Posh Pooch

I saw this woman hit a dog for being a dog and she admitted 2 little dogs got into a fight and she broke them up by kicking them. She clearly didn’t care about the dogs when she met mine she ignore them. Now that goodness she is out of business

I went here when it first opened, excited to take my dog Lucky to play… I go to the main entrance and no one answers… So I go to the other door and a man answers… Says owner will be back soon… Lucky sniffs and marks/​pees on a carpet and the owner woman seemed shocked and mad… I thought she would be used to that and wondered why she had so much carpet… She was hard selling the «doggie glamour photos» to me… He stayed to play but there was only one other old dog and Lucky was a energetic 2 yr. old… She seemed glad when I picked Lucky up as he was stressing the old dog out… So my whole plan of Lucky being with a bunch of other dogs for a playdate was a joke… I never went back and paid for a ½ day of Lucky just hanging out with 1 other old, tired dog.

I had to wait a couple months to write this review because I believe you should never say something when you are angry. However, I’m still angry and will probably always be angry when I think of the horrible experience we had at Posh Pooch. First and foremost, if you are still considering this place, ask the owner a million questions. This is not the great home style set up that she would like you to believe.
I first took my Golden Retriever Maddie, to meet the owner Sophie and make sure that she fit in with the other dogs. I should have listened to my gut feeling after meeting Sophie, but I was so enamored with the idea of Maddie staying in a home style setting and being allowed to roam the house just like she does here at our home. Sophie never once bent down to pet my dog or talk to her and she was constantly yelling at the smaller dogs to «shut up». I don’t have a small dog, but I do know that they tend to bark a bit and that comes with the territory. So why work with them if you are going to constantly scream at them? Secondly, I didn’t see anyone else working there so I assumed they were busy elsewhere as her website and answering machine constantly mentions «we», which I took to mean that there is more than one person who works there. I didn’t find out till later that Sophie has no one working with her, so when she’s not at the house, no one is with the dogs. I found this out at the last minute when I was leaving Maddie before heading to vacation.
Of course, not being there is one thing, but being there and refusing to take my dog to the emergency vet clinic because the owner «has plans» is another. After one night of being at Posh Pooch my dog was completely stressed out, panting non– stop and vomiting. Sophie called us in San Diego and told us that she was really worried about her. She said «I hope the poor thing makes it through the night.» I told her she needed to take her to the vet down the street if they were still open, or to the emergency vet in Lynwood if the other was closed for the evening. She literally told me that she couldn’t take her because she «closed for the night» and she had plans for the evening. Just to be clear, this woman lives in this house that she has turned into a business. A business where people leave their dogs with her to care for them. Just because she has business hours that keeps people from showing up on her doorstep at any hour, does not mean that she can stop caring for, and offering aid to any or all of the dogs in her care.
We cut our vacation short, wondering if our dog would make it through the night, and my husband flew out on the first flight the next morning to pick up Maddie. Sophie still insisted he still pay the full fee because we had booked her for several more evenings. He said when he picked her up, Sophie literally kicked at one of the small dogs to get it out of the way — not hard, but a good shove. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want someone kicking at my dog.
We had left Maddie’s harness and had to go back several days to pick it up. When I called to ask Sophie about it she said she was out of town because of a family emergency. I asked her what she did with the dogs in her care (this would’ve been a day before we were suppose to get back from our vacation as originally planned), and she said she had to load them all in her minivan and bring them with her! So if my dog had not been picked up early, she would’ve been loaded into a van and driven to Eastern Washington with 5 or more other dogs??? No way.
And just to be clear, my dog was not sick, she was just freaked out. So I have a feeling that Maddie did not get to roam around the house and be part of the family, but probably spent most of her time shoved outside or locked downstairs in the kennel area. Exactly what I did not want.
So please, ask this woman a million questions before even considering this place. There must be better options out there where the people caring for your dog are actually «caring for them» and not just ignoring them and any health concerns that arise. I drive by her house at least 4 times a week, and her mini van is gone about half of the time. Which means she is not home. Which also means there is no one in the house with those dogs. I don’t think that is what people are paying for when they leave their dogs with someone for doggie daycare or boarding. In fact, the very first time I called her she said she was out running errands — should’ve been my first clue if I had known she had no one else working there. If only I had listened to my instincts!

Posh Pooch is a terrific place! There is an indoor play area, and a huge fenced backyard so the dogs can run and play freely. Sophie Hamilton is absolutely delightful, and lavishes all the pups with love. My dog absolutely loves going there, whether for the day or an overnight. You should see him dance when he gets to see his «Auntie Sophie»! If you’re looking for someone caring and trustworthy to look after your dog, I highly recommend Sophie at Posh Pooch. She’s the best!

Our dog has been to Posh Pooch twice and the second time will be the last. While I understand that dogs can get out and get loose, as ours did just hours after our plane left SeaTac airport, I am especially disappointed that Sophie, the business owner, did not call to inform us about it. Instead, we received several calls from 2 good Samaritans and the vet trying to contact us and providing us updates as to her situation.
When I did call Sophie to discuss the situation, which happened to be 2.5 hours after the event while transferring planes in Denver, Sophie quickly tried to brush the incident aside. Rather than taking responsibility for the situation and apologizing for not contacting me herself, she just desperately tried to reassure me that it would never happen again. When I asked why she did not call me or my husband herself, she responded, «well, because I was told that the vet did that.»
My confidence was greatly shaken and we had our dog picked up that evening by some friends.