The Bark Park — Local services in Stuart

I brought my baby (a 3 year old black lab mix) to the Bark Park thinking I was doing the best for him, but boy was I wrong! Two weeks ago we brought him on Saturday to Saturday due to going on a week long cruise. I researched this facility and saw there were multiple great reviews. This was the first time I boarded him more than 3 days and I felt comfortable leaving him there. I liked that the dogs were not caged and could be together so he didn’t feel alone. Still, after I left him that Saturday, I viewed the camera pretty steady for the 2 hour ride to Miami. He was outside most of it. It was extremely hot and I saw the dogs panting and hovering around the young man outside with them. Kodi was not running around, he was walking around, getting used to the other dogs but he was panting a lot, like the other dogs. The pool was not out. It was up against the back fence. There was no sprinkler, like they show in their videos. Just a lot of panting dogs wandering around. I did not see a water bowl on the camera in the large outdoor area, it may have been off camera, but I did not see the young man go check to see if the water bowl was empty. He spent a lot of time talking to the person in the side yard. Soon after I boarded the ship (about 3 hours after he was dropped off) I received a phone-call from the Bark Park. Kodi was peeing blood. They asked me if I wanted them to bring him to his vet and I said yes. This has never happened to him before. The vet said it was not caused by a UTI and was more serious. She suggested the ER hospital for dogs. It was Saturday and they were closing. The owners of the Bark Park took him to their local dog emergency hospital. I was frantic! I thought he was going to die! They took him and the vet not knowing that he was out in the heat, the vet did all kinds of labs, xrays, ultrasound, etc trying to find out what caused the blood in urine. Over $1700.00 later he said it may be caused due to muscle breakdown. Kodi was not running around all the time I was watching him and he was not limping or favoring a leg and did not appear injured at all. The vet was not told the dog was outside in the heat for an extended period of time. I have the hospital notes and it specifically said: “There is no history of roughhousing, heat exertion, being too active, or trauma, no other health concerns reported.” He was treated overnight with IV fluids for Acute Hematuria (blood in the urine) I felt helpless! I was on a ship and had no one that could pick him up. I asked another vet who also worked at the pet er hospital, if the blood in the urine could have been caused by heat exhaustion and he said yes. He said what Kodi needed was IV fluids. I was sent a picture from the Bark Park and he was in a kennel. He looked worn from his experience. There were no cameras in the kennels, so I was not able to check on him. This was his first and last experience with the Bark Park!!! They should have been more mindful of a new dog and his first experience with them. Making sure he was getting enough water. They did not take care of my baby and I was so disgusted when the owner said she felt she went above and beyond for Kodi by taking him to the vet and the animal hospital. (Trip Charges were applied). If Kodi was not left outside in this heat for so long, this may not have happened in the first place! He must have been so scared with this happening to him!!! My baby’s first night away from us was spent at the pet emergency hospital on IV Fluids and a catheter!!! I do not recommend The Bark Park...

This is very unfortunate and not a review I have ever wanted to make.

I was boarding my two dogs, Ginger and Pepper, on average of 5-10 days a month due to my travel with work. Thats between $500-$1,000 per month I was paying to the Bark Park. Everytime either my wife or I would drop off Ginger and Pepper, the staff would say how much they loved them and what good dogs they were. Thats awesome, right? We thought so. That was until the last time I made reservations for them at the Bark Park. I was speaking with one of the staff members saying that I will be requiring a 7 day board for the dogs this trip, which is more than our average 3-4 days, and they told me that my dogs would need to have a trainer brought in because of bad behavior. I informed her that this was all new to me as we heard nothing but praises for the months beforehand. After a whole bunch of back and forth talk, she stated that she would allow Ginger and Pepper to be boarded for the 7 days, but would be re-evaluated. That should have been my first clue to find somewhere else for my dogs.

Fast forward now to that 7 day boarding I reserved. I was backing up a business trip with a family vacation and leaving on the first flight out town the next morning. I drop off Ginger and Pepper and everything was great. The lady at the desk was happy to see the dogs and went through feeding instructions. I left and ran some errands, packed, etc., only to see my dogs getting neglected when I logged into their cameras before going to bed. What I saw upset me. I will be posting the screen grabs to the photos. I cant figure out how to attach them to this review. Anyway, I first see the dogs in the big and little dogs rooms are all nestled and sleeping in their individual beds. Then I see my two dogs. They were huddled beside each other, in a room by themselves, no blankets, beds, or anything else. Just a cold concrete floor and a puddle of pee beside them. At that time, I ended up having to find a new place to take my dogs along with going and picking them up. When I got to the Bark Park that evening, I was told that before I could pick up Ginger and Pepper, I would need to speak to the owner. I voiced my concerns and was given the excuse that she hasn't been able to be at the business enough lately due to personal issues, that there was only 1 person at the Bark Park at that time of evening, etc. We ended the conversation by saying that she would be looking into my concerns further and would be contact me. That was a couple weeks ago and I havent recieved a phone call.

All in all, Ginger and Pepper will be finding a new place to play with their friends and will never be going back to the...

FANTASTIC experience! What a great place! We needed to put Sky (Siberian husky) at a kennel while visiting friends in Jensen Beach and the Bark Park looked awesome online and they had availability for him so we booked it. We were not disappointed! From beginning to end, the Bark Park went above and beyond to make Sky comfortable. It turns out he had a UTI (unknowingly to us) and they spotted it early that following morning (blood in urine, pee’d often) so with our consent they took him to All Creatures Animal Hospital where he had an exam, tests and got some meds which they gave him the rest of his stay there. We were so grateful that we didn’t have to leave our vacation and they truly treated him as though he were any of their own pets. And they were in contact with me daily; I’ve never experienced such personal care, it was wonderful and i had no need to worry at all. The vet at All Creatures went over everything in detail with me as well, she deserves a fabulous Google review too! I would not hesitate to recommend The Bark Park to everyone, I so appreciate the caring staff, clean environment and level of personal kindness they showed. Thank you Bark Park, hope to...