AP
Andrew Pace
Oct 14, 2025
UPDATE: I must give credit to Country Pet Lodge who reached out to me personally to discuss my experience. Which to me speaks volumes about their establishment. Damian was incredibly friendly and informative while still taking my concerns seriously and made my thoughts feel valued. He also provided insight on some of my concerns and addressed the areas that needed improvement.
While it doesn’t change what we did experience, I am looking forward to giving Country Pet Lodge the opportunity to provide the service that matches the 5 star reviews listed here.
——————-
A Transactional Experience
My experience with Country Pet Lodge was not poor, but it also was not what I expected from such a highly rated establishment. As someone who has spent a decade working in pet care myself, I found that Country Pet Lodge didn’t meet my personal expectations of what “top quality” care/service is. Details below.
The Positives:
- the facility is clean, and each pup gets a private space
- staff was very pleasant
The Negatives:
- The first thing that upset me was that you have to pay extra to receive a photo update of your dog. $5 per day for one photo. Or you can book their most expensive package to have it included. In 2025, with how easy it is to take and send a photo, this should be included in the base price of any overnight care. Every single dog walker sends photos of your pup on the walk. When I leave my pup at a care facility, I should not be charged a premium for a bare minimum effort of taking a photo. Not to mention that there was no effort made in the photos sent.
- They do not offer any insight on how your dog is doing. No daily updates. And if you pay the $5 daily for a photo, you don’t even get an update there. Just one photo of your dog (my dog looked sad in every picture) and a generic AI created inspirational quote about paw prints. Again, in 2025, a basic daily update on your dog’s experience should be included. If you want to learn how things are going you have to call or email them. Notes on email below.
- It took them 6 hours to reply to a simple email of mine.
- You pay extra for potty breaks. I received a note at the end of the stay that stated “Recommend potty breaks in future.” Again. Potty breaks should be included in the charge. This feels like nickel and diming your pet owners. $5 for a photo, pay extra for potty breaks, etc. Not a fan of this model and their website makes it seem like all of these things are included. Then you learn they are upcharges.
- While the staff was kind, there was nothing personalized about my or my pets experience. The best way to describe it is “transactional.” No one took the time to learn more about my pup other than the bare minimum. No one commented on my dogs behavior or mannerisms. When I picked him up, no one made any sort of effort to treat him with genuine interest. He barked when I dropped him off and it made the handler visibly nervous. Not a great impression, since barking is a dogs natural reaction to anything.
- I am not confident in how they handle the dogs. My pup was boarded about two years ago all the time, he does regular grooming and pet visits. He is shy boy but warms up. When I came to pick him up after his stay, I was told they were more comfortable with me putting his own harness on. This has never been an issue before and concerned me with how they handled him while I was away. This to me says that the proper amount of patience and attention that is needed for shy dogs is not given. I was very upset with this.
At the end of the day, if you are looking for a basic, run of the mill, transactional experience, this place will do just fine. I don’t settle for that. When it comes to my pup, he should feel comfortable and his experience should be more customized than what we experienced here. Or at least they could fake it. You would expect a babysitter of a child to send daily updates yes?
I am surprised by the rave reviews of Country Pet Lodge after my experience.
Clean, simple, transactional.