My Review of Best Friends Pet Care at WDW

[Rachaelt]

That sounds more like the regular indoor boarding than the suites.

Here are the webcams from the VIP suites. http://wdw.bestfriendspetcare.com/webcams The little guy in VIP suite 2 looks pretty comfy.

 

[c3363]

They only have a few Luxury and VIP suites and they are nearly always booked months in advance. If your dog is in an indoor/outdoor or indoor only suite, he is in a small cage with a 1-2 minute step-outside-the-door walk once or twice per day; not a two-room luxury 32 square foot area as described on the website.

They did seem to keep the dog park and the cages clean. I have no complaints about that.

I agree about not checking the vaccines as well. My dog was young, but never got bordetella at the breeder. I faxed his other records a few days before I went a clinic to get him the bordetella vaccine. Before I even got my dog the shot, they sent me a confirmation saying he was up to date.

 

[DianeV]

To me it sounds like a good idea that somehow isnt being done how it should or was supposed to be

I dont understand places that hire people who obviously are not animal lovers

 

[kirrrby]

To me it sounds like a good idea that somehow isnt being done how it should or was supposed to be

I dont understand places that hire people who obviously are not animal lovers

Cheap labor. That's all it is. I wish they would put employment for the BFPC on the College Program, or something. Have an extensive interview process. Since it's on WDW property, I believe Disney gets bad rap from them just being on property because it's the last Kennel on WDW.

 

[c3363]

I personally wish that Disney would create a pet-friendly area of a resort other than a campground. Perhaps one building at POR or POFQ. I love staying on-property and never go to WDW and stay off-site. I like the benefits of a package and being able to include a meal plan. However, I do not feel comfortable leaving my dog at Best Friends Pet Care. If I had the choice, next time I would stay in a pet-friendly resort.

I understand the implications of pets on property. Especially with irresponsible owners of which there are many. However, there are also many responsible owners that clean up after their pets, don't bring aggressive animals to public places, keep their pets on leash, and don't allow them to destroy hotel rooms. I think with a proper deposit/fine system, designating one small portion of one resort as pet-friendly would be a good idea.

Jenna, I was absolutely shocked as well. I had looked up some reviews on Facebook and lots of people had great things to say. The kennel was the least of my concerns about the trip. I thought my dog was all set to stay in luxury. I wonder how many people actually ask to go see the regular suites and how that influences the reviews. When I was there, they had a policy that only employees could escort the dog to and from the suites. This was to prevent owners from going back there (in my opinion). They also do not allow people to take pictures back there. If there is nothing to hide, why can't I take pictures of my own dog in his "suite?"

 

[kinggoofy]

thanks for this posting. We saw this pet resort being built last year. We are in between pups right now. (we had to put ours to sleep may 1st).

I agree with the other posters...we would rather leave our dog at home with a friend of the family at our house rather than put him in a strange home.

At least when they are in their own house they are comfortable and not scared.

If there was no one to dog-sit our pup..we would stay home.

 

[Candace]

Thank you so much for posting this! We are going down after Thanksgiving and were considering taking our dog and boarding him there. He has bad separation anxiety, is very spoiled, and I just think this would not be the thing for him. This makes me think about making other arrangements now.

 

[kirrrby]

I think with a proper deposit/fine system, designating one small portion of one resort as pet-friendly would be a good idea.

That's the problem though. I would be all for having a pet friendly resort but Disney wants to keep everyone on property, in the parks as long as possible to spend the money that would be for the "pet deposit" on merchandise or food.

If there was no one to dog-sit our pup..we would stay home.

I understand your anxiety for you staying home with your pup, but find a good boarding facility if you take a vacation. There is no need to stay home. There are many kennels out there who actually do care. A lot of reviews online will be negative, try visiting them and getting a feel for it.

 

[TandLMommy28]

I think this is exactly why we don't have dogs. We travel quite a bit (just not nearly often enough to WDW) and I would be a basket case over trying to find someone trustworthy to care for my dogs--too many stories like this. I LOVE dogs, but the amount of time we spend away from home has always held me back from having them.

I have cats. Thankfully, they are super easy to leave home alone when we are on vacation. We just pay the neighbor kid to come by twice a day to feed and water them and play with them a little bit.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

Thank you for reminding me why we never leave our dog in a kennel. She spent years living in a small cage (a retired racing greyhound) and I would never want to leave her to be kept in a cage again. My friend lives in Tampa and has water moccasins around (and once in) her house by the water all the time. When her dog was alive she never left her outside alone. How scary to have to worry about your dog getting bit when you weren't there to help her

Universal has pet rooms at their deluxe resorts - why can't Disney have a pet friendly resort or pet friendly area in several resorts?

 

[c3363]

Thank you for reminding me why we never leave our dog in a kennel. She spent years living in a small cage (a retired racing greyhound) and I would never want to leave her to be kept in a cage again. My friend lives in Tampa and has water moccasins around (and once in) her house by the water all the time. When her dog was alive she never left her outside alone. How scary to have to worry about your dog getting bit when you weren't there to help her

Universal has pet rooms at their deluxe resorts - why can't Disney have a pet friendly resort or pet friendly area in several resorts?

I agree! There is no reason that at least a small portion of one resort cannot be designated as pet friendly. If people don't take responsibility, they are charged an amount to refurb the room. For most people, pets are like family members. They should be treated as such.

The snake issue really makes me mad as well. I fully understand that snakes are part of the natural habitat of Orlando. However, since the kennel is not willing to accept any financial responsibility whatsoever if your dog is injured or killed, it seems like they don't even want to take basic safety measures! I'm sure they would be a lot more careful if they were the ones responsible for medical bills incurred during a dog's stay at the kennel.

 

[kirrrby]

I agree! There is no reason that at least a small portion of one resort cannot be designated as pet friendly. If people don't take responsibility, they are charged an amount to refurb the room. For most people, pets are like family members. They should be treated as such.

The snake issue really makes me mad as well. I fully understand that snakes are part of the natural habitat of Orlando. However, since the kennel is not willing to accept any financial responsibility whatsoever if your dog is injured or killed, it seems like they don't even want to take basic safety measures! I'm sure they would be a lot more careful if they were the ones responsible for medical bills incurred during a dog's stay at the kennel.

For how much they charge to board animals there they could provide a simple fix to the snake situation. Put about a foot of plexiglass/plastic around the fences that border the outside areas. It wouldnt be expensive and it would keep snakes at bay, since snakes usually can only climb rough surfaces.

 

[Bete]

I'm close with our dog and she is high strung and I can just see someone kicking her there. This is not for me.

I had such great hope for this place. I've called a few times and I wasn't too satisfied with the customer service end, either.

If anything, I would definitely only do the VIP suites, here and I still would make multiple visits per day to check on my dog.

It may be worth investigating other kennels, but it sure is a hassle going off property for visits if you plan to be on Disney property.

As long as this place packs them in nothing will be done about the staff or the place.

I do agree I want to see a dog friendly resort on Disney property. Universal has this at all their resorts. They allocate certain rooms for it in each resort.

Thanks OP for posting.

 

[nessz79]

Thank you so much for posting this honest review. We have an old dog (nearly 14 year old Aussie mix) and will continue to board him at our local vet in town. They have a quieter area of their boarding area that they put older and nervous dogs. Also, there is only chain-link on the door, creating a cozier spot for him. It is also pretty large in size. It seems like a much better situation for him than this!

 

[kirrrby]

I'm close with our dog and she is high strung and I can just see someone kicking her there. This is not for me.

I had such great hope for this place. I've called a few times and I wasn't too satisfied with the customer service end, either.

If anything, I would definitely only do the VIP suites, here and I still would make multiple visits per day to check on my dog.

It may be worth investigating other kennels, but it sure is a hassle going off property for visits if you plan to be on Disney property.

As long as this place packs them in nothing will be done about the staff or the place.

I do agree I want to see a dog friendly resort on Disney property. Universal has this at all their resorts. They allocate certain rooms for it in each resort.

Thanks OP for posting.

Most offsite kennels will include their walks, they don't require you to visit 2-3 times per day. They'll charge you for extra walks but they shouldnt be that expensive.

 

[kaligal]

Disney's Best Friends Pet Care needs to remember that these really are some people's best friends. Shame on Disney.

That sounds awful!

Universal has pet-friendly rooms. And their Portofino Bay is nicer than any Disney hotel. You can even order room service for your dog or cat, which I think is hilarious and a little crazy...though there have been days I'd rather pay $10 for a bitty can of cat food than head out to buy one.

I'm so glad you posted this.

 

[Jedana]

I posted back in April about using the kennel in March (I think under the BF thread). She was only there for 3 days.

I wasn't happy either; the indoor/outdoor wasn't what was advertised; she didn't get the extra 2 walks a day I paid for; and when we picked her up, her bedding was drenched with urine. She didn't get the outdoor use either, but we were there when that horrible storm hit, and that one day they had to shut down the outside doors.
They wouldn't answer phones, return phone calls, and twice we went to visit her, but didn't (a wrong choice, I would have pulled her) due to time constraints-- there must not have been enough people working, I guess--there had to have been 13 or so people in the lobby waiting to check in pets.

Never again. We split our vacations now: DH/DS and I go while DD and her BF stay and house/dog sit; then they can go and we stay home.

 

[grimley1968]

Thanks OP for the review. I'm always hesitant to leave our dog anywhere but with family or friends, because I just know he won't be treated as lovingly as we would treat him. That is human nature (not to be as loving as we are to him), but I don't want to pay for the service, be ripped off, and have my dog mistreated as well. I don't think the campgrounds have their own pet care facilities now. I think "Best Friends" took over all WDW pet care.

This just confirms our decision to leave our dog with a local kennel that's attached to our vet's office. They have a large outdoor play area, very thoughtful staff and, while the dogs are essentially caged from the outside, they have easy access to the outside area, which is kind of set up like a courtyard in the middle of the cages, which have little pet doors to access the outside play area. Very nice setup. They'll even groom our dog if we wanted, though our little border terrier doesn't need much of that. I don't know why "Best Friends" can't be set up in this manner. It's not difficult to construct, yet it allows pets all the freedom they need to go outside (or not if someone wants the pet doors locked). But frankly it sounds like the OP had more issues with the staff there, which is more difficult to correct. Whether it's my children or my pet, I hate the thought of leaving them with someone who doesn't have their interests first on their mind while on the job.

 

[c3363]

I posted back in April about using the kennel in March (I think under the BF thread). She was only there for 3 days.

I wasn't happy either; the indoor/outdoor wasn't what was advertised; she didn't get the extra 2 walks a day I paid for; and when we picked her up, her bedding was drenched with urine. She didn't get the outdoor use either, but we were there when that horrible storm hit, and that one day they had to shut down the outside doors.
They wouldn't answer phones, return phone calls, and twice we went to visit her, but didn't (a wrong choice, I would have pulled her) due to time constraints-- there must not have been enough people working, I guess--there had to have been 13 or so people in the lobby waiting to check in pets.

Never again. We split our vacations now: DH/DS and I go while DD and her BF stay and house/dog sit; then they can go and we stay home.

Thanks for posting. It sounds like you had nearly the same experience as I did. Hopefully by posting reviews, other dogs will not have to put up with the substandard conditions.

 

[Ginger Rock]

I'm close with our dog and she is high strung and I can just see someone kicking her there. This is not for me.

I had such great hope for this place. I've called a few times and I wasn't too satisfied with the customer service end, either.

If anything, I would definitely only do the VIP suites, here and I still would make multiple visits per day to check on my dog.

It may be worth investigating other kennels, but it sure is a hassle going off property for visits if you plan to be on Disney property.

As long as this place packs them in nothing will be done about the staff or the place.

I do agree I want to see a dog friendly resort on Disney property. Universal has this at all their resorts. They allocate certain rooms for it in each resort.

Thanks OP for posting.

WOW assuming someone would kick your dog...why is that what you would do?