Best Friends Pet Hotel - Berlin

Do Not Bring your pets to Best Friends, West Berlin, NJ for boarding/grooming or daycare! Find another place! My first experience will be my last. I took my dog to this facility for a 3 night/4 day stay based on a recommendation from a friend who raves about the Chadds Ford, PA Location. My dog takes medication once a day with food. At check-in they were given instuctions on medication and food scheduling. While I was away, I phoned them to check on my dog. I was told she was eating, playing and sleeping and no troubles. When I returned to pick her up I was given a report card that stated the same. When I arrived home and opened her bag, I found that some of her food was returned to me and also her medication was not given--at all. Four pills should have been missing from the package. All of the capsules were in tact. No medication was given to her, but I was charged for them to give it to her! That evening, my dog began to have explosive Diarrhea around the clock. The following morning I called to speak to someone to find out why my dog was not given her medication for the 4 days she was left in their care. I was told they would give my message to the manager and that I would receive a call back. About an hour later I did receive a call back. The kennel manager assured me that my dog was given medication. To make things worse she began to tell me that my dog was sick during her stay with vomit and diarrhea. I was never told any of this. Not when I called to check on her and not when I picked her up. They withheld food, did not give her medication and returned home after paying for a bath with a God-Aweful odor from one of her ears. When I took my dog in on a Friday, she was perfect. When I picked her up on the following Monday, she was sick. It took me a week to get her back on track, dealt with explosive diarrhea and a possible ear infection. I was infuriated. After receiving calls from 3 different managers (Kennel, facility and assit facility). The three of them still could not tell me why my dog did not receive her medication and they had no answer for why I wasn't told anything. They have a round about way of making excuses and justifying why the front of the house and the back of the house have separate record keeping for each client and that no one is expected to be on the same page. Very disorganized if you ask me. If my dog needed life saving medication she would have died while in their care. To make matters worse I was also told that only the management staff can administer medication to the animals. So, that makes it even worse! You can try to blame it on an un-experienced young part time employee but now the management is incompetent! I was so disgusted by the way my dog was treated/neglected. She would have been better off alone in a home than be in that place! They did not even offer a refund, not even that they charged me for a service my dog didn't receive. All I have received were three similiar but different stories from each of them. I am appauled!!!! I dread to even think how badly she felt. Never again, will I Never consider this facility or any of the other locations. I was offered a free night for a next time.....NEVER AGAIN! more

my tip on best friends berlin would be NOT TO BRING YOUR PETS HERE. I have two dogs that I board pretty often, I bring them to Berlin or Cinnaminson. EVERYTIME I bring my dogs to the BERLIN FACILITY one of them or sometimes both ALWAYS comes back with some type of ailment. They've come home with kennel cough on numerous occassions which they are both vaccinated for (I love paying for that vet bill), pus oozing inflamed paws due to the facility spraying envirocide in my dogs kennels, even when I request that they do not due to my dogs sensitive skin, they come back starving and even though I give the exact amount of food for them to eat, the container always comes back half full anyway and they've come back with ear mites. On my most recent visit my dogs stayed at best friends berlin for ONE night. My one dog came back with a bleeding tail that had a huge gash in it, and my other came back with inflamed ears and paws that were oozing pus. It is mind boggling to me how this happens over a one night stay. I stopped coming to this facility a year before because of the previous issues I had, but had brought them back recently because Cinnaminson was booked, but after this I WILL NEVER bring my dogs back there again. The staff is clueless and they lie so you can never actually find out what goes on with your pet. BOTTOM LINE: If you care anything for your pet, bring them to another boarding facility, it is not worth your pets pain and suffering, or the aggravation of dealing with an injured pet, or the vet bills. STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE. more

We have uesed them for years. They have always done a great job. You must be specific with them and tell them what kind of fur cut you want. We get ours extra short in the back so poop does not stick. If you want a certain cut for the breed tell them.They listen. If someone got a bad cut it is because they asked for something or did not ask for what they wanted. I recommend them as we have had no issues and have used them at least on 10 occassions, more

Anytime my dog, Chandler and I pull up to Best Friends, he goes nuts. He is so excited that he is pulling me into the building. Everyone seems to know Chandler by first name like he is one of the family. Everyone is always so excited to see him and I know they do this for all their pets. I take Chandler here for a lot, one being his groomings because it always looks the best. He comes home knowing that he looks great. Chandler has also stayed in the kennel and always leaves in a happy mood too. Chandler and I also took the dog training class and we loved it! He still follows his commands, but most imortant, he got out and socialized with other dogs. I recommend Best Friends for anything. The facility is clean and the staff are sweet and loveable. They are out other family! Pros: Friendly Customer Service Cons: I have none! more

I used to laugh when someone talked about doggy daycare. Now I think it is the best find for our family. Our Vizsla is very active and loves to be with people. The workers at W. Berlin greet him like they would a small child and approach the dog so he can give the worker(s) an hello hug. I have never been to a dog facility where an animal was greeted so warmly. The 20 pack plan helps reduce the per session cost, which is a bonus in today's economy. I look forward to reading the report card given upon pick up of our dog. Check-in is really easy and I enjoy watching my dog on the TV monitor while I am in the pick up area. I also enjoy viewing the video from home or work on the days my dog is at Best Friends. This is also the only boarding facility I have taken my dog, where I can pay to have my dog play all day vs. only 15 to 30 minutes while he boards. I would highly recommend using Best Friend's facility. Pros: flexible schedule Cons: dogs are not free to run until 9:00 more

We have left our puppy there three times so far, and we have been very pleased the care. Her grooming was fantastic..she looked great when we picked her up! They even sent an email of a photo of her while away..the kids love that! more

They are so sweet to my dog and cat! Pros: a lot of fun for the dogs Cons: None! more

To Whom It May Concern:\r \r I would like to inform you that I had a horrible experience with the pet grooming department at this site of Best Friends. The groomer, Eileen, cut my dog five (5) different places on his body (both ears, under his chin, and on his buttocks). These are significant cuts, resulting in serious bleeding as if my little Bijon was attacked by a wolf in our backyard or something. So significant on his buttocks that he cannot walk without it irritating him and him subsequently refusing to walk more than three steps. I called to speak to a manager to inform them what happened. I was ready to hear and accept that this Eileen person was new and an offered apology if not being fully reimbursed for the haircut. Instead, Eileen answered the phone call instead of the manager with whom I had requested. I told Eileen the nature of my call and she was FAR from apologetic. She attempted to blame me because my dog was ""matted"" and even attempted to mention an ear infection (which he already takes medication for) as if to support her claim of my neglegence. Anyone who knows my wife and I, knows that we love our dog more than anything in this world! I digress. So this Eileen continues to speak to me in a defensive and disrespectful manner until she agrees to get a manager on the phone. Eight (8) minutes later (having been on hold), someone picks up the phone, apologizes for the long wait, and requests to call me back later. Wow! What customer service! They basically told me that they could careless about my dog and my concern. It was horrible. What is worse is that they never called me back. Due to this experience, I will never bring a pet back to this Best Friends Pet Care place. I plan to tell everyone I know and do not know about my experience and deter them from taking their pets. The terrible haircut was only the half, the response was what put me over the edge. Very disappointed..\r \r I DO NOT recommend this place and will never return. Pros: Parking, Boarding Cons: Grooming more

I took my dog here once and what a disaster. They asked me if I wanted just a bath or did I want the dog combed out? I should have know then not to take the appt. But I did. I told them I wanted her groomed right and that's not even close to what I got. It was awful, she wasn"t even all the way dry underneath as there was still so much hair in her. That was it for that. more

I felt good leaving my dog here went I went to Jamacia last summer because I know that they would treat my dog with the same level of care I would. They were friendly and well trained. more