Both my dogs love coming to Best Friends in Boxford! They come to day camp weekly and board a few times a year. As soon as we pull into the parking lot, one starts barking excitedly and lunges toward the door when I take her out of the car. When we go through the entrance, they run over to the great folks that work there, tails wagging like crazy. It didn't use to be this way...One of my dogs (the lunger) had a bad experience with boarding elsewhere, and it took a few years before she stopped displaying extremely anxious behavior when left in other people's care, even in a new place. She's quirky and often misunderstood, but the folks at BF were patient and brought her back out of her shell. Now she can't get enough time there! We have been coming to BF Boxford for at least 5 years now, and it's wonderful knowing that we can go away and our beloved dogs will be in great hands. The people working there appear to really love animals, which, IMHO, is the most important quality to look for in a boarder. The grooming is awesome too! read more

The place it's clean and the girls are lovely. They are so sweet with the animals. My doggie loves it there. They are very reasonable with their grooming prices. read more

This "pet hotel" may aswell be referred to as some sort of punishment or torture chamber for your animal companions. Speaking from experience I can say this establishment quite frankly is the worst possible place you could bring your pet. For reference me and my family went on a 5-day, 4-night trip out of state and decided to leave our cat at the Best Friends Pet Hotel in Boxford MA. They had asked that we provided food for our pet so we sent 12 cans of the "Sheba perfect portions" wet food product, considering how it's my cats favorite food you'd think they'd feed it to him right? NO. When we called to check in on him, which the first time they did no workers picked up so we had to try again another day. They said that he RAN OUT of his food, wasnt eating, and was sleeping a lot. Now I'm not sure about you but I don't think my 10 month old kitten should eat 12 cans of wet food in about 3 or so days. Regardless when my mother told me about him not eating and him sleeping a lot more I could tell that this entire experience has left him feeling very depressed and unsafe. I would also like to mention the way he was acting after we picked him up. Now, I did previously say that we went on a 5 day trip out of state, but in actuality we left 2 days early. When we arrived at the hotel to get our kitten, I had to hold him for the entire ride home because if i didn't he would not stop crying. I could tell he was worked up over the entire vacation because he was constantly following us, sweating from his paws, and shedding a lot more than usual. I would also like to add that my parents do believe he contracted fleas during his time there because he's constantly itching himself. As for the establishment itself from what my mother had told me it was quote "very unclean with no workers at the front desk and an over abundence of bugs." As for how our cat is doing now I'd like to mention he is doing a lot better and we are trying to schedule a vet appointment to check for fleas. To make a long story short I wouldn't recommend sending your pets to this establishment, atleast for felines. I can't speak on behalf of how they treat dogs but for cats I would not recommend. read more

Best Friends Pet Hotel - This is what my cat looks like. He is 10 months old, and his name is Socks. - Pet Groomers Near Me - Boxford, Massachusetts

I know there has been several negative reviews, but we have never experienced anything bad during our time here. We have used Boxford Best friends for boarding and play for the past ten years. All of our pets have come up happy from their stay! The staff is super friendly and communicative. If you do have a concern or questions, ask them! They have always answered my questions directly and honestly. Right now, our one year old beagle attend day camp 5-6 days a week! He cries if he can't go! I am so glad to have Boxford Best Friends! They have been great at taking care of all our pets, making them happy and providing a safe place to play. read more

The worst doggy daycare I have ever experienced. They charge you for a full daycare day when they are only there for a half day. I would not refer anyone there. read more

This place is amazing despite some of the bad reviews! They love your dog just as much as you do!! they get fed have play time with all there buddies! What else more can you ask ! Staff is super friendly manager is awesome! Love it, see you Monday :) read more

What an amazing place, you'll drop your dog off for doggy day care and get a free wash without even knowing! That's right all you have to do is ask your dog to act like a dog in the play yard and they'll spray a hose at he/she and lock them in a cage for a time out... Great hidden service, who'd have known the play yard would double as a doggie Guantanamo bay, water boarding? It's on the house! read more

I have spent alot of time thinking about doing a review, I am normally not the type of person to do so, But this place is not what it used to be and something needs to be done. My parents used to bring our family dogs in way back when and I recently moved back into the area and saw they were still in business. I would never bring my animals there. The lobby looks like it has not been updated in 50 years, there is paint chipping and there is a faint smell of urine at walk in. The cat room is right when you walk in, I was horrified with how the cat rooms looked, litter all over the place and poop on the floors of the rooms. I took my tour, the staff seems friendly and knowledgable enough, I don't personally believe some of them have enough experiance with animals. The paint in the whole build is awful and needs to be redone, the "rooms" or "suites" look like jail cells, even more so in the "geriatric" wing. The play yard is just rocks and cement. I watched the cameras and saw an employee hold a dog on a leash for 15 minutes while the others where playing. Over all, not a good place to bring your animals, and I would never recommend this place to anyone. read more

Kelly Delido is now the manager at Boxford best friends. My husband and I have had many issues with our St. Bernard weighing in at 150 pounds at 15 months. Kelly has managed him so amazingly. She is truly the dog whisperer. We have had so many struggles and Kelly is magical with him. She is great with people and animals. Best friends is very lucky to have Kelly and my husband and I are grateful for her compassion. I wish she was back in Sudbury. read more

Oh No. NO No no. We went for a meetup group. We walked inside and it STANK! Now I know that kennels can sometimes have a smell to them, but this was vile. We walked through the building to where the meetup group was, and the smell just kept getting worse. I can't even describe it, it was like pee, poop, wet dog, vomit and some other gross things. We got to the area with the other dogs and the smell was overwhelming. When dogs peed on the floor they just pushed it around with an old mop. So nothing really got cleaned up. My husband has a deviated septum and even he was getting ill from the smell. I would NEVER take my dog there to be groomed. I don't see how they could be cleaner after being in that place. It was foul. read more

I would like to start this by saying I'm not one to post bad reviews- I feel like every place has their "off" days and shouldn't be judged too harshly for such. But my most recent Best Friends experience has been such a fall from grace that I feel like I just have to. I've brought my Newfie mix Duke there for overnight stays approximately half a dozen times. The first handful of times, I'd pick him up and he'd be happy as a clam. They'd give me a little Report Card to tell me how he was, and while I was gone I'd get an email "from" him with a photo of him playing outside. This time my husband picked him up but as far as I know we didn't get a report and I never got an email. Not a big deal in itself, but his rear was covered in feces like he had been sitting in it and he was panting like mad and his chest was a mess (like he had been panting all day and drooling on himself). For the first time, we sent our pug along with him, and he was panting a ton too. When I had booked the reservation, I requested for the dogs to be boarded in the same room. I figured it would help keep the cost a little lower (the website said it would be $10 less per night) and they wouldn't get lonely. Well, they weren't kept together, and we didn't get the cheaper rate. In addition, they advertise new guests get their 1st night free, so he mentioned this for our pug, as well as that they should have been boarded together. After paying $500+ for the six-night stay (oh, we had to extend the stay a day too, they didn't allow pick-up on Memorial Day), we got a credit that was supposed to make up for the free night and the $10 less/night... Except it was $45. I was annoyed, but brushed it off. Cost of being pet owners, right? Well, when Duke mysteriously started having severe diarrhea a few days later, I was fed up. I figured maybe it was a result of the stress of boarding, but it's been 3 weeks since their stay now and he's still sick. We've been to the vet and are trying different solutions now. I don't know yet what the problem is, but I'm sorry to say we will not be returning to Best Friends. read more

We recently took our 9 year old alaskan malamute border collie mix for an extended stay during the holidays. We checked the website daily in the am and pm and saw all the dogs in the play area, but never our dog. After a few days we called to check in and when we asked why we arent seeing him in "playgroup" we were told that he wasnt getting along with another dog so they switched him to "individual play". They never called us to discuss it. So instead of 3-4 hours of activity, he was only out for about 10 min. 3x a day. When I picked him up, I received no feedback about what had happened. When we got him home, we discovered that his nose was all scabbed from some sort of abrasion and he had an untreated bite puncture wound in his armpit. This was never brought to our attention. They also overcharged us for 1 day according to their policies. But took it off when I questioned it. We have used this facility before and I was pretty surprised and disappointed in our last visit. I think they were overbooked as we saw a huge playgroup each am/pm. I now also question the accomodations for the dogs as they do not let you go back to actually see where your dog is housed. Even now, 1 month later, he is still recovering. We will not use this facility again. read more

I have taken my Shih Tzu here for the past ten years for grooming. The groomers have always been wonderful with him and did a wonderful job grooming him. He has always loved going there. Unfortunately, due to a change of management, I will no longer be going there. My groomer has recently left. It is no longer the friendly place it used to be. Prior management would always be in the lobby to greet furry friends when they were dropped off. Sadly, this is no longer the case. read more

We tried to use this place twice for dog grooming. Never in my life have I ever met such rude employees. The first time we took our dog in (after calling and making an appointment and the staff not indicating that we needed to do anything further to bring him in for grooming), they rudely turned us away because he didn't have an up to date distemper shot. And the second time we brought him in (after getting the shot), they were just as rude. I took the leash out of the techs hand and walked out the door. Amazing they are still in business. I even complained to the corporate office who told me that they would address the issue. Doesn't sound like they have. We go to Muddy Creek now and absolutely LOVE it there. Do yourself a favor and stay clear of this place. read more

My father just picked up my dog Coco from boarding while I was on vacation. Currently unable to get to a live person to talk about the issue "she is on break". When my father walked outside a woman made a comment on how beautiful the dog was and when she approached coco she noticed how Coco was covered in dog waste all over her leg and back side. My father proceeded to go back to address the issue which they had no response to. This was also right after her "grooming" and they claimed she was drying. My father then asked to see where she has been staying and they strictly refused. When I called myself there was no management, no owner to address the issue. Nobody. This makes me feel like my emotional support animal was not well taken care of, neglected with poor hygiene. I am TOTALLY traumatized by the way this facility took care of our family. This makes me sick. If you love your animal, please go elsewhere. I will be further looking into this if I do not receive a phone call back from the owner, manager, anyone "running" this place there will be further reviews added. I am disgusted. read more

To say that the staff at Best Friends cares about your animals would be an understatement. We have taken our last two dogs here for daycare and boarding. When we lost our first one, they cried with us. A few weeks later they welcomed Faith in with open arms and hearts. Faith loved going to day camp at Best Friends and would run and jump at the door upon arrival. Bath time was not her favorite thing, but Victoria did a great job. Best Friends is great at having fun events for the pets (Easter egg hunts, pictures with Santa, etc...) Pictures are provided for these events, as well as when they are boarded. The only reason we left Best Friends is because we moved out of state. read more

I'm surprised my dog survived this place. I boarded him for 2 nights to go out of town for my wedding. He was shaking and had tear stains running down his face when I picked him up. 3 year old very healthy dog. The lady behind the counter gave me his report card and happily announced "he almost ate all his food the first night and almost half of it the next day" like that's a good thing. I don't know what they did to him but I wish I could see a recording. My guess is they just locked him away for 2 days in some tiny, filthy cage and neglected him for 2 days. I went on my honeymoon after picking him up and had my parents watch him for those 10 days. 1 day in they had to take him into the emergency clinic in Woburn for acute pancreatitis that he obviously contracted at this disgusting hell hole. I'm convinced he'd have died if he spent another day in there. If you love your dog, don't board him here. They'll also not let your dog interact with other animals if he's not neutered. You'd think rather than be PC idiots people in this profession would get up to date on the latest science which has proven neutering dogs to be completely unnecessary. read more

We have taken our dog here 3 times. The first time was for daycare for about 3 days. He was about 5 months old & I was told he did great. Next when he was 1 yr 3 mo we boarded him for 8 days and he was supposed to have playgroup during the day. I never got any calls or emails while on our trip and when I picked him up they said he did great. No mention of any issues. We then took him back a week later to board & have playgroups for a 4 day ski trip. Upon dropping him off I was told that last time he had an issue in the group. She didn't know exactly what the issue was but told me she would call me if he had any issues. He is about 30-40 lbs medium sized dog. I never got a call the rest of the day but decided to call myself whereupon I was told that he was mounting the other dogs & would not stop. They had put him in the small dog group. He is a working dog with lots of energy so I inquired if they could try him in with the bigger dog group. The guy in the phone basically used a scare tactic & said he might get injured if they tried larger group and I would have to sign a waiver. Now we are skiing while our adorable puppy, who does super with big dogs while at parks, beach etc, is stuck in a kennel with only 3 20 min play sessions. Needless to say, we will not be returning to Best Friends. Shame on them for such poor communication about our best friend. read more

Our two dogs go here once a week for day care and are boarded here when we go away. The staff is very nice and caring to the animals. They do pay attention to the dogs too, as they called me when one of my dogs was acting out of the ordinary. The times that I have gone into the rear of the facility, it was always clean. They have a great reputation in the area and I have heard nothing but good things from other dog owners. I do think they are a little pricey, but probably because we spend so much there! read more

My dog went there for about seven years. I recently dropped him of in the morning and went to work. Few hours later got a voice message that my dog has been hurt and I have to come and get him.He was bitten by other dogs while in Daycare .They just left him there and waited for me to pick him up. Didn't bring him to the Vet .He was shaking and so traumatized . He had multiple puncture wounds ,all over from behind.Had to be sedated, required drains placed under the skin( wounds were so deep), and had sutures. Not only that we didn't get a phone call from them to see how he was doing, they said it was his fault and refused to pay vet bill.Don't bring your dog there!!! read more

Always a pleasant experience for our pup. She is a rescue and suffers from extreme anxiety, so she can sometimes be reluctant to do anything. The staff is patient, kind, understanding, friendly and extremely knowledgeable. We've utilized BFs for daycare, grooming and boarding. Our pup ALWAYS comes back happy and slightly more confident than before. Now, the mere mention of 'wanna go to Best Friends' gets a tail wag and sprint to her leash. I highly recommend this facility. read more

my dog has passed away, but this was the only place he enjoyed going in his whole life. he was a shy, skittish rescue greyhound. i felt that the staff really liked him, and he must have felt that way too. he'd trot right inside with them, didn't try to hang back with me or get out the door, as he'd done with every other groomer or kennel. he got sick while we were on vacation, and they called us and consulted his vet and got treatment for him. services available included "cuddle time" which he liked. my only complaint was that sometimes when i'd pick him up or drop him off, there was occasionally a small yappy dog running loose who wold charge and bark and yap at us. very very uncool, and annoying for me and for my dog. read more

We have been bringing our two yellow labs to Best Friends for about 5 years now. Nothing but good things to say! The staff all seem to love our dogs and there is a comfort leaving them when we travel because we know they are safe and will have a fun time. They recently started a "stay and play" program meaning you dogs play all day in the daycare and then board....our dogs are so exhausted after a week away, they sleep for a whole week! Great place to leave your pet without a worry =) read more

BFPC did contact me back and offered an apology and a free stay for our experience. I appreciated that they wanted to rectify the situation. We have since relocated however if we were still there I would possibly try them again. read more

We have been using all the services offered by Best Friends for years but now can say we owe the life of one of our dogs to the staff at this facility. Because they really take the time to know our pets they noticed that our Bernese who had thrown up upon arriving at daycare was not acting like his usual self and I was called immediately. Deciding he should be seen by a vet and with me out of state, he was taken by two staff members to our personal vet several towns away who diagnosed him with a gastric torsion. They then proceeded to take him to the referral hospital to get emergency surgery where they stayed until my, husband could get there. If not for the attention and care/love given to our pets this condition could easily have been overlooked and the outcome would have been fatal. I can not say enough about Best Friends in Boxford. read more

Our experience with Best Friend's is limited to the groomers. Over the years I have dropped in with my rescue beagle Otis to have his nails cut. He was abused before we took him in, so cutting his nails was never a job I was comfortable doing. Best Friends has never turned us away, though I haven't had an appointment, and made the whole process well worth the $10 fee. read more

please, never bring your dog to this place!! we left our well groomed dog there for two nights and just picked her up today covered in pee & shit even stuck to her rear end!! after given our dog a good bath our dog doesn't seem right!!! never never again and they should be reported for amimal abuse!!!!! p.s i never post reviews but people need to be aware and to top it off i will need to send my mercedes for a detail because the int. smells so bad and have shit on my door panel and carpet!! i have photo's to prove this type of animal abuse... read more

I have boarded my dog at Best Friends twice since getting her in February. Both times my dog has come back well groomed, clean, and very happy. I received pictures both times and she looked happy and content. The staff was nice and helpful and they seemed to genuinely like my dog and several even came out to say goodbye to her when I picked her up. read more

We just started using this facility if May and have been very happy. Both our dogs use the daycare rougly 3 times a week. They come up clean, but tired. The staff gives us a report on their behavior and seems to care about both our pets. What I like most about Best Friends is that the dog population remains small. We used another facility in Andover, where the daily dog population was over 50 dogs a day. Our dogs would come home dirty, smelly, and many times sick - kennel cough, puppy warts, and giardia. We have not used the facility for boarding yet, but I do have faith that the dogs will love their overnight experience as much as their day time ones. read more

We have two pups, one a rescue with trust issues. We met the team at Best Friends and explained how our Quincy won't allow anyone to groom him and especially trim his nails. Even our vet recommended he be sedated (at a cost of $100.) during his nail trimming. Best friends took the time and care to make Quincy feel comfortable. We were absolutely amazed and relieved that we finally found a place that cares for and loves our dogs as much as we do! Now when Quincy and Chloe arrive at Best Friends for grooming or boarding they are so excited and can't wait to get inside, thanks to this dedicated group at Best Friends. read more

We have had 4 dogs in the last 25 plus years board at Best Friends (formerly Weloset Kennels). Nothing but praise HOWEVER since corporate has taken the leash, policy prevails. It is far from what we remembered it to be. When making the registration 3 weeks prior, I read them a letter from our vet from Angel Animal Hospital in Boston giving them specific instructions why our dog could not have specific vaccines. Asked if they needed anything else...reply "No, you are good." Arrived Sunday to drop him off, before going to our cousin's funeral, then packing to catch a 3am flight for vacation where we were greeted with, "We cannot take him." WHAT!!!!! They needed to call their corporate regional manager...oh boy, there goes the warm and friendly atmosphere. They could have cared less about not having communicated this information to us earlier, nor could they care less that our plans now disrupted. They had no problem with one of us staying behind. They suggested we call our vet...last I knew vets don't work on Sundays. To find out, our vet was at the funeral we should have been at! After so many years...sad. read more

Great place for grooming. Reasonably priced. Very friendly and welcoming staff. My pup also stayed here when we went away. Very good experience. read more

Well, they treat their employees worse than dogs which are not treated as they should. Some hit and kick and aggressive dogs are allowed to stay despite the rules. Employees that are bit and injured by a dog are told just to go back to work and the dog stays. Long hours, hard work and extensive employee turnover is the norm. The people that run this particular branch create a hostile work environment, are bullies and do not even follow the guidelines in the handbook that corporate mandates. There are some nicer people there, but they won't stay too long. Facilities are not maintained well and left to fall apart. The original owner of the former Weloset Kennels would be so disgusted. DO you really want to leave your pet here? You have better options, stay away. Looks like the business cannot handle the truth. Yes, employees are treated poorly and disrespected badly among other things. Employees that enjoyed the animals but were disgusted with the treatment from management. Yet despite the business's claims, it is fact. read more

Brought my dog for boarding and was attacked by another dog. Best Friends said they wouldn't pay vet bills for stiches because I didn't pay their $5.00/day insurance fee to pay for negligence. (They call it pet insurance) read more

My dog loves it there're but, the manager Christine is so rude. I have seen her be very unprofessional to customers, co-workers and the last time I was in there it was so busy out front you would think she would come out to help out but she sat in her office eating her McDonald's breakfast! Everyone else is quite pleasant but that manager! Ughhh read more

I have been taking my Brittany there for several months. He just turned 1 in June. He has a lot of energy and he loves the opportunity to play with other dogs. We also board him here. Staff has always been very helpful and each one seems to know every dog, their names and their likes and dislikes. Highly recommend this Best Friends. read more

Best Friends boarding kennel failed my dog when she last stayed with them for 12 days at the end of March 2016, beginning of April. She had been with them before without any incidence and also attended doggy day care . My dog was not fed the right amount of food whilst at the facility and when I picked her up she was skin and bones. Her hip bones, spine and ribs were all showing . I felt I let my dog down :( . I contacted BF and emailed them. I spoke to the district manager who was going to look into this. She apologized and said that they had failed my dog. I emailed her my concerns but I never heard anything from her again. Furthermore I had paid for doggy daycare in advance and was promised a refund , to date I have not received same! I was told I would get this within 2-3 weeks . Well that was 5 weeks ago. I would not board my dog there again. I would post pictures of my dogs , who looked very emeciated but am unable to! Please do not board at this place.... read more

I absolutely love this place! My pup is a rescue from another country so she hadn't been socialized properly with other dogs. I was a little nervous about bringing her to daycare but they reassured me that they would help if there was any problem. They have been great with her. She just turned a year old and the change in her playing style has dramatically improved over the last couple of months. She loves going and they say she has really come out of her shell. Everyone there is so nice and welcoming. I would recommend them to anyone! read more

I have been going to Best Friuends Pet Care for a little over 3 years now. The staff at this facility are really top notch and very caring. My dog is extremely excited every time I mention teh word camp because he knows he's going to be with his friends and play all day. I especially like the fact that when we do family vacation, I have the piece of mind to know that my dog is safe and well cared for and you cant put a price on that. I also love that I can watch him on the daily camera feeds when we miss the big guy. If you are thinking about a place to stay, please consider BFOB. They truly are a great group of people and they have your pets best interests at heart. read more

We have two dogs, a yellow lab and a golden retriever. Our dogs love staying here - our lab will help push open the door to get in and play with the other dogs! Have also used the grooming services for both dogs - very happy with the results. We wouldn't leave our dogs at any other boarding facility - even though we have to drive 45 minutes to get them there. read more