Happy Paws

I agree with Karen’s earlier review. The services are reliable and convenient (albeit expensive), but the owner can be oddly unfriendly and petty, even to loyal customers who spend a lot of money there. The other staff are very nice and seem to like the dogs, which is reassuring.

My four month old puppy loves Happy Paws, and I love being able to check in on her via webcam when I am at work. Every person there is sweet and loving to my dog. I learned about it from my veterinarian, who also holds free puppy training classes there once per month. The owner seems committed to making Happy Paws the right place for nice and well-​behaved dogs, using best practices and teaching them to anyone who wants to learn. Happy Paws has made my life easier and my dog’s life happier and I am so glad we have it.

This place is great! It is clean and they go out of their way to accommodate owner’s wishes. I took my puppy, Norman, here on the recommendation of a friend. She was four months old, and needed proof of her shot records. They called the vet for me, and when the vet messed up my records, called and called again to get everything straightened out so I could get to work. I was blown away by the care they put into getting me and my puppy enrolled.
When I watched Norman on the web cam, one of the employees (whose name I have yet to learn) was in the room with the small dogs, lying on the floor letting them climb all over him and giving them hugs and pets. The dogs looked about as happy as they can be, and it is nice to know I am leaving my dog in a well regulated place where they will play with my puppy the same way that I do. I could not recommend this place more!

I applied for a job Happy Paws advertised on craigslist. I recievied a prompt email from them and got an interview for a few days later.
I dressed in what is considered normal interview attire (a modest dress and flats) and was immediately shamed by the owner for it. I was told I could not see the bigger dogs since they would jump on me, despite my telling her that I had shorts on under the dress and I didn’t care if it got ruined by the dogs. She still said no and said that I should have worn jeans (I think she should have told people to wear jeans if that’s what she wanted.) So I agreed to continue and only see the small dog room, and sat down to fill out the application. While I was filling the application out, someone who was being interviewed before me was leaving and the owner made sure to comment on how smart this girl was for wearing jeans «unlike some people.» I took maybe 5 minutes to fill the application out, yet while I was doing so, the owner felt is was necessary to sit next to me and point out that she likes her employees to work quickly.
When I was finished, I was given a spray bottle and lead through the door to the small dog room by an employee. I was told to «spray the dogs who bark at you» which I don’t agree with, and would not want done to my dog if they were staying there. They explained how to clean the floors when a dog went to the bathroom and introduced me to as many dogs as possible and how they handle them, before completely leaving me in the room alone! They said someone is suppose to stay in the room with the dogs at all time so I didn’t dare leave but I found it amazing that they would leave a complete stranger alone with all their clients dogs. I could have done anything to them, even with the camera filming me!
Someone finally came and said I could join them near the front desk, where I met with the owner again. I applied for the hours advertised on the ad but the owner wanted me to do completely different ones — she got angry when I said I couldn’t but said she would contact me.
The second I got home, I sent them an email saying I didn’t want the job. Maybe it’s in better shape now but this is not a place I would want to send my dog, or people I would want to interact with. I advise you to think twice before leaving your dog here, unless you’re okay with it being sprayed in the face with water by people it doesn’t know/​trust.

I adore this place. The staff and front desk are special people. They once offered to help me in a pinch when my father was in the hospital. My two pups are very happy there. Good people and top notch care.

Our two dogs stayed here for a couple days while we were on vacation in DC. The staff is amazing, super helpful and obviously love working with dogs.
The small shop in the front is really cute and unique, offering harnesses and leashes you’d never find in a big mass pet store.
We loved watching the dogs on the live video stream throughout the day on our phones or computers. It was great to know that the staff was interacting with them and that the dogs were having fun.
I highly recommend Happy Paws for anyone who needs their dogs looked after by a caring and genuine group of people.

Really great location close to my home. Webcam works great to check on my yorkie and golden. Staff was friendly despite some of the negative reviews I had read.

I csm5e here to buy some gifts to my friend on 4 (:
And Mrs Devin N was very helpful! She have the knowledge about the animals!
She to took the time to answer all my questions and even look online for me.
Thank you Mrs Devine

We have been boarding our two dogs at Happy Paws for 7 years now and words cannot convey how much the dogs love it there. Indeed, I have mixed feelings about how excited our dogs get when they see the overnight bag they associate with Happy Paws — on the one hand I am jealous of the dogs’ love of HP, while on the other I am of course thrilled that our dogs are not depressed while we are gone and are well cared for with constant companionship. One of my favorite features is the live feed, where I can check in at any time and see our dogs clearly enjoying themselves and acting exactly as they do at home. Even though we now spend most of our time in NY, we still use DC as our vacation departure and return city for the sole purpose of bringing the dogs to Happy Paws. Our dogs love their Happy Paws family, and as a result, so do we. I am writing this from New York as a special holiday thank you to Stefanie (very hands-​on owner) and the entire Happy Paws staff — Z and C will be down again next week!

We take our large dog to Happy Paws for day care and we board him there when we’re out of town. All the staff at Happy Paws are very nice and our dog loves them. He is always excited to go for day care, and I think he sometimes prefers them to us!

Our happy place! My little dog has been going to daycare at Happy Paws for almost a year. He drags me to the front door to enter, and I love checking on him on the live video feed when I get to work. My dog usually goes 2 – 3 afternoons per week. He has some regular buddies in the little dog room that he romps and plays with all afternoon. I also love that he can stay «after hours,» 7 – 10 pm if I have evening plans. Just recently I had to board him there for 2 nights, and the staff was very attentive and affectionate with my spoiled, anxious little boy. I never had to worry about him because I knew he was in their capable, caring hands.
I think Stefanie is a good business woman. I’ll admit that she wasn’t very outgoing at first, but was certainly never rude, and she will warm up to you! She has an excellent staff, starting with Devin the manager and continuing through all the doggy attendants, day and night. They will all know your dog’s name, personality and quirks. They will let you know when he seems a little off. Stefanie called me when she had a concern when my dog did not seem his usual playful self and let me know they would monitor him just in case.
We love Happy Paws. Like I said, it is our happy place.

I haven’t been to this store but I did peruse the website for the grooming before calling to make an appointment. Once I called, the phone was answered by a man and then taken away by a woman who sounded angry. I asked if I could make an appointment for a nail trim for my two dogs and she said there was nothing available today. I asked if I could make an appointment for later this week and she abruptly put me on hold. When she came back she said she doesn’t have a groomer so she won’t be able to get me in now our in the foreseeable future. When I asked about the grooming page on the website she lashed out on me and hung up the phone. This lady should not be working with potential clients. Her attitude had definitely turned me away from ever frequenting this place.

My puppy and I love Happy Paws.

Happy Paws is fun for dogs, but dealing with the owner is stressful for humans! I took my dog to Happy Paws for doggy day care for about three years (about once a week). He loved it! He went there from about 2010 to 2012.
However, Stephanie (the owner) is another story. When I had to move out of town on short notice in 2012, I had just purchased a large pack of doggy day care days (20 days). It cost about $ 600. I called Stephanie and explained the situation. I asked if I could trade in the 20-​pack for a 10-​pack since I would not be able to use more than a few days, if any, before we moved. She adamantly said NO. Stephanie said that she didn’t care about my circumstances and that «no returns means no returns» (or similar words). I was shocked, since I’d been a loyal customer for going on four years and had spent (probably) thousands of dollars at her business. This cost me about $ 300 for day care days I was completely unable to use at all. She told me I could transfer them to another customer, but when I called (twice) to ask about how to do that, nobody could give me an answer and she never called back.
This horrible final experience with Happy Paws is why I feel I must give the store only 2 stars out of 5. The other reason is that they are slack with their checking on pet vaccinations; They never contacted me when my dog’s records needed to be updated. I would often bring in the updated records of my own volition, but they didn’t ask, like many other stores do for pet records.
Moral of the story: Enjoy their services if it’s convenient for you, but be careful of crossing Stephanie; she has no sympathy for anyone and makes no exceptions for even the most loyal customers. Beware!

I have very mixed feelings about Happy Paws. I’ve taken my dog there for day care, grooming and boarding. I think the grooming is good. I’m less happy with day care and boarding. As others have mentioned, the owner can be moody and rude. I also do not think they walk the dogs outside enough during daycare/​boarding. Finally, I don’t understand their billing system — I bought a package of daycare hours the last time I boarded — they told me it would be cheaper that way instead of paying overtime for late pickup. Now I have a bunch of daycare hours I can’t really use anytime soon. The most positive things going for them is the groomer and the convenient location.

I read all the reviews carefully before I brought my puppy to Happy Paws.
I asked lots of questions. I could not be happier. And more important than my being happy is that as soon as I pull up my puppy is chomping at the bit to get there.
The staff greets her warmly, and playfully. They are very
Rofessional with me and let me know how her day was.
It is so much better than having a dog walker ank keeping her at home the days that I work. Here she is well cared for, has lots of socialization, and is both happy and calm.

I just started taking my dog there and he seems to be doing fine. I can also watch him on the camera and see that the staff is in the room AND watching him. I also love to see them pick him up for a min or two serveral times during the day. I would recommend this place to a friend.

My dog has been going to day care at Happy Paws DC for a year and she and I are both very happy with it. The day care is very clean and they have a nice retail area downstairs. At other day cares my dog would come home smelling of urine or cleaning solution and I have never had that problem with Happy Paws. The price is on the high end but in return you get access to the live feed of the dogs, the option to have your dog eat lunch and early morning drop off hours. It’s reassuring to be able to watch my dog playing on the live feed while I’m at work. The owner is so nice and she wrote my dog a wonderful letter of recommendation for a rental property I was moving into.

i and others i know have had very bad experiences here. as far as i can tell, they don’t interact with the dogs much (watch the video feed if it’s up), nor do they create play groups according to activity level and temperament. the dogs basically run around an upstairs area (visible on camera) without play areas set out or jungle gyms or anything a good place has.
the proprietor’s sour temper and unprofessionalism is just the icing on the cake. i think they’re only in business because there are so few doggie daycares around. if you are compelled to give them a try, look up the doggie daycare criteria listed on the Whole Dog Journal website (
).
it really does matter where you send your dog.

I have two small doggies and I like to get them groomed at the same time which is nice to have both of my dogs within a 4 hour period. Sometimes the cuts are great sometimes they lack any cuteness and precise cuts. Also they didn’t trim the nails once and I didn’t realize til I got home, so I always check that upon pickup.
The front desk lady in the early mornings, I believe, is one of the owners. She lacks people skills or maybe she doesn’t like me or my dogs because she never greets me or them with a smile. She does however make sure that my dogs don’t have an accident and make me walk my dogs before their appt because they were sniiffing the store out. (hmmm ., maybe they smelled other canines?) but I walked them just to please her and maybe get a smile or friendliness when I reentered the store. I mean, I walked and fed them when I got up. But no, I was greeted by the same rudish woman that had no time for me but to say that I needed to bring my vaccination records next time. I offered to have them faxed, but the fax machine wasn’t working. So I should go get a copy and deliever.
Well., I its better than Petco or PetSmart. but be weary of the lady in the AMs. I just try to kill her with kindness. maybe her life sucks having to get up at the break of dawn to let dogs in to her palace of happiness.