Matt Kozlowski
Google
One of the worst experiences of my life, please do NOT board your dog at this facility. The managers and workers are incompetent and deceptive about the care (or lack of) they give to your dog. Please read for more details if you are seriously considering boarding your dog here; but long story short: my dog passed away shortly after his stay at K9 Loft due to physical trauma he endured during his time here.
I brought my almost two-year-old dog to daycare here several times prior to his 10-day boarding to get him used to the environment. Each of those experiences went well, especially since I was able to watch the playpen area via the cameras while he was there. My review is about the boarding experience, not daycare.
Three days into his boarding, while I was halfway across the world, I was notified that my dog had been in a fight and sustained a “scratch” on his head. Even though they claimed that my dog was the one to initiate the fight, the other dog involved sustained no injuries whatsoever, and both dogs were deemed “no play” for the rest of their boarding. This was upsetting to hear especially since my dog had never been in a fight before but they assured me my dog was fine.
Two days later, after receiving no updates about his condition from the Loft (I assumed he was okay), I was notified that my dog was rushed to the vet because the “scratch” on his head was so badly infected to the point that one of his eyes was swollen shut. From there, I was in contact with my vet and she informed me that what the Loft assumed was a scratch turned out to be several deep puncture wounds on his head from the dog that attacked him. The vet had to sedate him and flush out the wounds to properly treat them—almost a full 48 hours after the fight had occurred. Either the workers at the Loft are totally incompetent when it comes to treating injuries, or they were willfully negligent, as my vet’s professional opinion is that every dog should be checked out directly after a fight, which did not happen. Mind you, my vet was right next door at Mohawk Alley, which the Loft obviously knew. My vet then advised me to not return him to K9 Loft given his increased risk for reinfection, but being halfway across the world, this was my only option. Even after my dog was returned to the Loft, no employee or manager contacted me about his condition or aftercare.
It wasn’t until I called one of the managers at K9 Loft the next day that she was willing to update me on my dog’s condition. When I asked for more details about the timeline of the entire incident, she was not forthcoming with details. When I asked to see footage of the incident, she declined to provide it. I demanded daily updates with pictures going forward. They did end up paying the bill for his stay at the vet but insisted that I still must pay full price for the boarding.
When I picked up my dog at the end of his boarding, he was on medication, wearing a cone with a half shaven head. It was a dog parent’s worst nightmare to pick up my son in such worse condition than how I left him with total lack of accountability from the caretakers. A few weeks after, my dog was diagnosed with Addison’s disease, affecting his adrenal glands. This disease is not common in dogs this young and the only reasonable explanation for his diagnosis is that “the adrenal glands may be damaged by trauma,” i.e. the fight and subsequent lack of treatment he received while at K9 Loft.
After a short yet mighty battle with Addison’s, my dog passed away a week after his second birthday. While I have no legal standing to accuse K9 Loft of the death of my dog, his experience there and lack of care he received can certainly be assumed as the cause of his diagnosis. The Loft conducts itself with such a lack of transparency when it comes to communicating the wellbeing of your dog and are negligent in a crisis, god forbid something were to happen to your dog like it did to mine. So, I beg you, if you love your dog, do NOT send them to K9 Loft.