ONE update that occurred only hours after they were dropped off and not once notified again. Upon pick up, I paid for ultimate baths for both dogs. Confirmed the day before what time we would be there for pick up. Day of we come in and only one of my two had even started being washed. At this point I just wanted my babies and to go home and unless I waited another hour (which wasn't even an option given) I went home with a very VERY wet shepherd and another that was filthy from just being inside the facility. To rectify this situation the manager replied "yeah, we're having communication issues. We're having a meeting about it" and I still ended up having to pay the full price for a bath that had absolutely not been worth $45.

Even leaving both my dogs who are genuinely well behaved, were jumping on doors and pulling to leave. Will absolutely not be going back!

BELIEVE THE REVIEWS AND...