Shelter Dog Meal Donation Count:

Learn More

“Luxury” Pet Hotel Accused Of Neglecting Its Residents

Written by: Molly Weinfurter
Molly Weinfurter is a writer for iHeartDogs, and she’s passionate about helping animals in need. She volunteers for Bailing Out Benji and a local dog rescue.Read more
| Published on August 16, 2022

Finding a sitter for your dog has become increasingly difficult because not everyone is honest about the quality of care they provide. One San Francisco hotel claimed to be a “luxury” accommodation, but reviews are saying that isn’t the case. After two TikTok users made videos explaining their experiences, the hotel gained lots of negative attention.

The customers claimed that their dogs were neglected and dirty upon pick-up. Some of the services they paid for also weren’t provided. Instead of apologizing or making changes, the business is now inactive on social media accounts and limiting comments on their profiles.

Dog goes to daycare
TikTok

The Truth Comes Out

A TikTok user named Michelle posted a video talking about her dog’s stay at Wag Hotels in San Francisco (not related to the dog-walking company). The hotel charges around $150 per night, so customers expect their dogs to be pampered, but according to Michelle, that’s not true.

In the video, Michelle explained that she paid extra to have access to the camera in her dog Miso’s room 24/7. She said they didn’t give her access to the camera until his second day there. Then, when she picked him up, he was in rough shape.

Dog covered in urine
TikTok

RELATED: Woman Picks Up Dog From Boarding Facility & Finds Him Near Death

“When I picked him up, he was covered in urine all over his body, all over his paws, all up to his elbows and he was in a very, very poor mental state,” said Michelle.

Michelle believes that Miso wasn’t given proper accommodations and was neglected. Wag Hotels acknowledged that Miso’s stay didn’t go smoothly, but they deny any mistreatment. They said the delay in the camera access was because it was malfunctioning.

@_mitchiemitchie DO NOT LEAVE YOUR PET WITH WAG HOTELS // pls tag fellow california per owners. im physically ill and horrified thinking how @Wag Hotels | Pet Resort treated miso during his stay last weekend. our pets are our family and i trusted wag to provide him a high level of care which obviously did not happen. i cannot fathom how a clean, healthy, well trained dog would willingly roll in urine all weekend when he has NEVER done so. what did you do to my dog and why did you refuse to send the camera feed i paid for during his “deluxe suite” stay? #dogsoftiktok #waghotels #pethotel #goldendoodle ♬ original sound – michelle

Another Customer Speaks Up

After Michelle’s video gained traction, another former customer decided to make a similar TikTok. A woman named Cilla Chan took her dog named Cobie to the same Wag Hotels location two months prior. She had already posted a Yelp review, but she decided to go into detail on TikTok.

According to Cilla, she got access to Cobie’s camera footage, but she wasn’t happy with what she saw. She said the play groups were overcrowded, and her dog was filthy. However, the worst part was that they never fed Cobie on time. She said they fed him hours after his normal dinner time, and one time they didn’t feed him until 10:55 pm, after she called and emailed several times.

Woman hugging Doodle
TikTok

RELATED: Neglect Is Animal Abuse – Look Out For These Signs Of Neglect

“We are reasonable people: if they provide food slightly later than normal we’d understand. But this is straight up animal abuse. A complete scam of a business. We wish we had read more Yelp reviews for this business that have said the exact same thing. We are sharing this to prevent other dog parents from making the same mistake,” Cilla wrote in her review.

Many other customers left similar reviews, but these two videos finally brought attention to the neglect. The business often gives the excuse that they’re understaffed, but several reviewers pointed out that they shouldn’t be taking in so many dogs then. If you pay for a luxury hotel, your dog shouldn’t be treated so poorly.

@cillachan @_mitchiemitchie thank you so much for sharing your experience. I’m so sorry to hear what happened to Miso 💔. So many friends who knew our situation shared Michelle’s video with us today because much of the same happened with us and our beloved dog @CobieTheDoodie in June of 2022— everyone please join us in spreading the word anout @Wag Hotels | Pet Resort and their mistreatment of animals in their care. #WagHotels #dogs #abuse #dogsoftiktok #pethotel #goldendoodle ♬ original sound – Cilla Chan

Featured Image: TikTok and TikTok

Recent Articles

Interested in learning even more about all things dogs? Get your paws on more great content from iHeartDogs!

Read the Blog