Riverbark Pet Retreat at 130 Odell Road, Spring Lake, North Carolina.

*Awful; will not return*

I am not one to post negative reviews, but this was enough to warrant writing this review. We recently moved here and have 2 neutered male goldendoodles. Riverbark (RB) was recommended by our neighbors.

I called the pet resort yesterday to find out more about daycare. The receptionist informed me of the prices ($20/dog/day for your first full-day; $25 after that), schedule (the dogs are let out in rotation after the boarding dogs) and practices (group playtime is included for social dogs; a list of vaccinations required). I told her I wanted to get some of their energy out, because I had a long day ahead. She said no problem to group playtime. I also asked if water would be provided throughout the day; she said yes. She informed me that she would call our vet clinic to get our vaccination records and that RB requires the canine influenza vaccine in addition to the kennel cough vaccine. While not standard practice, I viewed it as being cautious. She said that the vet techs there can administer the vaccine upon arrival (again calling into question efficacy--it usually takes about 2 weeks for vaccines to take effect-- but alas). She said she would double check with our vet just to make sure they didn't have it and call me back.

She did not call me back. This morning, I showed up and she recognized me. She said that she meant to call me back and let me know RB was prepared to give the boys their vaccine. I agreed. I asked if I should wait around for the vaccine to be administered. I was told no, so I left.

After a long day, I arrived right around 5:45 P.M. for pickup. New staff was there. I asked the receptionist how it went; she said great and checked me out. $84 in total for the day. That is a lot, to me. But I was prepared to pay that for a place that I entrusted with my babies.

The kennel assistant came out with my dogs, and I noticed they were HYPER. This did not seem like the behavior of dogs that have played with others during the day and gotten their energy out--the exact reason why I brought them to RB. I asked her, "How did they do in group playtime?" She responded that they did not get group playtime. I asked why. She said that she came in at 1 P.M. and didn't know if they were social with other dogs. However, on my invoice that I had just received at checkout, it states that they each received "Day care, initial evaluation" for $20. So I was confused. But again, I tried to give RB the benefit of the doubt and chalked it up to a mistake. However, when I was leaving, I noticed blood on one of my dogs' right hip. I immediately brought this to the attention of the staff. At first, the kennel attendant said, "Oh, no, we thought he came in like that." After informing her that no, my dog did not come in with about 4 inches of noticeable blood on his back hip area, she then said, "Oh! I know! It must've been from the vaccine. Sometimes they administer it and dogs bleed, or sometimes the dogs are irritated by the vaccine and bite at it." I asked why he wasn't supervised after the vaccine administration. I trusted RB to do it properly while I was not present. The kennel attendant said that maybe it wasn't the vaccine, and that they couldn't be quite sure how he got it but that nothing else made sense because he was isolated. Upon arriving home, both dogs drank almost an entire bowl of water. I also gave my injured dog a bath. The bath removed the blood and showed that he had a nickel-sized area of skin that had been punctured, along with a scratch right next to it. Additionally, I discovered about a 3 inch long scratch on his front right "elbow", if you will, that was also irritated and bleeding. (See pictures). I gave my other dog a bath to check him. Now, it not only has been a long day, but I am now bathing both dogs unexpectedly. I paid $84 for negligent vaccine administration, a lack of water, an eval that did nothing, dogs let out twice and isolated from group playtime. I will not be back. I urge Riverbark to reevaluate their communication practices and vaccination procedures.