As the husband I can comment on the previous post, and our "perception" of events. The first time my wife went in to talk to her about a refund she was cordial to her and tried to explain our position that because she was not willing to take the proper precautions to clean her facility we could not bring our dogs back therefore asking for a refund. She told her that she wasn't looking for reimbursement for our medical expenses, but a refund on their unused visits (14 for each dog). She was rude,dismissive, and laughed in her face which I find very disrespectful. She basically did everything to get her out the door, and to buy her some time she said needed to think about it. When asked how long her answer was a disgusted "1 week". Fast forward 6 weeks...and after several attempts of trying to get a hold of Shannon we finally talked to the manager Nikki. She said that Shannon had mailed out a check the day after our visit on Dec 9th. (in her response to the earlier post she said she was giving a refund because she was unwilling to listen to reason, but then mailed a check the next day so what reason was not being listened to?) It was now Jan 19th and we hadn't received a check in the mail so we verified that they had the correct address, which they did. A week later still no check so we called back, no Shannon...again, and spoke to Nikki. We were informed that Shannon was on vaca for a week and a half but she wanted us to call the post office to make sure that they weren't holding the check. We called the local, and regional post office. They don't hold mail unless it is requested for a vacation hold. It would have been delivered, forwarded, or return to sender. The next week when she should have still been on her "vaca" my wife decided to stop by, and you guessed it...she was there. She told her that she wanted to talk about the refund check. She told her to go to the post office and get written proof that they didn't have the check...WTF??? She called the post office from the lobby and let her speak to them. At that point she tells her that she will have to check her bank account and write a new check but she was going to take the stop payment fees out of our refund?? My wife told her that it wasn't our fault and she wasn't agreeing to that, she said that it wasn't hers either. As far as we are concerned she is the business owner and she should have either sent it certified, or with tracking, so it was her fault. As far as aggression? I think she needs a dictionary to look up the definition of that word. No one was aggressive with her, or was she met with "repeated" threats and aggression. Anger? YES! She informed her that she could keep the stop payment fees, but in return she could pay the court fees. She laughed at her and said "you are taking me to court for cancellation fees?" She told her "no we were going to take her to court for everything!". We informed her that our vets husband is an attorney at the DA"S office and that he had looked over all of her contracts and they aren't legally binding, they are only entered into in good faith at best, and that she didn't have a legal leg to stand on. At that moment she immediately changed her tune, and said she would pay the stop payment fees which is what should of been said in the first place. We might not be able to prove 100% that our dogs contracted the giardia there, but considering their extremely controlled environment where we were living we have no doubts especially when a 3rd dog in our household that did not go to daycare did not get sick because we took the extra precautions to make sure that dog stayed well. Irregardless...they were there none the less which means she needed to take precautions to make sure that other dogs didn't get sick, and inform other dog owners of the possibility of them contracting this parasite, which she did not. That shows negligence on her part. As far as threats go, if she considers my wife telling her that we were going to take her to court a threat then so be it. I don't consider that a threat because that was our next course of action. We were tired of being jerked around, and I am sure most everyone would be too at this point. She had lied to my wife's face since the first day that we had went in and spoke with her. She had told us that other dogs had symptoms, but then turned around and tried to say that all those dogs got tested and were negative. I am a pretty good judge of character, and the almighty $ is her moral compass. She needs to take some responsibility as the business owner, have some empathy for her patrons, and show a little common courtesy instead of being the rude, snarky, disrespectful, and an I'm the business owner and if you don't like it too bad attitude. If she would have been cordial from the beginning this wouldn't have ended like this, but because that is the attitude we got from day 1 we feel the need to let others know that if you take your pups there... BEWARE!!! read more

If I could give this place zero stars I would. My husband and I moved in with family in Salem while having a house built. We needed daycare for our 2 dogs on the days that I work. We were told this place was good, and after reading the reviews thought we would give it a shot. We purchased a package of 10 visits each because of the 25% off that they give for the 2nd dog which ended up being $385. Those 10 visits went "OK". We then purchased an even bigger package of 20 visits each because we had planned on this being an every week thing. Most mornings when I would drop them off someone would just come out from behind the desk, take their leashes, and turn and walk them to the back...no hello, no good morning...NOTHING! One evening my husband was picking them up, and my 1 year old puppy who likes to jump accidentally bumped the owner in the face, she proceeded to basically have a meltdown, and said that our dog needed training, (which she did, but she is a puppy) and that if she was going to act like that they didn't want her there and we would be kicked out of daycare. The real icing on the cake was after 6 visits in out of the 20 which was on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving they went to daycare, the next day both of my dogs got sick...VERY SICK... vomiting, explosive diarrhea, shaking, the whole 9 yards. I thought it was just a virus they had picked up like kids in school. On Friday I called their vet and they thought by the symptoms that they had been poisoned and didn't even want me to drive to Portland, but rather take them immediately to an ER clinic in Salem. Turns out they were not poisoned, but still didn't have an answer. They were given IV fluids for dehydration, and a wide spectrum antibiotic. On Monday Dec 1st their vet had me collect stool samples and take them in on Tuesday Dec 2nd. They were given a 3 day course of deworming/parasite medication to go along with the 7 days of antibiotics they were already on. Late afternoon on Thursday Dec 3rd we got the call that they actually had Giardia. Being that this is VERY contagious I immediately called the daycare and informed the owner Shannon. She told me that several other dogs had diarrhea, but none were throwing up. Giardia is a nasty parasite that is nearly impossible to get rid of, it is released in cyst form in fecal matter, and water, and lives on the ground for over 7 weeks. It can't be destroyed ,and thrives in cool, wet, moist conditions. I have no actual proof but given our living situation I strongly believe that they picked this up at daycare. Where we are staying their environment is very controlled. No walks, no dog park, no outside play, and every time they have to go potty it is on a leash because the yard is not fenced. The only place they get to go is to daycare. In the first 12 days of this illness we spent over $1500 in vets and medications, not to mention I had to take a leave of absence from work to take care of them. On the morning of Friday Dec 4th my husband and I went into the daycare to talk about a refund on our unused visits, but the manager said that the owner wouldn't be back until Tuesday afternoon. So on Tuesday Dec 8th I went in with all my receipts and explained to Shannon that I was not looking for any reimbursement for medical expenses, but the $490 that we had in unused visits that were not going to be used. The reason they were not going to be used it that because you basically have to quarantine the outside area where the dogs potty because there is no way to kill this parasite unless its with bleach or Quaternary cleaner which is ineffective outside. She basically laughed in my face and immediately said that "ALL" the dogs that had diarrhea had tested negative, so it couldn't possibly be her place and she told me that I shouldn't have bought such a large package. She lied to my face!! It takes 2 days to get the lab results for this test (in house testing has a 30% false negative result so most send it off to a lab), and if I called her late Thursday afternoon and informed her of my dogs results, and she was off from Friday to Tuesday, and I went in as she started her shift on Tuesday then how is that possible that all the dogs with diarrhea were suddenly tested and had given her the results?? EXACTLY!! My vet wrote them a letter, and gave me a printout from the CDC on how to treat this, and again she just laughed. She admitted that she didn't know much about it but had no intentions of taking precautions to ensure that no dogs got sick. Even if by some chance my dogs did not get it there, they were there and were sick so that in itself leads to the possibility of other dogs getting sick because it is VERY contagious. 16 days in and my dogs were on their 2nd course of antibiotics (for another 15 days) and still not well. Bottom line the Owner Shannon is totally unprofessional and does not have the best interest of the dogs as her priority. Your money is all she cares about!! read more

I absolutely love the daycare concept and had great recommendations for this place from my vet. However, upon picking up my dog after several days boarding followed by a bath, her crate floor pan was returned to me soiled (although dry), her head/face were less than clean, and her long coat had significant mats over most of her body. It took me hours to brush her out. Given that she was very well-brushed before boarding, I can only assume that her coat was not properly dried following her bath. I have never experienced anything at all like this when having her bathed elsewhere! I had really hoped to continue to use the facility, but now I don't know what to think. read more

I just have to say, The Dog Bark is a wonderful place to take your poochie for the day or even boarding. We take our little pup there and she absolutely loves it. She has friends of all different sizes, its great!! The staff is always cheerful and excited to see not only the dogs but the humans as well. We couldn't have asked for a better place to take our fur baby. The webcams are what really sold us on checking these people out. It's so much fun to check in on your pooch to see how they are doing. Keep up the good work Dog Bark. You guys are FANTASTIC!! read more

My dog Jack loves going to the Dog Bark, which is at the corner of Hoyt Street and 13th in Salem, Oregon. As soon as I turn the corner, Jack starts squealing in the car. The Dog Bark is so clean...and Shannon & Mary Beth are always there to play with the dogs-- they are never left alone. Highly recommend the place!! They have webcams so you can watch -- a great feature! read more

Puppy had a great time! She came back clean, groomed and happy. I rarely go out of town, but I hear they have play cameras, so this is my new boarding place! Great service, friendly, fast and great place to bring your loved animal! read more

Perfect doggy play place!! Owner Shannon is extremely helpful, educated, and an animal lover! My pup and I for the perfect service we always do! read more

Shannon, the owner, is a horrible person. Straight up. She's all about the money and doesn't care about the dogs or the customers.

My dog loves The Dog Bark! She comes home freshly bathed, exhausted, and sleeps like an angel. I am hooked. :)

If you don't like your dog, this is the place to take them. I will never again let my dog go here, lesson learned!

Love the ladies and guys at Dog Bark!! Super friendly, pet lovers and awesome service!!