Howl-A-Day Inn Of Trolley Road

My husband took both of our dogs there today for grooming and they look amazing! I have a Pomeranian and a Rat Terrier/Papillon mix. The Pom had some matting from a recent bath I gave her (my fault for not combing her out) and the Rat-a-Pap has skin allergies. I was a little nervous after reading the bad boarding reviews, but seeing as how my husband dropped them off, I didn't really know beforehand where they were going. I was so amazed at how great they look! They're both super soft and smell really good. They even had cute little purple and white checkered bandanas on. The Rat-a-Pap isn't scratching the the Pom is so light and fluffy. They both got flea baths, got their ears cleaned, teeth cleaned, nails trimmed, and the fur around their paws trimmed. The Rat-a-Pap got a sanitary trim and the Pom got her undercoat taken out and a sanitary trim. They also got a flea pill that kills fleas for 24 hours. For all of that, my husband paid around $50 TOTAL. The dogs are both extremely happy to be clean and much lighter without all that fur. They look fantastic and I'm so incredibly pleased with the job that Howl-A-Day Inn did! :) more

Clearly I did not come across the previous reviews before I agreed to take our 2 dogs there, otherwise I never would have put our dogs in this kennel. We have two black labs, one 40 lbs and one 100 lbs. Over the phone I had asked if they could be put in the same run, and if so, did they have runs big enough to accomodate the two dogs. I was reassured that they would be put together, and that they would have plenty of enough room. Upon dropping our dogs off, I talked to the girl at the reception desk and asked her if they would be in an indoor/outdoor run, and have access to use the restoom outdoors. Our dogs will NEVER use the bathroom in the house, and I know that if they were forced to use it in their tiny kennel they would hold it and possibly get a bladder infection. She again reassured me that they would be able to go outdoors all day, and that the door to outside would be shut at night; and she also added that they would have water at all times. I debated asking if I could go to the back and see exactly where they would be staying, but against my better judgement, I trusted them. I did, however, walk around the entire perimiter of the vet/kennel building. It is almost entirely fenced in, giving the appearance of ""outdoor runs"". I looked through all the fences and no where were there outdoor runs. In fact, the building appeared to be completely sided, with NO doggy doors leading outside at all. My husband tried to convince me that they would be fine, so I reluctantly left. Upon picking them up only two and a half days later, our dogs had dried poop ALL over them, and it was clear that they had been forced to not only use the bathroom in their small kennel, but also to lay and step in it. Out bigger dog has a huge sore/cut on the inside of her eye and her feet were bleeding in several places. Our smaller dog also has several small cuts on her legs. Both of our dogs ran to the wooded area and immediately peed for several minutes. When we board our dogs we always stop at Dairy Queen when we pick them up to get them a little ice cream to let them know we are sorry they had to be left alone. While my husband ran in to DQ, both dogs were panting heavily almost 30 minutes after we piccked them up. I had a gallon of water left over from our trip that was about 3/4 of the way full. They proceeded to drink every last drop of the water in the jug, which led me to believe that they were not even given water at this place. Our bigger dog was not even interested in the ice cream, which is so hugely abnormal for her, and just laid down and panted for almost the 3 hour trip back home. I gave them a bath as soon as we got home and had them drink as much water as they wanted. Both of our dogs were acting weird last night, they usually sleep in our bedroom with us, but both of them paced nearly all night. I debated calling the kennel and asking what in the heck happend to our babies, but after reading the previous reviews see that they will deny everything anyway. I am hoping their cuts and scrapes heal and they return to acting normal soon, otherwise I will take them to the vet and surely pay for the consequences of taking them to this horrible kennel. Please, listen to the many bad reviews this place has been given, and DO NOT TAKE YOUR DOGS HERE! (oh, and one more thing, when my husband went in to pick up the dogs, I waited in the car with our son. After almost 15 minutes of him not returning, I ran in to see what the problem was. Supposedly they brought out the wrong dogs the first time. Not a good sign when they don't even know which dog is which.) I will never again board my dogs anywhere again without getting to see the exact kennel they will be staying in in the back. I have always said that any place that has the back of the kennel closed off is trying to hide something, and in this case, that seems to be what is going on. more

My wife and I have been taking our animals to this kennel for as long as we have been living in the area. Up until now, it was a good service. My German Shepherd always came home happy. \r \r Just this past week, my wife and I went out of town for vacation and also a business trip and could not take the animals with us. We had to board both of our dogs, our German Shepherd and Mini Dashund. First we asked if it would be okay if we were able to put both of them inside the same Kennel so they could stay together. The assured us it was fine. With a week before our scheduled trip, my wife start receiving phone calls about our Shepherds shot record. They informed her that her bortatella shot would not suffice and needed to be updated before they would accept her. We were fine with that even though we knew her shot was still good. My wife informed the lady that she would have it taken care of before she was brought to the kennel. Three days later, my wife received another call about the same issue from the same exact lady. My wife again informed her that she would have it handled. Thus again, a day later, my wife received another phone call about the same issue. \r \r Issue number two: We take our dogs to the kennel on Saturday afternoon, A couple of days later, my wife calls to find out how our dogs were doing. She is told that the dogs have made a complete mess and they were not eating. My wife asked if we needed to have someone come pick them up and take them, and she was ensured that they were okay and nothing new that they have not seen before. My wife calls again a few days later and is told that they are fine and doing well. So my wife is feeling better. She arrives to the Kennel a week after dropping them off and paid the money of $189 for the week they were both there. Not a bad price and we felt it was fair. \r \r A little later in the afternoon after my wife arrives back home with the dogs, she has them outside. When Max begins to urinate he begins to scream and cry the whole time. Instantly my wife scoops him up and takes him to the vet to be checked out. After careful examination and x-rays, the wet informs her that his stomach is full of nothing but stuff that isn't food. She also told her that he also had a sharp object in his stomach as well. She was told to monitor him closely check his feces to see if anything comes out. \r \r A day later he began feeling better and passing whatever he had in his stomach. As my wife checked it, he had nothing but dirt, sticks and other items that should not be in a dogs stomach. My wife called the Howl-a-Day Inn and asked to speak to a manager. After a few hours a Manager finally called my wife back and my wife begant o explain what happened. My wife was basically yelled at and called a liar by the manager. We were not looking to gain any money back or anything to reimburse us for the Vet bill, but to inform them that our puppy ate dirt and sticks at their facility and maybe she should be aware of it. She took no responsibility for anything and YELLED at my wife. \r \r TRUST ME, I WILL DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE DO NOT TAKE THEIR ANIMALS TO THIS FACILTY. EVERYTHING!!!!!! more

I must agree with this pet owner. I took two healthy dogs to stay for a week. That was a big mitake. I arrived on Sunday morning to received two sick dogs. One of them lost five pounds and had kennel cough. I called to check on the dogs but never got a negative report. Their policy is to have the dog's vet attend to them if they are sick. How long were my girls sick without being attended to? They both were sneezing. I administered Benadry thinking it was just allergies. By Tuesday, I was convinced it was more. All I have to say is you get what you pay for. Don't let the prices fool you. I had to spend money for vet visits and antibiotics for both dogs. I could have spent that same money elsewhere that was not odiferous and probably cleaner. NO MORE! I just hope my dog survives this kennel cough, as she has been lethargic and eating very little. Please heed these warnings if you love your babies!!! Pros: Good Prices Cons: Not clean more

I have been taking my animal's here for over 4 years. I love it! It's not only extremely well priced but I trust every single employee with my dogs. Miss Jackie, Vicky and Katie do a great job grooming! Katie is also a receptionist and I always look forward to coming in and catching up with her and the other girls working. Of course, the outward appearance doesn't look as nice as other places, but they are good to all the animals. They would do alot better if they fixed it up a bit. Pros: The employee's do a great job Cons: Kind of drab looking more

I would just like to say that I have been working at the Howl-A-Day inn for over 3 years as a kennel technician, receptionist and groomer. The lady that made the comment about her dog's bad treament in Nov. 2007...I was there for that whole situation. The poor collie had matts wrapped around his testicles. The matts were so tight that they were cutting into his flesh This does not happen in just a couple days If i do recall the woman didn't board her dogs for more than a couple days. The facts are people need to take responisbility for they're dogs. Collie's need to be brushed at least once a day all over. This dog was matted everywhere. And Doctor Lawson is one of the most caring veternarian's I have ever met if she really did call him he would've responded but there isn't much you can do about things like a dog having a cut from a matt. The fact of the matter is, take responsibility for your dog's health. Don't blame people for things you don't do as in grooming your dog regularly and properly We may not have all the updated grooming tools and other things that other groomers do but we have the low prices and we genuinely care about the animals and also the people. We will always do our best to take care of all our animals. more

i was very satisfied with the care of my animals. the facility is clean and the prices affordable. the groomers did an outstanding job. all the employees were very helpful and efficient more

A decent and comfortable boarding facility. Mostly older equipment, cages, kennels and such but it tends to be well kept up. Some people might see a place like this as ""comfortable"" and ""lived in"" while others might view it more as ""run down"". They are clean though. Maybe not as fanatically clean as some places but generally well within the level of safe and healthy. I've never smelled any bad odors there but there are times where yes, you do know that pets are present. Nothing even remotely overwhelming though. The people who work there are very nice and knowledgeable about their boarders. They quickly get on a first name basis with each pet and actually remember many of their prior guests even years later sometimes. They are not high tech/high end resort style but I've felt completely comfortable boarding animals with them in the past. The individual attention is often worth the lack of new and shiny. Plus they have excellent prices! Pros: The prices and the personal attention Cons: Older facility, older equipment more

As with reviewer number 3, I have not experienced anything like what reviewers 1 and 2 were talking about. I've been using this place for various services since about 1990. Now maybe it is different for cats than dogs but my cats were always quite well treated there. And I am picky - very picky. Yet when they boarded there I really never felt I had to worry about them. Over the years, even at some of the so called ""top notch"" high end places we had various problems ranging from kennel coughs to potential major disease exposure - but not with Howl A Day. Yes, they are somewhat old fashioned. No, it is far from a shiny and new building. Yes, sometimes there is less than perfect professional attitudes - but I personally like that - this place has staff that are human beings rather than shiny happy competent robots. No, you probably won't find the latest and greatest in holistic health care here - but you will find good old fashioned common sense care here. After all these years, to be able to still feel that good towards any pet boarding place is something I find a bit remarkable and says to me that there sure is something they do right here. I'd quite comfortably recommend them to anyone wanting decent and affordable pet boarding. Pros: They care about individual animals and remember each one. Cons: Maybe a little slack on the decor and shininess. more

I have been going to this place since Ace was a pup {2 Months old}; he loves seeing Ms. Jackie , the groomer. He has also been kenneled there. They have taken care of my lab everytime! I have never experience anything like the other two people. I know people who I have recommended to go there and they love it too. They have changed people who work behind the counter many times. But they have a great lady now. I have never seen my dog lose wieght or have scabs on him when I pick him up either. Ace has stayed there for a week and NEVER have I seen anything wrong with him. We go camping every year for a week and that is his second home.\r In fact, I can say Ms. Jackies name and He gets very excited. That tells me he loves her very much!!!!!! Pros: Takes care of my now 3 yrs old lab, treats him like he belongs to them Cons: no cons here more

I am new to Summerville, just moving here from Pa. We had to go back to Pa and move some more stuff. I placed my 2 collies and 1 cat in their care from 11/17 to 11/21 with a request for bathing and nail clipping. I called on 11/21 in the morning and left a message on a machine as to what time they would be ready to pick up. At around 4:30pm I finally got a call that they were ready. When I got there, my puppy(9 mos old) had scabs all over his snout and ears. His testicles were Inflamed and infected. He was also cowering which he never did. This was a playful, loving puppy. I was told the reason was because he was severely matted and the hair had pulled from matting. So untrue.(There is little or no hair on a dogs testicles and not enough hair on the snout for this to be possible). Also I am an animal fanatic-my dogs are well groomed. I said nothing and the next day immediately took him to another vet who determined that my pup was viciously attacked by another animal. It is well documented. He also lost ALOT of weight-cause undetermined as of now. He has a serious infection and he is in pain for which he now has medication. Later that day I went to this ""kennel"" and told the woman at the desk what I learned and she tried to deny it. I told her I had no time for nonsense and asked that the vet that owns this place call me to discuss this. Being that it is Thanksgiving, I didnt expect a call however if he is an honorable man he will call me by Monday. (The other 2 animals were fine) Please note it is very small and they do double up dogs in cages(same owner) It also has an odor and I wonder how(if) it is disinfected. I wish I had heeded the previous review. Also the new vets ofc told me they had 3 other people complain about this place. IF YOU LOVE YOUR ANIMALS DO NOT BOARD HERE! By the way the grooming ($102 worth) was lousy and not worth it. I will post again if there is any updated information. Pros: IT WAS DOWN THE STREET FROM MY NEW HOME Cons: THEY DO NOT CARE FOR ANIMALS PROPERLY more

My lab went here 3 times. Each time the dates were messed up. I alwas had to call to stay on top of things and make sure they had the correct dates that we had booked etc. At first the place seemed okay compared to other kennels. The short of the story is my dog was not being taken out like he was suppose to be. Also, I was given different information from 3 people that worked there, no one seemed to know the policys. My lab was suppose to be given a bath on the 7th DAY, just like he had been the last two times but the third time they decided not to given him a bath. When I called to question about the bath I was spoken to very rudely by the young lady who works behind the desk. Then later the manager called me back and yelled at me. Yes it is very hard to believe; even I was stunned but she called my house accusing me of beign mistaken and yelling at me. I was very unhappy with this place and so was my dog. \r Poor treatment to animals and unfriendly service= DO NOT GO THERE!! Pros: Appears friendly at first Cons: didn't take my dog out, very rude to me, got the dates wrong several times, policy varies,always someone different working the front desk....RUDE RUDE RUDE more