Pet Paradise Wilmington — Local services in Wilmington

This review is specific to their cat boarding and is not so much of knock against Pet Paradise in general as it is a notice to cat owners to consider your cat’s temperament beforehand: this is establishment will not serve all cats’ temperaments equally well. If you have a super lazy, chill cat, I’m sure it will be fine. There was a chunky, good-natured boy out in the common area when we came to pick up our cat, and he seemed to be quite happy.

Our cat, however, is an extremely energetic, playful cat that is constantly on the move. She is going on two years old and is still the most active cat I’ve ever seen. If you go long enough without playing with her, she’ll let you know by bringing you toys and meowing at you, rolling around around on the floor, and generally acting insane. We’ve also noticed that she doesn’t do well alone overnight, but does ok in new places (or so we thought, in retrospect: only when we are there, too) so when we went on a short trip we thought boarding might be a good option, since at least there would be other cats nearby. Since she is playful and likes other cats, we could easily imagine her watching the other cats in the common area with fascination, and exploring her new area and playing when it was her turn in the open space.

Unfortunately, our girl was extremely stressed by her stay. She did not eat the whole time. She trembled when we came to pick her up (we found her cowering beside her cat pan on the bottom level of her cat condo) and for most the car ride home. She acted extremely unusual and frightened from the time we came to pick her up until well after we got her home. At one point I walked up behind her and she jumped up, spun around into a crouched/defensive fighting posture, and hissed at me — a behavior she had never exhibited before. After a few hours she was getting back to herself, and now (the next day) she’s pretty much back to normal.

The cat was looked after for the weekend, but that’s about it. I’m sure the staff tried to play with her and show her a good time, but she probably wasn’t having any of it. The environment was apparently very stressful for her particular temperament, which, in addition to the aforementioned playfulness and energy, is very sweet and docile, but also quite alarmed by strangers (initially, but she will soon start trying to make a new friend — there is no person or animal that is not a potential playmate). After the fact, we couldn’t help but feel like she would have been better off at home, alone, with someone coming by to refresh her food and litter and spend some time trying to play with her. This is probably the route we’ll take in the future.

I’m not sure pet paradise did anything wrong, but if you’re reading this, just know that boarding might be an extremely stressful experience for some cats. If your cat’s temperament seems similar to ours, you might want to look at other options. I will say that Pet Paradise’s website seems to overpromise on “plenty” of cat trees (saw exactly one), scratch posts, toys (didn’t see a single toy), “plenty of space to explore.” I’m sure this establishment would be totally fine for the more gregarious (instant best friends with everyone) and lazy...

Do not board here. Do not trust these people to care for your pets!

I had been bringing my dog to Pet Paradise since she was a young puppy and have never had any issues until recently.

Memorial Day weekend I boarded my dog and upon picking her up, she had consistent vomiting and diarrhea for multiple days and threw up an unidentified object. I took her to the vet (resulting in a $300 vet bill) where they determined she must have eaten something bad at boarding. They prescribed her medicine to take for 7 days.

Since I have never had any issues with Pet Paradise, I decided it was a fluke and I would move on. I brought my dog back for boarding the next week from June 6 -10. When I dropped her off for boarding I let the front desk staff know that Waffle ate something the last time she was there and needed to be closely watched and monitored during this stay. I also let them know that she had medicine that she had to take each day. It was 8 tablets cut in half and she needed a half twice a day. The front staff listened to my concerns and ensured me they would watch her and also do the medicine.

I got two report cards that week and they both said Waffle was great with no mention of issues. However the evening I picked Waffle up, at 4:30am she vomited. Much to my shock, dismay and surprise, she vomited a pink wristband that I know goes around the dog's necks at Pet Paradise. Now mind you, I have never seen Waffle in a pink wristband so I assume these were from other dogs. There was also some wrapper of some sort. I have attached pictures for your reference. How does this happen for a SECOND time after I just told them that she needed to be watched and monitored?? And how was she unsupervised long enough to eat an entire wristband?!

It also shocking to me that each time I have gotten report cards and never any mention of her being sick, yet as soon as she comes home she is sick... I find it odd to believe that neither time she didn't get sick at Pet Paradise as well.

To make matters worse, on Friday the 11th, pet paradise called to let me know that we still had medicine left. This was weird because she should have completed the medicine during her stay. My husband went to pick it up and there were still FOUR tablets left meaning they only gave her half of a dose instead of the full dose each day. They determined what was best for her without consulting me or my husband or listening to the vet's orders which is unacceptable.

People are supposed to put their trust in you that you will keep our pets safe and unharmed. After the last two visits I am unsure I will be able to trust boarding again.

I emailed the Wilmington Pet Paradise with these concerns AND the National Pet Paradise feedback line and NEVER received a response which ultimately led to me living this negative review. I have this company multiple chances to respond to me and address the issues and they chose to simply ignore me. I will never be using Pet...

DO NOT BRING YOUR ANIMALS TO PET PARADISE IT IS DANGEROUS TO THEIR HEALTH AND WELL BEING. I typically do not leave reviews, but I am extremely unhappy with the treatment my dog received at this facility. I have an extremely friendly dog, who has never had any issues with anxiety, other dogs or people. She has been attending daycare since she was a puppy and has always loved it. I recently moved the the area and brought her here to try out this facility. This morning at 8am, I dropped my dog off at Pet Paradise and was told she passed every test with flying colors meaning she went right in to play with the others dogs. I checked the cameras periodically throughout the day and around 4pm I noticed a staff member grabbing my dog by the collar and pulling her outside, alone. Keep in mind it is 90+ degrees out with over 70% humidity. I waited a few minutes and continued to watch the camera in hopes that the staff member was just letting my dog out to use the bathroom, however after over 15 minutes of my dog being left completely alone in the heat I began calling the facility to see what was going on, only to be sent to voicemail multiple times. I then drove to the facility to pick up my dog and check on her, by the time I arrived she had been outside for 30+ minutes and was still alone and crying extremely loudly. When I went in to speak to the staff they had no clue what was going on in the facility or with my dog, and upon going to check with the attending staff they told me my dog had “storm anxiety” therefore they PUT HER OUTSIDE INTO THE STORM ALONE??????? I asked if there was an AC kennel for her to be in if she was exhibiting anxiety they said that there was and “they should have put her there”. When I finally got to see her, she was visibly dehydrated and shaken up. my dog could have easily died of heat exhaustion if I had not been watching the cameras and picked her up when I did.Please DO NOT BRING...