I had a medical emergency and needed to board my dog immediately. Trying to get this done from a hospital bed was overwhelming. Fortunately an acquaintance uses Happy Camper for her dogs and highly recommended them. After calls to other places and to Happy Camper it was clear Happy Camper would be the best place for my 15-year-old baby girl. That all the forms and sending documents could be done electronically was beyond fantastic. My Couscous came home, happy, healthy, and relaxed -- and maybe a little disappointed she wasn't still there. I recently had to go back into the hospital so again needed to board Couscous again with no planning time. Happy Camper welcomed her. I think the best thing a dog parent can hear about a place is what their dog says: As Couscous realized where she was going, she got excited and wagged all her rear body parts in excitement. read more

Dog was bleeding on her ear and it looked like a puncture all they did was wash it off and shrug it off saying that's all they could do. Would not recommend. read more

I used Happy Camper for several years and my pup always seemed very happy to go. One day last year when I picked him up he was limping. I figured he'd just played too hard. That was a $700 sprain, after x rays and treatment. But recently I took him in for a few hours while I had some workmen at my house. When I picked him up he was wet. The owner was there and I mentioned how wet he was. He just blew me off and didn't give me much of a reason why the dog was so wet. Once I got him home I noticed that he had two spots on his head that were bleeding. This was on a Friday. I treated him and watched him over the weekend. He had a lot of mucus from his right eye. Got him into the vet on Monday. Treated with antibiotics. At this point I went to Happy Camper and asked what the hell happened. The owner told me that my dog was bleeding from his tongue! And the reason he was so wet was because they had to wash all the blood off. I was furious. Why hadn't they told me he was bleeding from his tongue? I got the run around from the owner and no real answers. He asked if "some free daycare would help". No. The truth would help. Telling me that my dog was bleeding at the time would have helped. My dog wasn't getting better and his nostril was full of dry boogers. Took him back to the Vet and he was diagnosed with neurogenic "dry eye", meaning that a superficial nerve above his eye was damaged and right eye and nostril won't produce lubrication EVER again. He will be on 2 kinds of eye drops daily for the rest of his life. Greatly increased risk of corneal abrasions. I suspect that my 25 pound dog was attacked by a bigger dog. I trusted Happy Camper to take care of my baby, but instead he was put in a situation where a bigger dog was able to attack him. I was not told about any of it, which means either no one was watching or they saw and didn't want to admit fault. I am furious. I do not recommend Happy Camper to anyone. They broke my trust and now my sweet little boy has a life long condition. The medications are $100 a month and he hates getting eye drops, which I have to give him twice a day. I will never take him back to Happy Camper. read more

Friday my pup visited Happy Camper Pet Lodge in great health and no injuries. I picked him up this morning and his tongue is severely injured. The night attendant nor the morning attendant could provide me with an explanation of what took place or when. The way the situation was handled was piss poor no one cared to offer assistance in anyway. Don't worry he will never return back to this facility the employees are friendly until your dog is injured and you demand answers that no one is willing to provide. read more

Happy Camper Pet Lodge - Pet Groomers Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

I've been taking my dog to happy camper for 2 or 3 months and I absolutely love it. They open up early enough that I can drop him off before work and every time we pull up he gets SO excited and wiggle butts his way in the front door. When I pick him up I am always so impressed with how much the staff can update me on his activities throughout the day even though they have 50+ dogs there on an average day. He is always pooped from playing with his friends all day. Can't recommend this place enough! read more

I've been boarding my English Bulldog here for almost a year now and I have nothing but good things to say. I travel often for work and they always provide updates to me while she's there. She always gets excited when we pull up and exhausted when I pick her up. Great staff here as well. read more

Happy Camper Pet Lodge - Pet Groomers Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

I'm so lucky to have found Happy Camper Pet Lodge! My dog Mocha has been going there for a several months now and they are nothing but great. Since I have a high energy Aussie, I hate to leave her at a kennel when I'm not around where she can't stretch out but I was sold when I saw that that happy camper has so many out door area and that the staff play fetch with dogs on their instagram page. Everyone there knows my dog by her name. I've looked at other boarding / day care places in Richmond area but Happy Camper seem to fit my dog's need the best. My dog is definitely a happy camper at Happy Camper Pet Lodge! She is always happy to go there and happy to come home. read more

Happy Camper Pet Lodge - Mocha at Happy Camper - Pet Groomers Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

I cannot say enough good things about Happy Camper Pet Lodge. I have no past experience with pet boarders or daycares but HCPL exceeds all my expectations. HCPL was first recommended to me by a coworker to board my then 7 month old chocolate lab, Penny, while my family went to the beach last July. Preston, the owner, was great, texting us updates and pictures throughout the week. After picking her up we decided to take her periodically to the daycare. We try to go at least once or twice a month. Penny has some separation issues from us and is still a very energetic 1-1/2 year old puppy but she loves going, so much so that she starts jumping around the car in excitement as we approach. Preston and the staff at HCPL will treat your pet as if it's their own. I trust them completely with our dog. If your looking for a boarder or daycare option, check them out! read more

Happy Camper Pet Lodge - Happy pups - Pet Groomers Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

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My Yorkie-Poo went here for years with no issues that I knew of. In July 2019, an employee called to let me know she had been bit by another dog right after I dropped her off that morning; but assured me she was fine and not to panic. When I picked her up, she was not her playful self and did not want to be touched. Once I got her to the vet, she had to get anesthesia, stitches, and pain medicine. The vet said if I would have gotten her there earlier, the treatment would not have been so intense and expensive. Originally they agreed to pay the full bill, but was only refunded 1/2 the amount after 5 months of waiting and lots of emails/calls. read more

Took my smaller dog and she had a great time with other smaller dogs. Friendly and accommodating staff. Great price as well!

I used Happy Camper to board my Beagle a few years ago. Let me start off by saying that my Beagle doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He is quite playful and would never attack another dog or human being. At some point during his stay, he was bitten on the ear -- a bite so bad that it punctured his ear. After his stay was over with, I stopped in the front office to pick him up, and the person at the front desk lackadaisically says, "oh, by the way...he was bitten on the ear." Panicking, I quickly looked at his ear, and the ear was not only "bitten," but it was fully punctured. In addition, old blood from the punctured ear had dried on his collar and around his neck. I was both angry and appalled that no one from Happy Camper thought to call me after this "bite" happened. Not only that, but the fact that he had been bleeding and may have needed medical attention at some juncture. Or, the fact that they could have, at very least, cleaned the blood up around his ear, neck, and collar. During check-out, the person at the front desk didn't seem the least bit concerned or apologetic about the situation. It is a shame, because we instill trust in these individuals to properly care for our animals. After this poor experience, I have been going elsewhere, and have never had the same issue. If an issue ever arises, I am contacted immediately. read more

This was my 1st dog daycare experience. I live in a very rural area and my dog never sees other dogs unless I make it happen. So I decided to give this a try. I had no idea what to expect and I felt like I was leaving my child instead of my dog. However, I was able to tour the facility and I was very impressed with how clean everything was. There were lots of other dogs there which made me think that other people were pleased. My dog only stayed for 1/2 a day which I felt was good for a 1st time. She is exhausted - she was glad to see me but I could tell that she had a good experience too. After she had been there for about 3 hours I was sent a picture text and she looked so happy. I plan on using them again and hopefully this will help my dog get use to being around other dogs. When I picked her up she was outside with a group of 5 other dogs about her size and things looked like they were going really well. read more

Happy Camper Pet Lodge - That golden is Jenny- she looks happy! - Pet Groomers Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

We were a little reluctant to leaving our baby at this location as it was the first time we ever left our pup anywhere overnight. we were pleasantly surprised and happy that she loved it. read more

My dog died here less than two weeks ago. She had been boarding there for four years, and I had no significant issues, although had lingering doubts. She was a happy, healthy, and active 11yr old dog - and had been seen by a Vet for a full exam within a few months of being boarded. I was hesitant to post anything, but then read the other reviews and felt responsible to share this. I received no explanation from staff other than, "we don't know what happened, she was fine, I'm so sorry, sometimes this happens to dogs". Staff told me she had stopped eating normally the day before, was lethargic and not wanting to go out the day she died and NEVER contacted me in that time about her change in behavior (she'd been there for 8 days, so these changes were obvious). After she died, they called my emergency contact, my Mother, and claimed to have called me first, but did not. The owner apologized for this, but it was an egregious mismanagement. I cannot prove neglect or mistreatment, but should have been contacted at the first sign my dog was behaving differently and showing signs of poor health - I could have had her picked up, transferred to a Vet, and been home from my trip within 4hrs. If this was a tragedy that could not have been prevented, I should have been contacted directly at the very least. I asked for an autopsy, but my Vet did not do them and suggested I bring her to Va Tech to have it done which I decided against - I will never know the circumstances of her death, but it's been devastating to even consider the possibility it could have been prevented, or that she wasn't cared for properly while there. read more

We started taking our dog here to play with other dogs and get some exercise when we were busy or would be away from home all day. At first we really liked this place. It was cheap and convenient. Then, we started taking him at least once a week so he could get social interaction and play. Until we started noticing every time we came to pick him up, he was inside alone, not outside playing with the other dogs. We asked why and they said he was in time out for humping another dog. Okay understandable. They told us that every time we came to pick him up and we thought it was strange as we have never seen hump another dog when we take him to the dog park. They started to see we were catching on and they came up with new excuses for why he was inside every time we picked him up and not outside playing with the other dogs. "We saw your car pull up so we went to grab him" "he wasn't alone he was just in a different play area" it goes on. We stopped taking him there because the whole point was to get him socialization and play time and he was getting neither- so a waste of our money and we feel bad leaving him there when they stick him in a crate all day. They never did give us an honest answer on why he was not allowed to play with the other dogs. He is the most friendly pup, listens well, and plays very well with other dogs. We take him to the dog park daily now and have never seen him behave poorly there. If the staff here would give us an honest answer on why he gets locked up all day at daycare while other dogs get to play, I would consider giving them 3/5 stars. But for us, it has been a waste of time and money taking our dog here. I feel sick thinking about how they lock him away all day when we were thinking he was there playing and having fun. read more

I would highly advise to not bring your dog to Happy Camper. Our sweet golden went there for daycare when one afternoon they called us to let us know she had a "minor cut" but was doing fine and they put hydrogen peroxide on the cut (which btw is not suggested). We go to pick her up and there is a large open gash on her back, which required a vet visit, staples, and a cone for two weeks. When asked what happened, they claimed they were outside the whole time and didn't see anything happen; it also "wasn't caught on cameras". There's no way my dog injured herself, so beware of the aggressive dog that's there and clearly running freely unsupervised. We are most disappointed in how the owner handled it; not giving our dog proper first aid care, downplaying the injury, barely receiving an apology, and no reimbursement for the vet bill. Please think twice before sending your fur baby here!! read more

I would give this place a zero stars if I could. When we first started taking our dog there my wife and me. The place felt a little odd to me but my wife said it was close to her work and lets just see if our dog likes it. She has been going for about 3 months know problem but as of the last 3 weeks the place has started to go down. Our dog went for a full day daycare and I came to pick her and I see the staff out front smoking cigarettes who is watching the dogs. So I go in and ask for my dog and I am standing there waiting 20 mins and other people come in right after me and have gotten there dog. So the lady comes back out and tells me there is blood on our dogs tail and she doesn't know where it came from or what happen. I thought it might have been a small scratch come to find out her tail was split done the middle down to the meat. The veterinarian says she has never seen anything like that before. She ask what happen we where like we don't know they couldn't tell us. So with that being said we will never take our dog there again and the veterinarian has contacted them to find out and have taking pictures. read more

The reviews and in-person comments from patrons for this place are amazing. Happy Camper are primarily group play for stays as you can see in the photos, which I was cautious and nervous about since my dog is used to being on her own. The owners and I talked quite a few times prior to bringing her in and when I brought her in for test days about this and they assured me they watched all interactions and made sure they would be ok in groups. My dog went to their daycare several times and had a great time for day visits. No issues that I knew of. They said she did great, even. So when it came time to go out of town for a work trip, I set them up with her for 4 days/overnights, so really 3 overnights, and 4 days. On the day before I picked her up, she apparently got into a scuffle over a toy with another dog and she was injured. Thankfully the other dog wasn't injured since my pup was reported to have started it. They handled it well, all except for telling me about it ahead of time and downplaying it when I arrived. (They called it a scratch, but it was a puncture wound.) The wound was cleaned and treated, and she was then kept out of the group play to recuperate. My vet confirmed how it was handled on site, and how it looked in photos, was good and she would heal on her own without stitches despite it being a puncture wound. (Thank goodness for that.) My first overnight stay was not a "success" per say, but they did things right with the wound, so that was something. That should at least put a pup parent's minds at ease. I'm not sure that happened there exactly given their set up, and I will probably never know, but I suspect my dog got possessive over the toy because she was just punchy and timed out on all the stimulation by day 3. When I followed up with them via email several days after picking her up, they said they were looking forward to her next visit once she had healed. However, after that, they have not answered a single email or voice message I left them regarding her staying for another daycare visit or staying for another extended stay when I traveled, which left me in a bind to find a dog sitter quickly for my next trip. They gave no indication they would not welcome her back (we spoke about more downtime and keeping a better eye on her for down time needed in future)... so I'm saddened to not be able to take her back there and have to find a new place. In summary, seems great for daycare, but not for long stays for my dog or any dog that might act out if they do not have suitable downtime, at my best guess. The lack of professionalism ignoring my requests for a response (3 emails and 2 phone call messages) was not OK, nor was not telling me about the injury until I picked her up. read more

So after spending a week away from my pup, when I picked her up she was as happy as a lark, and seemed quite at home. I would highly recommend this place for your furry family members. read more

Poor conditions for the dogs , very little shade for the dogs , extremely strong smell of dog poop , dogs are crammed into small pins , not exactly the most sanitary place read more

The owner of Happy Camper pet lodge did reach out to us and was apologetic concerning "what may have happened" to Handsome Jack during his stay. Our concern was that no one noticed the change in his testicles or attempted to get him medical treatment or said anything about it when we picked him up. He is almost completely healed but it is unlikely that we will board him again overnight to avoid any future irritation and/or infections of this type. read more

The people who run this place know what they're doing and are incredibly accommodating. We had to make a last minute drop off and it could not have been easier. Also, our pooch is high anxiety and they took care of her really well. Great customer service and care! read more

My wife and i have been bringing our dog here for a while now and are very pleased. Great place, friendly staff, and good prices.

Found Happy Camper Pet Lodge this past year. They take wonderful care of my older black lab. The first time they boarded her they even texted me some pictures of her having a great time playing with the other "residents". read more

I give this place five stars!! The only place I will take my dog to get groomed and board. The faculty is super friendly and makes me and my sweet pup feel very welcomed. Roger is a fantastic pet groomer and is willing to work with anyone. I have a dog who is very sensitive and the staff welcomed him and made him feel super comfortable. I love this place!! read more

my 5 month old puppy absolutely loves it here. she is so excited to arrive in the morning and doesn't want to leave in the afternoon! thankful! read more

I have been taking my furry baby here just for half a day daycare to get him some exercise. They are always so nice and play with him and give him love when I bring him in, that it makes me feel good knowing someone else loves my puppy and is giving my puppy attention. We boarded him for two days for the first time and I felt completely at ease leaving him there knowing they were going to take care of him. Prices are very reasonable and I highly recommend them. read more

Just had my 3 dogs board there for 4 days and they loved it! There is a nice big play area inside and outside. The outside area is divided into several areas and the owner divides the dogs by temperament so everyone gets along. There is someone there even overnight which offers great peace of mind. When I got there for pick up, the poodle was hanging out in the front office on an oriental rug and the lab mix practically had to be dragged out of the play area with all of the balls! The best part was the nice bath they all got before pick up for a very reasonable fee. Will definitely be back!! read more

I've been bringing my lab to Happy Camper for both daycare and boarding for over 2 years now, and we've had a great experience there. He's still beyond excited every time I pull up to drop him off, and exhausted (in a good way!) when I pick him up. The staff are all nice, and always seem genuinely excited to see my dog. Added bonus - I've had a few times over the past couple years where I've needed to find boarding for him very last minute, and they were always extremely accommodating. read more

Such an awesome place!!! We took our dog here for the weekend while we went out of town. It was our first time to board him and was such a great experience. Preston the owner is so nice and down to earth. Our dog walked right up to Preston and immediately felt at home. He sent us pictures of him playing which made us feel good to have him there. Most importantly, Andy was so rested and happy when we got him. I feel like they play with the pups more than the "included" time slots, which is amazing and goes to show they truly love spending time with animals. We will always bring Andy here and recommend it to all of our friends! Will definitely bring him for day camp to so he can interact with other dogs! Thanks Preston and Happy Camper Lodge! read more

There are not enough words to describe how awesome this place is. The people who work here absolutely LOVE dogs and take the time to play rather than just throw the dogs in an area together and leave them be. There were many times when we would be on vacation and would randomly receive a text or an email with a photo of our dog having the time of her life -- the staff at HCPL really go out of their way to make their dog (and human) clients happy. Recently we moved out of state and have been shopping around for a new place to take our dog and nowhere comes close to Happy Camper. This place is the best and we miss it! read more

Great place thats it!!!... Started bringing my 17 week old puppy (yellow lab) This is the first time ever bringing a dog of mine to any type of dog care. The reason for starting was wanting to get the puppy ( Zoey) socialized with other dogs, along with not having to be stuck in a cage all day on my long day at work. Happy Camper pet lodge caters to this in every way with being open at 7am and closes at 7pm along with someone on staff 24hrs for those who stay overnight. They are just starting off and the place is growing. They will soon be getting a pool for the dogs (how awesome is that). One day my puppy decided to get extremely dirty so Preston the owner gave her a bath for me. Its easy to bring her in and just drop her off knowing she's in good care and will be having fun. The second day we showed up they already knew who she was. By the time I get her home she's exhausted, then when I bring her back just as we pull up she gets so excited she knows exactly where we are! I was also able to get a tour the first day just to see the area, they have lots of room to grow and play. Along with many different fenced in areas for dog separation if needed. I would gladly leave her there over night when the time comes. They also post pictures on FB. I can't wait till they start the field trips hope Zoey can attend some :) The price is very reasonable, we will be buying a package of 20 next week which will save me $50 which is almost 4 free days you can't beat that for a dog to have a great time and be taken care of just the way you want them to! read more