The Crate Escape has been a most enjoyable place to bring our two year Shepherd Ava. Everyone we have dealt with there has been totally professional and kind toward us and Ava. It is peace of mind when we leave her for day care for great care and socialization. K Cook read more

Our experiences with The Crate Escape continue to be excellent. Not only is it an extremely convenient way to care for our dog when we travel but it is an excellent way to socialize your dog and give it valuable interactions with other dogs. Our dog and we love it. The staff is also excellent and from what we see on the webcam very hard working and attentive. Love that Webcam. read more

Our 3 year old lab mix "Chancey" loves to go here, whether for a day of exercise or boarding while we're away on vacation. Chris and her staff do a wonder full job, keeping the play area and kennels spotless as well as treating the dogs so well. We have plenty of other pet sitting/boarding places in our town, but we think it's well worth the 35 minute trip to make sure our dog is in good hands. Thank you Chris and staff, keep up the good work. read more

Both of my dogs make this their second home when my husband and I travel for business and pleasure. We have used other unnamed doggie playgrounds and were dissatisfied with how our dogs came home to us. When they are at the Crate Escape we know they are happy, healthy and treated like family :-) Our golden, Dunkin, also goes to the doggy day care program 2 days a week and has made so many wonderful friends. He loves it so much at the Crate Escape that he pulls me through the parking lot to get in to see Chris and his doggy pals! The activities they do with the dogs--including blowing bubbles for them in the warmer months--keep Dunkin stimulated all day so when he comes home at night he is a tuckered out pup and such a pleasure to be around. Not easy to do for a 2 year old Golden retriever! I wouldnt send my dogs anywhere else in the Wallingford area! read more

I can't believe that when the dogs are tired and lay down the staff makes the dogs get up just so it looks good for them, if my dog is tired then let my dog rest instead of forming anxiety and stress in my dog and others, I'm a dog trainer for 4 years now and when I heard that my dog gets forced up I got my dog right out and I saw so much more I'm just so upset that I'm not going to get into it. read more

The Crate Escape is the only place we will send our dog for daycare and boarding. They take such good care of him and I know he is in a safe loving environment when he is there. Chris and her staff love him as if he was one of there own! read more

I made a reservation almost 2 months early for Labor Day weekend. I was told there would be limited hours for pickup on Labor Day and made plans to pick my dog up on Sunday. When my plans changed and I couldn't pick her up to Monday, I called and was told that they are now going to be open all day. I called back later and was told the same thing. 1 1/2 weeks before I was to go, I called to make sure they had everything they needed and to confirm the reservation, which they did. I then asked if they were still opened all day on Monday, Labor Day, and was told no, they were going to close completely for the day! No one called me nor even told me, I had to ask to find out they were now closed. I asked if my reservation was to end on Monday, a day they were closed, how would I pick her up, and was told that I would just have to pick her up at a different time! Don't use them, there is obviously no communication between ownership and employees and they don't care about you or they might have offered a solution for me. I now have to find a new place within a week. UPDATE - Chris the owner called me an apologized for the misunderstanding but they are open for pick up and drop off on Monday, Labor Day. I appreciated the quick call back, the explanation and apology. Quickly corrected a bad situation. I rebooked by reservation and will update once our visit is complete. read more

I stumbled upon The Crate Escape after a Google search. I had placed my miniature pinscher, Apollo, at another doggie daycare/boarding facility and he came home scratched, skinny, and skiddish. After a tour of The Crate Escape, I quickly decided this is where my dog needs to be. I have watched the webcam and witnessed staff members interacting with all dogs in a pleasant and playful manner. Although my schedule does not allow me to bring my dog to daycare often, when I do, I know he has a great time. When I pick him up, he is usually asleep before we get a mile down the road. He also recognizes the building and is so excited to get out of the car as we pull up! read more

I would highly recommend The Crate Escape. Our dog became ill while we were out of state and we were promptly called by Chris advising she was taking my dog to the vet and asked which one I preferred. Both Chris and the vet hospital staff kept in constant contact with me until we arrived home the next day. Due to Chris' knowledge of dogs, she realized my dog needed immediate care and took action. I am thankful my 'baby' was with her when his gastrointestinal episode occurred. She saved him a lot of pain and us a lot of worrying. She even called the next day to find out how he was doing. Of note, my dog is not a weekly client. He stays there from time to time when we are away. If she did all this for me, I can only imagine what she does for and how she treats her weekly clientele. read more

Terrible customer service. They take your credit card number and have a 48 hour "cancellation policy." If you cancel for whatever reason, they charge you for the missed day. We had reserved a spot for our dog on a Saturday because we were going to a water park. It was going to rain on that Saturday, so we asked for the reservation to be changed to Sunday. We called them first day Friday morning. The owner said that she will have to charge us for the Saturday. She said that she is completely booked for the weekend and had reserved the space for our dog, even though she said she could take the dog in on Sunday when we called on Friday! Will never do business with this place again. read more

Watch out - they do not take care of your animal the way they say they will. My dog had medical issues and they ignored my repeated requests to keep her quiet and placed her, a small dog, in with the "big dogs" there, which exhausted her and exacerbated her issues. Their response, when I found out what was going on, was "well, she plays like a big dog and we have to consider the safety of all our dogs." They were happy to charge me $19.50 a day, keep me in the dark about what they were doing, and then claim it was my dog's fault. Better to tell the client everything and allow him or her to find better circumstances for their pet. Apparently Chris cared more about the money. read more

My only complaint is they did not notify me after my dog was attacked under their supervision. Consequently, his care was delayed 15 hours. I called after I noticed significant swelling of his eye the next morning; they confessed he'd been "snapped at". As a result, he developed an infection and almost lost his eye. After 2 hours at the ER, I called Crate Escape and updated them; they explained another dog had attempted to mount my dog, mine growled, and the other dog "snapped". I was told the manager would call me the following business day to discuss how much of the bill Crate Escape would cover. By then the story had changed, and my dog was now labeled as the aggressor; consequently, Crate Escape said they would not cover any cost. I would not recommend the Crate Escape because their failure to promptly notify me caused serious consequences, and their event changing painted a shady character. read more

My biggest issue with this doggie daycare is the attitude of the front desk staff. I found the owner especially to be very rude. Every time I came to pick up my boyfriend's dog, she never looked me in the eye, unless it was to tell me the dog misbehaved. When he was bad, she would loudly explain what he did, and everyone waiting around to pick up their dog would stare. It made me very uncomfortable. The Crate Escape says they separate dogs by temperament, however our old dog was put into a large room with a variety of other large dogs (log onto their site and watch the dog cam, you'll see what I mean). I did not feel it was safe to have an old alpha in such a large pack, and it turned out I was right, and he got kicked out. We now take him to a place nearby that told us a lot of dogs get kicked out of Crate Escape, because they don't do well running around all day in a huge pack. They should be separated into small packs with similar temperament. I'd say save your money and look elsewhere for doggie daycare, there are a lot of reputable places in the Wallingford area. read more

If you want quality care and a caring environment, do not bring your dog to The Crate Escape. I have been taking my dog to The Crate Escape once a week since September. At first it was okay, but more recently had an unfortunate and tragic experience. I dropped my dog off at day camp for the day just like every other day. When I arrived for pick up and took my dog to the car, I smelt bleach. His paws were covered in bleach that took 2 thorough baths to get off. I was told they were cleaning one area and he might have stepped in it but there shouldn't be bleach anywhere near the dogs at all. On top of that, when I got home, A part of his tooth fell out of his mouth. A part of his canine tooth fell out leaving a whole, root showing, and him bleeding as well as the top canine tooth chipped. He had to get an emergency surgery to get the tooth extracted costing $850. I contacted The Crate Escape the day after to notify them and they stated there was nothing out of the ordinary and he was playing as usual that day. Unfortunately that is not possible as he does not chew on anything e.i. crate, hard toys, etc. that would cause that damage. I have come to think they do not stop excessive "playful" behavior with other dogs or they do not watch the dogs enough when in their care. I also noticed while looking at the cameras that they do not take the 1.5 hour nap time from 12-130pm as scheduled but more like 1130am-130pm or sometimes even 145pm. I understand it takes time to get the dogs from the crates to the playpen but crazy in my option. read more

We left our two dogs for over a week when we were on vacation. This is the longest period we have ever left them and were concerned about how they would do. We were very impressed with the entire operation of Crate Escape. Our dogs had a good time there and were well taken care of while they were there. In fact one of our dogs had an ear infection and with the care of the staff the infection was cleared up (verified by our vet today). Everyone at Crate Escape was professional and caring. The owner Chris has done a great job. I loved the fact we could bring our dogs in for a 2 hr introduction as well at their thoroughness in checking vaccinations etc. The cameras allowed us to watch out dogs while we were on vacation and it seemed like the staff were constantly cleaning and interacting with the dogs. We will definitely be going back. Thanks to Chris and everyone there from Chloe and Teddy. read more