Elaine’s Pet Resorts

Boarded my 18 mo golden for 17 days in November and brought him home a hot MESS. Keep in mind my golden has NEVER had an ear infection EVER before (and we have a swimming pool that he spent ALL summer in). The SECOND my husband brought him in the house you could SMELL the horrid stench and SEE the drainage exuding from his right ear. He was VIOLENTLY ripping and tearing at his ear incessantly to the point that he had developed a hematoma the size of an ORANGE in his pinna (ear lobe). He was suffering greatly. THAT bad of an infection did NOT happen overnight. I absolutely SHUDDER to think how LONG this negligent and incompetent group of THIEVES allowed my sweet boy to suffer, but I am SURE it was days upon end. I went to the phone and IMMEDIATELY called them to complain — was told I was charged $ 1/​day for ‘insurance’ and this policy would cover his vet bills. Are you KIDDING me, I mean SERIOUSLY? Why did you ALLOW this to go on??? Why did Elaine’s not obtain medical attention for him, making him WAIT until our return, especially if I had already PAID them for an ‘insurance’ policy? Disgraceful! Shame in you, you people. And for THIS type of neglect and inhumane treatment Elaine’s charged us $ 1,200.00! Yes folks, that’s right, ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS, to allow him to suffer while under their ‘care’. He was so bad he had to be placed on oral steroids for several weeks in addition to ear drops daily. Our vet said it was from the pool they let them play in (in NOVEMBER!!!). They have no BUSINESS letting these dogs in water IN THE WINTER, and if they can’t properly and adequately dry them off AFTERWARD, and GUARANTEE the cleanliness and sanitation of the pool, SHUT THEM DOWN. But THEN, to not NOTICE how ill he was? HOW COULD YOU NOT??? You could SMELL the infection, you could SEE the drainage from and lump on his ear, and if you were paying ANY attention WHATSOEVER, you would have SEEN him ripping at his ear. BEWARE folks. This type of abuse is CRIMINAL.
Forgot to mention … I was PROMISED a return phone call from the manager to discuss my upset over the negligent way they treated my dog … NEVER HAPPENED. No big surprise, and I’m left with the VET bills on TOP of the $ 1,200.00 I paid Elaine’s. They FORCE you to PAY for ‘insurance’ but it is yet ANOTHER of their RIPOFF schemes. I should SUE the **BLEEPERS**.

Excellent facilities and onsite staff, I do believe my dog is well cared for, so I continue to use Elaines. However, I always feel like I’m being taken advantage of financially. On more than one occasion I have boarded my dog and been told I will be charged for a full day of boarding, on the first/​last day even if I pick him up first thing when they open or drop him off at the end of business. At that point, they don’t have enough time in the day to provide what I paid for. The packages they offer are not user friendly and I never feel like I am getting what I need, without paying for more than I need. I have also purchased play group packages that have not been honored as described. They are sold as «per day,» but as you go through your «days» they become dollar credits. This defeats the purpose of a bulk buy if they up their rates. And they do. Reservation line needs to receive additional staff or move to an online structure. I call all the time and get voicemail.

Love this place! They take great care of our dog, Yuki, and he loves going! I would recommend to anyone who needs to board their dog or cat. Yuki was so happy and had no signs of distress when we picked him up. I will always bring him here! Great employees too!

We have been customers at Elaine’s for quite some time and our dogs have been treated well. However, our experience over this recent Thanksgiving holiday makes us question whether we will return.
We were forced to buy a package that we did not want. This added $ 180.00 to our bill. They were housed in the same type of kennel as before, but we were told that standard kenneling was full, so we had to have the extras.
We are highly disappointed that Elaine’s resorted to the price gouging that you see elsewhere over the holidays.

We’ve been taking our dogs to Elaine’s in Madera now for over 12 years. Our pampered dogs absolutely love going and always come home wonderfully happy! We usually leave our dogs for short periods of time, so I was nervous leaving our sensitive Golden Retriever for almost 2 weeks. When we went to pick him up he was in fantastic shape and was «kissing» all the girls that worked there. We’ve also used the Day Care option when we have long work days and love being able to just drop by without a reservation. Another wonderful feature is seeing your dog’s picture posted on Facebook while you’re gone. The staff has been wonderful about putting up pictures when I’ve requested it. We love Elaines and are so appreciative for the great care they give our dogs!

I’m confused here…
Why is it that there are TEN filtered legitimate positive reviews for this place, yet the only unfiltered review (and therefore, the only review establishing their star-​rating) is a scathing review from someone who’s ONLY posted twice — and both posts happen to be about both locations for Elaine’s Fresno and Madera.
Excuse me Unilocal,but one of those hidden positive comments happens to be from a family member and I can STILL find every single one of her other reviews on local businesses UNFILTERED.
What gives here?
Anyways, back to my review… I’ve boarded my three year old black lab at the Madera Resort two times and both times, they took great care of her. No complaints from me or my pooch. Each time I picked her up, she was happy, groomed and was in no distress whatsoever. Also, I’ve toured their facilities and can say that their grass is INDEED real, kennels are clean and spacious and the staff seems to genuinely care about their canine guests. I would (and have) recommended this place to friends with dogs and will continue to do so.
Unilocal, please go back and check those filtered reviews because as a small business owner myself, this situation makes me question your validity and integrity as a legitimate online review source.

It’s been a long time since I checked Unilocal!I am surprised that my past comment is gone. Not sure why, but I gave Elaine’s a 5 star. I agree w Katherine… I love this place. My dogs have been going for 3 years and it is the only place I will go. I feel safe knowing my babies are well taken care of. Because of my rotties temperament I worry about doing the pet sitter thing. I like knowing that she is being kept safe and having fun at the same time. I do pay extra for her play time and walks. It’s worth it for me to have peace of mind when I go on vacation. I also purchase a package to take them during the day. Trust me if my dogs didn’t like it there I would know. Everytime we pull in… My dogs are waggin there tails and can’t wait to get inside. When they see the crew… They love them!!;) I definitely recommend this facility.

This place sucks. The people are rude and the dogs sit in kennels all day long. The grass isn’t even real — it is fake grass and hot on the feet during the summer. The blankets the dogs lay on are all torn. All it is is an overpriced kennel where the dogs are treated like numbers. If you have to kennel find somone that does it out of their home so the dog will at least get some attention, or hire a pet sitter to come to your house.

How is it my puppy goes to better resorts than me?! Upon entering, you are greeted with a smile and nice staff. There is also a wall with pictures of the «guests» and video of the dogs playing in the yard and pool.
My dog has been going here for about 5 years… they do a very nice job. The place is clean and seems spacious. It’s not just a bunch of kennels in a dark room. Lhasa (my baby) gets here same kennel each time (it’s a little bigger) and knows where she is at. We pay extra so she can have more yard time… she gets to play in a pool they have as well. Big grassy areas and depending on how your pup plays with others, may get to have «shared» time as well (if your dog gets chippy they get yard time to themselves). The staff takes good care of giving our dog here twice daily pills and feedings, and at the end of the stay you get hand written notes from staff who play with your dog telling you what the ‘beast’ did each day and a magnet picture for the fridge. We also pay to have her get a nice bath before picking her up so she always looks great after leaving!
Elaine’s is not cheap but it is worth it — we are never concerned or frightened for our dog. We will continue to use this resort every time!