Academy Kennels Boarding & Grooming Salon

Academy Kennel was a tremendous disappointment. We had our dog boarded there over Christmas and she came back with a wart virus that showed up a few days after we picked her up. This is a virus that dogs can pass to other dogs - however they advertise that all of the dogs are kept separated and have their own free run areas. I called and spoke with the owner to let them know they have this virus in their kennel and she was extremely rude and defensive. She interrupted me saying she didn't know what I was talking about and when I suggested that perhaps my dogs area wasn't properly cleaned she ranted about how that's just not possible. I called out of a courtesy to let them know they need to be aware and watch out and I got chewed out with no apology aside from ""I'm sorry you and your vet think that she got it here."" I know for a fact that she got it there because she is otherwise confined to our house and our yard! This place is terrible and the owner needs a reality check. I will never send my dog here again and I suggest that you send your animals elsewhere too. more

I've been bringing my dogs and cats there off and on since we moved to Albuquerque 10 years ago, and never had a problem. Pros: Friendly, good hours more

I don't know why this listing is under ""Grooming"" when the reviews I've read are from boarding!? Anyway, to get to the point. This place needs a major overhaul of staff. Unclean, Unclean! Just gross. Unless you do want to ""over pay"" for grooming before your pet returns home and you want your pet to eat everything under the sun besides his own food then by all means board here! My boy totally needed to be groomed after leaving this place. Urine and stool on his backside as if he were laying in it for the entire four days I was out of town. Maybe that's part of the ""scam"" stay here and your pet will need to be groomed at a very high price? I asked if they could quickly wash his backside so I could put him in the car to ride home. Only if you overpay for grooming!!!!!!! WTF this place is crap and that's what your pet will have on him when it's time to pick up :( Pros: Nothing Cons: Everthing more

They were great. Helpful and caring staff. Toured the facility and then dropped off the 4th of July. Never take my Bruce any where else. Highly Recommend. Pros: Clean , Caring more

DON'T EVER TAKE YOUR HUSKIES, OR ANY LONG HAIRED DOGS TO THIS KENNEL!! We boarded our two siberian husky babies here and asked that they be groomed as well and sepecifically said NOT to cut the fur. When we picked them up one of our babies had tan patch across her back that was not there when we dropped them off. Chop marks were visible on the fur. I immediately informed the kennel. The groomer stated that they only washed and brushed our babies and scissors were not taken to them. The groomer also said that she could do nothing about the situation and that I would have to talk to the owner Carol Lee. The groomer DID NOT want to look at our baby's fur, and this was within 15 minutes of picking them up! Our babies vet had a different opinion. The vet said they were chop marks made by scissors. I also spoke to another groomer at the vets who also agreed that the fur POORLY was cut with a scissor. TO make a long story short, Carol Lee blamed everyone and everything else from our baby blowing her puppy coat to our other dog making those chop marks. How can a dog make straight clear chop marks that were over 5 inches long? He would have had to gnaw on the fur and move his mouth across the back. Carol Lee backed her groomers statement that no scissors were used, and ADMITTED that she was NOT there when our babies were groomed. They ignored the proof that was standing at their feet and also the statements we had from the vet and the other groomer. They REFUSED to admit they did any wrong. They did the thing we specifically asked them NOT to do. They cut our baby's hair and would not admit it! If I the rating of NEGATIVE 5 stars were available, thats what I would rate them. We will not be using this kennel again and recommend that everyone think twice before using them as well. NEVER AGAIN! Pros: employees back each other up Cons: Employees AND owner dont own up to their mistakes!! more

Poodlelover14 does not have her facts straight. For someone that works on commission I wouldn't be surprised if someone was paying her to wright the review. Cleaning the back porch once every Friday does not sound like a perfectionist to me! The groomers here are not part of the kennel staff, so how would they know what goes on. You my friend are very rude and I'm surprised that you think people board their animals ONLY to go on vacation. What about a house burning down or a death in the family being reasons to board? You must be a very expensive groomer and fabulous at that if (in your words roughly) ""they can't afford to have their pet groomed"". Your comments don't change a thing as far as the cleanliness of this facility goes, if YOU even think my pet needs to be groomed AFTER boarding here, then they are not doing their job! PS vaccines should and need to be current before allowing a pet to board anywhere, so if they were not current on vaccines........... just proves my point even further. more

As a previous associate of academy boarding kennels I am applaud to the allegations from this person. 1. Academy boarding kennels is one of the cleanest places I have ever worked. Carol-lee is a perfectionist and she does not put up with BS. All of her employees are HIGHLY qualified and are all dog lovers. As a groomer/ apprentice working there, even though I got paid by commission she still made me disinfect the back porch where the dogs roam every Friday. I could not leave unless EVERTHING was clean. She uses top of the line equipment and would order things that we suggested. If a dog was sick like that person states then the dog would have been seen by a vet NO QUESTIONS ASKED.. There could have been many reasons why this dog got sick; perhaps the owner was not current on vaccines. I doubt there allegations are legitimate because why take a person attack on her breeding or her dogs? It sound personal to me verse an actual event; meaning the person?s dog never got sick or was even boarded. My name is Monique and I no longer live in the state; however, I was very upset to read those posts. The person should get a life and perhaps stop trying to mess up other people?s businesses. FOR THE RECORD HER DOGS ARE BEAUTIFUL!!!! In reference to her groomers, they are the best Sally is one the best groomers I have ever seen; she and carol-lee taught me everything I know. ALL of her groomers have at least 25 + years experience. In reference to the complaint of her dog smelling bad WHAT DO YOU EXPECT, ITS NOT THERE FAULT YOU COULD NOT AFFORD TO GET YOUR DOG CLEAN. Ask any ASPCA, dog pound, vet office etc? THEY ARE DOGS AND HAVE A SMELL. Perhaps if you can?t afford to get your dogs clean then you should not be going on vacations.. There are vaccines out there to protect your animals, if you do not get them then do not blame others. To respond to johnandsally2 THE CATS ARE NOT TOGETHER, THEY ARE IN A QUIET ROOM AND HAVE THEIR OWN SPACE... WHAT A BOLD FACE LIE, SHAME ON YOU Pros: Wonderful place and people Cons: That there are not more places like it more

Prior to a recent trip, we went on a tour of Academy Boarding Kennels. We were pleased with what we saw and were sure that our pet would be treated well. However, after a week-long stay, our pet returned home with a serious bacterial infection, and smelling of feces and urine. Before arriving at the kennel, our pet was playful, in good health, and had been recently groomed. When we arrived to pick her up, she was lethargic, suffering from loose stool, hadn't eaten in days (she lost 2-3 pounds during the week), and smelled terrible. When we questioned the staff, we were told that she had been bathed the day before. This was either a falsehood, or she had been bathed and then returned to a dirty kennel. Her condition was so worrisome that we made an appointment with her veterinarian for the following day, where she was diagnosed with giardia (which is passed from dog to dog through contaminated drinking water and feed, and via feces.) While others may have had positive experiences at this particular kennel, the neglect of OUR pet will ensure that we never again board her there or recommend it to our fellow dog-owners. Cons: Unsanitary more

It is with great regret that comments such as those entered by johnandsally2 , johndoseier and jose12 can dissuade future clients from visiting Academy Boarding Kennels to check out the facility and meeting some of the mature caring staff that I have been fortunate to have in employment for many years. Our kennel manager has been with us since we opened up in May of 1983. Our receptionists have a total of 21 years experience with us. Our kennel technicians have multi-year experience in the pet care industry. My grooming staff has the accumulative experience of 70 years. We strongly suspect that the negative write-ups are from a former disgruntled employee. Although it may be hard to over look his these negative comments, we at Academy Boarding Kennels do strive to give every dog, cat, bird and others a positive experience while they are in our care and to abide by the owner?s wishes. All the pets in our care are treated as though they are my own. I have Cockers Spaniels that I dearly love and who often times try to help out with check-ins or outs at the kennel. We have a triple A rating from theBBB. We have many happy satisfied two and four legged customers. Please read the below comments from our satisfied customers. Carolee Douglas, Co-Owner of Academy Boarding Kennels more

We have taken our dog Vinny to Academy Boarding Kennels for a number of years now. He was in day care every week day for a couple of years, has spent the night there from weekends to a couple of week long vacations, and has been groomed with great care and expertise quite a few times. We feel that the staff there are more than caregivers. Every one of them are genuine animal lovers, and have treated our furry friend with the attention and close care that he deserves. They are perfectly willing to work with you in any way regarding your pet's bed, toys, food, individual needs, or meds. We will continue to use Academy Boarding Kennels in the future, and highly recommend them if you want the peace of mind knowing they are in a clean, well staffed, and comfortable environment. more

All I can say is do not take your pets here! The only thing these people care about is making money. They will sacrifice the health and the safety of you pet just to make money. I would never let my cat share a litter box with several other unfamiliar cats, it's a health risk for you cat. I also would change the litter in the box if it were full of urine. I came in to visit my cat (without notification first) and was surprised to see that litter boxes had been knocked over, overused and reused, without proper cleaning first, ie. dried loose stool on the side of the box. And this so called play time for your cat.... no way would I consider that either. If your cat comes home with loose stool it's because it ate all kinds of things off of the floor and not to mention the plants they have in there are just right for tasting. Has anyone researched if these plants are toxic to the cats? more

I have also taken my dog in for boarding, I brought in his special bed, toys and treats. Just to find out that he was never given his toys and the treats were for all the dogs. I wonder if the other dogs were allowed to have these treats? The bed was never used because ""it would have gotten dirty"" no kidding! But a least my dog would have been comforted with his own bed. The staff was extremly rude to me when I even questioned them about the wereabouts of the remanding treats and food I brought in. All in all I would never board my dog here again! There are far to many friendly, helpful, clean, honest places to take my pet. I might be to pickey but my pets are like my children and I hope your's are as well. Pros: Nice grass, Cons: The Staff, Strip club across the street (definatley their style!) and Honesty. more

It seems that everyone that has something good to say about this place just drops off their pets and leaves. Stay for a while and check things out! All those die hard dog breaders out there otta love this place. Breeding those poor cockers untill they have every problem in the book is not my idea of a caring facility. I'd be really careful in the ""busy"" season, your dog that was put in the large run just might end up in the smallest, why? $$$ don't stop taking in reservations reguardless of how comfortable the dog will be and of course it cost more to board in the larger run. Read the other reviews even the ""positive"" ones and you will only have a surface opinion of this place. Twenty years huh? How many dogs later, and don't forget the dogs can't talk. Pros: The animals don't live here Cons: The truth more

I have been utalizing this kennel for over 20 years and my two dogs have loved going there. The staff is excellent and caring and treat your pet like their own. My dogs have not only been boarded there, but groomed there and always come home healthy and happy. more

I have used this facility for several years for day care and know the staff to be conscientious and knowledgeable of all breeds. They have also been extremely helpful with their advice regarding training, medical and general pet care. They know animals. My dog cannot wait to get in the front door. He is never more excited than when he sees his handler and is headed down the hallway to greet the other dogs. He loves all of the staff members, which is evidence to me of their character and kindness. He recently had a medial problem for the first time while in their care. This was identified and treated immediately by the kennel staff. After notifiying me, they transported him to a vet for further evaluation, where he made a quick recovery. I would recommend this kennel. I know my dog is safe in their care. more

We planned to be away for nearly 4 weeks in August, so we needed to find a good kennel for our Siberian huskies Yukon and Lexi. After doing some research on Internet and visiting several kennels in Albuquerque, we decided to board them at Academy Kennels. During a tour of the kennel we were impressed by how clean it was, the friendliness of the staff and its country-like setting. more

I found Academy when my favorite groomer moved into their facility. The place is easy to get to, always spotless and the people there are friendly and love my dog. Although I love our groomer (Sally), I had never boarded my dog there until recently when we were out of town for a week. They made sure his bed was as close to the one at home as possible and he brought his own food and toys. But the best part was that on the day we were driving back to Albuquerque, we received a call from Academy saying that our dog was showing signs of having a urinary problem, noticed first by the groomer, then followed up by one of the excellent staff who watch over their guests. We raced home, picked up our pup and took him to the vet on the spot. He had emergency surgery the next day to remove obstructive bladder stones, and is now recuperating at home. It might have been a different story if they had not been on the ball! I highly recommend this facility! Pros: Friendly, caring staff Cons: haven't seen one yet more

Our dog has a ball! She goes for doggie day care, grooming and stays over when we're out of town. Everyone there is her new best friend each and every time she goes. I can't imagine why anyone (other than a competitor) would have anything negative to say about our schnauzer's best away-from- home spot! more