We have dedicated our lives to taking care of dogs and making them better companions for their owners. The review dated 12/31/10 involves a labrador belonging to the Riersgard family who has boarded with us for 3+ years. Each time Marshall has boarded with Shelmar his family has brought his own crate with thick, heavy bedding, his own food and bowls and always plenty of instructions. \r
This dog always arrived a nervous wreck until we incorporated him with a group of buddies to relieve the tension and help him relax. He seemed happy each time he was collected by his family. We have had very little issue with this family until this past summer when the mother made an appointment for a follow up lesson, 3 years later than her initial instruction but not an issue, for 10am one weekday morning. 10am came, no show, no communication, then finally she arrives at 11am wanting her instruction. I told her she missed her appointment as she was meant to be here for 10am. She did not think it was a big deal that she was not here when expected. Marshall boarded with us twice more in the fall. The last time he did pee in his kennel for some reason. He did not let either Martin or me know he had to go. I removed the bedding, but did not have time to wash it, so I put replacement bedding in his kennel and put the others off to the side. This is the filthy crate that is mentioned in the review. Marshall may have left Shelmar with a bit of dirt on his coat but they make it sound as if he was covered in feces. For Christmas boarding Marshall was to be dropped off in the morning 8-11am window. I waited to leave the kennel at 11:05am to run errands, no communication from the Riersgard family to say they were still coming.I returned to the kennel to find 3 phone messages from the mother demanding that I open the gate for her teenage daughter who was running late to drop Marshall. I emailed the mother to let her know that they would have to drop Marshall between 4:30-6pm. At 5 pm Marshall arrives with the daughter, Mariel, who is sporting an attitude. She immediately begins to grill me concerning Marshall's schedule, demanding to see where he is housed, etc. In all my dealings with this family I have never been treated with such disrespect and attitude. She even argued with me over the receipt of an email that her mother had sent at 10:52am that morning to let me know that she would be running late. We are in the country, do not have high speed internet, so the receipt of emails is delayed by a good 15 minutes, but she said that did not make a difference. We went into our office where she continued to ask questions and I did suggest that there may be another boarding facility that would make them happier. She assured me that we were the experts, whatever that meant, and left the office with a flippant attitude. She drove off only to return minutes later to collect Marshall. I emailed her mother to let her know that Marshall would no longer be welcome at Shelmar. I was threatened with spreading unkind words about our facility and services through a private email from her mother. Add to it the drama of the aggressive handling skills and you have greater impact from an angry child who is attempting to ruin a business. I am quite shocked that it took the Riersgard family 3+ years to come to the conclusion that we are unsuitable to care for their dog or anyone else's for that matter. Very sad to think that I have spent any amount of time responding to the ranting of a teenager when in the past I have only ever dealt with her mother with issues concerning Marshall. Shelly Bell
more