Woodlawn Kennel Pet Care Center

If your dog is a pampered and spoiled pet, this is probably not the place for you. If your dog is a dog, this place is great. Their prices are EXTREMELY reasonable and the staff is friendly. The building might not be super new, sparkly or pretty but it houses dogs, not people. Dogs don’t care about the paint on the walls or the flowerbeds outside. They need a clean place to sleep, food, water and a little love (and I need not to break the bank on the dog when I need to go out of town for a week). Woodlawn delivers on all accounts.

Really friendly and attentive service. I’m really glad they take time to get to know you, your dog, and take time to socialize your pet with other dogs. You can tell they really love what they do, and that is very important for me :)

Took my dogs here after a recommendation. Wish I didn’t. The place looks neglected from the outside (was told it had been renovated on the inside, let’s hope not as the inside wasn’t impressive).
It smelled horrible, even being a kennel I would have expected it to be less rank. Dogs smelled horrible and looked dirty. As soon as I got home, they got a bath.
Not sure they have my dog his meds as he seems more lethargic than when we boarded them. Going to take him for a check up.

I left my feline amigo Quinn there for 2 weeks during Army training. They gave me updates and took great care of him. He had a tough few days getting acclimated, but they were sure to give him some good lovin. They notified me of when he was running out of the food that I supplied him as well. I’ll definitely use them again.

I would give negative stars if I could. My dogs have stayed here numerous times but the last two times have made me decide against going going back. the first time I had a bad experience because the dogs came home smelling as if they slept in their own poop. This past weekend I picked my boys up and when we returned home for their evening walk, both dogs had diarrhea with blood in their poop and were puking. The runny stools happened immediately after we got home which makes me believe this was going on all day. No one mentioned it to me or even said anything was wrong with the dogs. After paying $ 256 for their stay, I had to pay an extra $ 276 for medical bills bc both dogs had an overgrowth of bacteria in their body. I don’t know if they under new management or what but the place smells horrible now. It smells like pee and not accidental, we clean the area pee but we leave it there for months pee. Please beware of sending your pets here. Its not worth the cheap stay… you will end up paying more in the long run with vet bills

I first learned about this place last summer and thought it was perfect after reading the reviews and receiving a recommendation from Gunston Hospital for a kennel with larger kennels. The vet made this recommendation due to my dog’s separation anxiety and thought that he would have a better extended stay experience in a larger kennel. During our first visit, we opened the door to the most horrific stench! It took everything in me to hold my breath without falling over and not to be rude by holding my nose. I thought maybe they were in the middle of cleaning. But who was I fooling, it smelled like an old stench that had been around for a while. Needless to say, when we returned from the weekend stay, the place smelled the same. Our dog was happy though so we figured he had a good time. The big guy from the staff was very friendly and made us feel comfortable leaving our pet there especially with all of the concerns I had about my dog’s anxiety issues.
Well, on the 2^nd visit, the stench was still there however the staff was friendly and it appeared to be pretty busy, so I thought that our dog would be ok. After we picked him up from this week stay, our dog seemed to be very depressed and not himself. He appeared to be pretty sore, he didn’t even want to walk up the steps in our home. I just figured he must’ve worn himself down with his anxiety. The staff member also said that our pet had diarrhea but was given something to treat it. The staff member stated that he believed it was related to stress from his anxiety. I paid for a bath upon pick up but my dog smelled liked poop. I just figured it was left over from all of the diarrhea and multiple baths they supposedly gave him, and that I should just be thankful that they took good care of my dog while he was sick and that I didn’t get an extra charge.
On the 3^rd visit, I asked the big guy how our pet’s stay was and he of course said he was fine. Well, when we got home, not only did our pet seemed depressed again but when we took him for a walk after we got home, we noticed that our dog was limping. After I examined his paw we noticed a cut. I called the kennel immediately and was told by the big guy that our dog might’ve gotten a rock stuck between his paw while outside but they didn’t notice anything wrong while he was there. He advised me to put Neosporin on the womb and he should be ok.
At this point I had enough and was determined not to take my dog back there ever again! This was unacceptable and there were too many incidents unexplained.
Then came another time that I needed a kennel to watch my pet due to an emergency and this kennel was the only place open at the time of need. It had been about 5mths since the last time we were there. I really had no other choice but was determined to lay down the rules and my expectations. Well, when we went to drop off our pet, the place smelled a little better (just a little) then it’s normal stench. The big guy wasn’t there. Because it had been awhile, I asked about him. That’s when I was told that he was no longer with them. This was a shock to me because apparently he had been there for years according to past reviews I read. With concern I asked what happened to him. Then in so many words the staff member stated that after thinking you know someone, you find out the true side of them in the long run. I didn’t really know how to take that but it made me wonder if he was the cause of the unreported incidents to my dog and other pets I read about in the very few negative reviews from the past years?
Well during this stay I only allowed my pet to stay over night only because it was an emergency and I was worried about him the entire time. I even paid for extra play time. When I picked him up, I was told that my dog was excellent and the staff loved him so much, they let him stay out in the office even longer then usual. I was glad to hear this and my pet appeared to be happy and injury free. I really want to like this place and not too sure how trustworthy the new management staff is, so I don’t know if I will let my dog stay here again, definitely not for an extended stay, but may reconsider for emergency purposes only.

I’ve slowly been decreasing our use of this Kennel as our dog has come home very sad and almost flinching when we approached but we gave it one last shot.
We picked our dog up after a three day weekend here and she nearly exploded in the car from needing to release her bowels. This has never been a problem with her as a matter of fact she normally does it on demand. This tells me that she was never released from her kennel the entire time even though she was supposed to have extra yard play times that we paid for.
Also, there was no report of any incidents or issues with her yet when I got her home I found a three inch patch of hair missing from her tail and obvious scrapes. How does this suddenly happen and no one reports it? No phone call or anything.
Our dog will never stay here again. It is not so bad that it occurred but that they didn’t say anything as if hiding something.
I noticed the tail to late to call them today but they will here from me tomorrow.

Woodlawn Kennel has been great to my dog for the past three years. When we drop Clay off, he knows exactly where to go and never looks back at us. I secretly cry inside. My husband and I rescued Clay, so he has some issues (e.g., very protective of his food). We developed a solution to mitigate his issues at home and WK was ready and willing to do the same thing with him. We know he’s in good hands whenever we leave him there. We would recommend them to anyone as their prices are budget friendly and they truly care for your pup.

DISGUSTING AND VERY DIRTY!!! NOT RECOMMENDED!!! When I called and made a reservation at this kneel, they were nice and polite and professional. One of the staff members, even offered to open early on Sunday afternoon to accommodate our arrival from out of state with our cats. We very much appreciated the staff member’s kindness, BUT… my husband and I have to share that we were quite disappointed with the unbelievably STRONG smell of urine in the place, especially in the small room for the cats. We were also not happy with the extremely dirty office and VERY DIRTY room for the cats with NO fresh air. We didn’t have too many options on a Sunday, and so we had to trust that the cats would be okay. The next day, we went to check on the kitties. There was cat vomit in one of the other cat’s kennels (from another cat) that was not cleaned up — even after we noted the mess to the staff member. Our cat’s kennels were nasty dirty (the litter not cleaned up at all) along with the rest of the place. The smell was again really bad and made me sick to my stomach and gave me a headache. We decided at that time that we needed to find a new kennel for our cats. The next day, we arrived and our cats didn’t have any water in their water dish and their water dish was also very dirty. I felt so bad for my poor babies. There were old food dishes in their kennel not taken out and put into the trash. The kennels were dirty and their litter boxes were full. We grabbed our cat kennels to get the kitties in them to go and noticed that they weren’t cleaned. When we had arrived, we said we could take them with us to our hotel to clean, but they said they would «take care of it». Well, it was pretty disgusting, and they didn’t clean them at all. When we arrived at our new kennel, we explained what happened, and they immediately cleaned the kennels and cats, and prepared their pristinely clean kennels. We CANNOT recommend Woodlawn Kennel for your cat (s). It’s VERY VERY dirty and EXTREMELY stinky. We were very worried our cats would get sick from how nasty dirty it is in the kennel. It appeared as though the dogs have first priority at this kennel and the cats are an after-​thought.

if you love your pet, do NOT take them to Woodlawn. Ever.
My 9-​yr old daughter’s yellow lab was attacked under their «care» by a pitbull. Her tail was mangled and had to be partially amputated while we were out of town. It actually took three surgeries after we got back to eliminate infection and thus stabilizing her life. She has fully recovered and has a nub for a tail.
I will post before and after pictures of the attack shortly. They are extremely disturbing photos but we believe pet owners should be informed.
Again, under no circumstances would I take my pet back to this despicable kennel. In fact, formal complaints have been filed with state and local authorities against Woodlawn but what you will find in Virginia, Alexandria, and Fairfax, that there is little to no oversight of such businesses.
Seriously, if you love you pet, proceed with caution. My daughter’s lab is a warning. Plenty of other, safer, more reputable kennels.

being a first time parent of a pet is not easy never the less leaving them when is neccessary, I heard wonderful things about this place v’s petsmart and opted for taking my girl here, I will say that their customer service is almost perfect and the place gives you a sence of trust however on the «negative» note if I must add. The kennels are outside, leaving our poor pets so close to getting colds as mine did. I was sure she would have a nice time but neatless to say she was ill and still is fighting a cold. They ensure me the kennels had «heaters» but I never noticed one even as I walked to «inspect». In deed if you leave your pet here be sure to ASK questions and see for yourself, in COLD weather I DON’T recommend but for other times, they are one of the finest places :)

I just used Woodlawn for the first time to board my Pomeranian puppy for 12 days. I was extremely nervous using them for the first time, but was completely satisfied with the service they provided :) They have extremely reasonable rate, and friendly staff who seem to really care about the animals. Will definitely be using them again in the future!

Clean, nice staff and affordable. We will definitely be using their services again.

I’ve been taking my dog here for about a year. She’s there once a week for doggie daycare and she stays there when we’re on vacation.
When we first started taking her there, we had her stay overnight as a trial to see how she’d do. She had a great time. She really enjoys her doggie daycare time. I’ll ask her, «want to go to Woodlawn and play with your friends?» And she will be all wags.
The facility is older and isn’t all tricked out like some pet hotels… I actually prefer that. She is a dog and I really don’t want her being taught to lay around on furniture as some pet hotels offer.
I’m giving 4 stars because the facility is a smaller facility, so it doesn’t technically warrant a 5 star rating, but the space is sufficient for the services offered. Overall we are very pleased with the care our pup is given and our dog always enjoys her visits… oh, and the cost is quite reasonable.

Highly recommend! This was our 2 ½ year old rescue Boxers first successful stay at daycare. (previously went to Wagtime– avoid this place– not well trained staff). At Woodlawn they took the time and care to integrate our dog and make him
Comfortable. Tati listened to our concerns and ensured us that everything would be great. Our dog gets anxious around large group of dogs. They analyzed him to identify where he best fit in. It really helped make us confident that our dog was in good caring hands! Thank you!

Great price for the value! They keep a healthy, clean environment for the animals and have great customer service. They put my mind at ease and I will always use them in the future. I recommend Woodlawn Kennels for anyone who needs boarding or daycare for their pet, especially military families, they give a 10% discount!

Always take my dog here with no problems. Much more affordable than others in the area. My dog always seems like he had a good time.

MY DOG WAS MAULED! First of all, this kennel does not have someone on site 24-​hours (a new requirement for me). We got a call in the middle of our vacation to tell us that our dog’s tail had been «chewed badly» over night and they found her when they came in the next morning. It seems that there was only chain-​link fence separating the dog runs and the pitt bull-​boxer mix in the stall next to mine got a hold of my sweet lab’s tail and chewed it all night long! The bottom 6 inches of her tail was nothing but BONE!
To top it off, the owner called me afterward to apologize and actually had the nerve to say, «The other puppy just thought your puppy’s tail was a toy!» Uhh, NO! She may have thought that at first, but once my dog started screaming and crying, any NORMAL dog would have stopped. If you board aggressive breed dogs, you need to make sure they can’t maul another dog ALL NIGHT LONG!
While they did pay our vet bills, I would have liked to have been compensated for my TIME. It took over 2 months of daily or every-​other day trips to the vet for 2 tail amputations and daily bandage changes. Not to mention the pain and suffering of my dog and my family. I should have sued their sorry butts, but I’ve decided to crush them every opportunity I get.
I have been told that they have since reconfigured their runs so this can’t happen again. I’m sure their lawyers and insurance company made sure of that. Too late for us.
WORST KENNEL EVER!!!

All I have to say is good things about this place. We sent our dog, who was a year old at the time, to Woodlawn Kennel’s 2 week doggie bootcamp. We had just adopted him and he was a terror — chewed everything and lunged, growled, and bit other dogs when we walked him. He came back a changed dog. We couldn’t believe it and everyone that knew him before he went to bootcamp will tell you the same thing. The difference was amazing. He was trained by Tati — Tati was incredible and such a guinuinely nice guy. You could tell he really cared about the dogs he was with and really knew what he was doing. After the 2 weeks were up, we had some in-​house training as well (part of the package) where Tati came to us. He was a lifesaver. Our Rufus is a changed pup.
Also, Rufus loved it. He whined in the car when we picked him up to take him home!!!

STAY AWAY! You would be better off to cancel your plans and stay at home with your pet than take them here!
My dog is normally taken to a pet hotel or something of the like but last minute plans don’t always allow for your first choice in kennels. I have a feeling that my dog was given the wrong medication and not given enough attention. She has been VOMITING with DIARIAHEA for the last 4 days (since her stay) and I had to take her to an emergency vet appointment this morning, which she is still at…
They gave me a report at the end of her stay with all positive notes, saying stool was normal, appetite normal, energy normal, etc. –complete opposite – I’ve never seen my dog so sick and lethargic than she has been after her stay here! They brought her out in a pink bandana to mask to horrible care I suppose…
When I picked her up they forgot to give me her medication. I called and told them I was on my way to get it and they came out and handed me the wrong thing (which is why I have my belief as stated above!) –after that they gave me her medication –half of which was gone! **They still can’t find the proper paperwork which documents her medication/​stay – that doesn’t seem weird?
I was concearned when I left but didn’t realize that all of this had surely happened at that point. After her complete appetite loss and sickness, I had no other choice than to write this review to tell you — STAY AWAY FROM WOODLAWN KENNEL – if not for your sake of expensive vet bills, for the sake of your poor pet who is the real victum!

This is an interesting thread!