I recently moved back to the area from Texas with my 2-year-old puppy, Sophie. Since I work fully…read morein office, one of the first things I did was find a play place for her. She passed the temperament test with flying colors, so I signed up for a monthly membership and took her several days a week with no issues.
Because things had gone so well, I signed her up for a week of boarding while I took a trip back to Texas to finish packing up our house. On my drive back, I called No Leash Needed, paid for her stay over the phone, and gave them an ETA for pickup so I could move quickly once I arrived -- it had already been a long day, and I still had to unload the moving truck and be up early for work. The girl who took my payment said Sophie's things would be waiting up front.
When I got there, her things weren't out, and I was told she wasn't there. I explained that wasn't possible -- my family was still in Texas, and there was no one else who could have picked her up. Instead of checking, staff kept insisting she wasn't there. Eventually, someone went to look, and 15 minutes later came back out with her. I didn't think much of it at the time and went straight home since we had a busy night ahead.
Once I was home and got a good look at her, I noticed several marks on the left side of her face -- chunks of fur missing and dried blood. I took pictures immediately and called No Leash Needed. The girl who answered said no one had seen anything or knew what caused it. When I said I had photos and needed to speak to a manager, she claimed both managers had already left, that she didn't know how to reach them, and that no one had their numbers. After going back and forth, she suddenly produced a number for the day manager, Savannah, and put me on hold to call her -- then hung up on me after several minutes.
Since they were still open, I drove back to the facility for answers. Winter, who was working, only offered to reimburse me for that day's play and the previous night's stay. I told her I wanted the full stay reimbursed and asked again to speak with the manager she'd clearly just been on the phone with. When I still wasn't getting anywhere, I called the Rock Hill Police.
No one at No Leash Needed was helpful that night. Even with police present, staff wouldn't provide manager contact info beyond names, and continued mopping floors and closing up while the officer and I stood there waiting. No one offered any real help. It was bizarre!!
The next day, GM Whitney called and apologized, admitting staff had mishandled everything and lied about not being able to reach management. I told her the marks were devastating, but what upset me most was still not knowing what actually happened. She agreed and said she was disappointed in her team.
I appreciated the call, but the trust was gone. Whitney was the only one who showed real concern -- everyone else seemed focused on covering themselves. She can't run the place alone, and still relies on that same staff.
I hesitated to post this, but too many friends who've seen Sophie's face pushed me to warn others. Dogs are innocent, and it kills me I put her in this situation. If I had this much trouble getting answers after, I can only imagine how little help she got when it happened.