Best Friends Pet Care

I cannot express how much I dislike this place!!! Do not by any means bring your dog here. They have the most confusing service SKU list. I encourage you to look at their website, there are about 500 different options for both «day camp» and boarding. I took about 20 minutes to book online and they call you to go through the whole thing again.
I put day camp in quotes because they lock them up all day for no reason. They actually charge you to let them out to play with other dogs?! please explain to me how in god’s name there is a cost for that. I was furious when I found this out. Locked in a room all day… why not kennel them at home if you want your dog to be miserable and save yourself $ 35.
Every time I came in I had to fill in a contract, why I do not know. They said we can have you fill out a permanent contract and I asked why not use the same one I initially filled out and as you can imagine blank stares.
I boarded my dog overnight and explained I would not be back until around 5 the following day which I understand is past 12:00 PM pickup which is fine. Every other place I have boarded a dog charges you a late pickup fee or at worse a daycare stay. They charged me another $ 55 for overnight even though he was only there until 5:00 PM.
This is the absolute worst KENNEL not boarding facility that I have ever seen. Save yourself money and never bring your dog here. They are right around the corner and very convenient to me and I would rather drive 45 minutes then board by pet here.
0 out of 5 stars!

Well, my dog used to love this place. He would go for daycare a few times a week and come home happy and exhausted. There is an outstanding «counselor» in the large dog side. His name is Cameron. Nothing but praise for him. Now, this new «counselor» is working in the large dog side. His name is Chris. If you see him, just leave. He has no clue on how to handle dogs. All he does is spray your dog with his water bottle which he carries like a six shooter. If the dog wrestles at all, instant time out. I have spoken to management and it has fallen on deaf ears. He may be a nice guy outside of this situation, but he has zero clue on how to handle dogs and BF has now lost a customer. Avoid BF as long as he is there and you have a larger dog.

My dog has been to several places over the years and hands down Best Friends in Norwalk is the best! I always know when I drop my dog Ivan off he is in good hands. He loves going there for camp so much, when I pick him up, he doesn’t want to go home! My dog is extremely high energy and when I pick him up, he is exhausted and happy. The staff could not be nicer or more caring. Everyone there treats Ivan like he is a member of their family and I know he is in good hands. I work in the veterinary field and I recommend Best Friends in Norwalk to my clients who are looking for a great place to bring their pets.

Just no.
While the staff that I dealt with was very friendly, in the end, it seems that my poor cat is traumatized (well was… but we will get to that.) I desperately needed him to be groomed in June and the place he normally goes was booked. He has been getting groomed since he was a kitten and I have never had a problem with him and he’s always been very sweet to everyone.
So. I was recommended to this place. Booked the appointment. Stressed to them that he is shy and not used to dogs (he goes to a cat only place) and to please try to avoid them as much as possible. While I completely understand this place handles both cats and dogs… if any owner is sharing concerns and the business TRULY cares about you animal (and their business) they will respect this. If he needs to be near dogs, at least try to put him near a smaller, shyer dog.
I dropped him off in the morning (and just a note – the lobby smells like wet dog when you walk in – it’s overwhelming) and was told I would be able to get him around noon/​1 and I would get a call. Again – the staff was very, very friendly. You can see the grooming room and it looked fine – they were grooming a small dog. 1 o’clock rolls around and no call. I call them and am told oh, yea, I can pick him up.
I go to pick up my cat… and I wait. And wait. And wait. Finally, they come out to me and tell me I have to get him out of the kennel because he «won’t come out.» When they bring me to him – he is stuffed in a very, very crowded kennel area surrounded by barking dogs and looks terrified hiding in the back. FYI – there were many empty kennels… why was my cat smushed between dogs when I asked them to please avoid? The whole back of the place was just not… nice looking (clean? who knows?) I got him out right away and took him home.
First – his grooming was absolutely terrible. I keep him short in the summer and showed the staff a picture of his normal haircut. He was not groomed anywhere close to how he is normally done, nor was he short at all. Second – he seemed groggy, almost drugged, when I picked him. I was NOT told if he was sedated. Third – his personality was off for weeks. He is shy, but normally very friendly, once he comes out. He was hiding and a nightmare.
Unfortunately, it seems like none of my requests were met. They charged me close to $ 90 dollars to basically leave me with a traumatized pet.
I just brought him back to his regular groomers this week… and the poor guy was terrified because he thought he was going here. Luckily, his normal place took care of him, he looks handsome, and my little guys personality is back – they worked with him a little. Thank goodness.
I can’t speak to dogs, but for cats… no way.

Over priced dog services. I used them religiously from 2005 through 2008. I then came back to ct in 2010 and that same year I was done. Dog day care was excellent. Grooming results were too. I relocated for a year came back and the place either got too big for itself or they kept hiring ppl unfamiliar with animal care. I once found my older dog covered I his own vomit in a cage in a holding hallway when one of the staff that knew me let me come back with her to get him. I was mortified. They promised to put both my dogs together from that point forward. They did in a runner. However, I noticed my dogs were starting to not care to go in toward the end of my using their services. That concerned me. I had some billowing issues with service fees for a while too though the office worked with me to resolve them. But the fact they could not account food every single charge is what did me obi and I refused to pay for two services that they couldn’t provide explanation. The people were nice overall but toward the end the New front check in staff lacked personality.

Best experience I have ever had getting my cat groomed! The clipper cut was super even– which isn’t always easy to do with a grumpy cat. The employees there were super friendly. Would have enjoyed a lower price but it is what it is, and ultimately worth it.

I’m confused by reviews on here. Been bringing our very fear aggressive collie here for a couple of years since moving up for vacation stays as well as grooming. He doesn’t like strangers and doesn’t get along with other dogs, so we really need a place who understands his behavior and treats him well. We have always had good experiences here. They are very kind to him, with many of the girls saying he’s one of their favorites and he’s a mush when they bring him out, allowing them to hug and kiss him. (Amazed!) His grooming is always well done. And he has no digestive issues when he comes home unlike other places we have taken him too. A couple of minor issues — yes, the urine smell isn’t cool in reception and picking him up can take quite a while, as they are busy. But overall, we are relieved to have a good local place, we can rely on for our boy.

I used this place as a last minute resource since my groomer is in Port Chester and we needed to give my pet a bath same day. I got to say I had a bad experience in the past with them but this time, I brought my dog as a walk in I wanted her done as soon as possible and she was. They did a good job. The only down side was, the lobby has a very strong odor of kennel. Yes I know it is and it’s also a groomer, but my vet has the same set up and his place smells clean.

Our dog Jack boards here when we have friends and family staying at our house. He’s skittish around strangers, so it’s best to have him enjoy the weekend with group play. Best Friends has always delivered him to us a happy, tired, and clean puppy.
We’ve had no medical scares and he’s cleaner than when we did daycare in Manhattan, which tends to have more dogs in smaller areas.
The staff has always been friendly and professional. We’d recommend this boarding place to friends and family.

Very disappointed. Took my two 11 month old kittens here for a manicure and grooming. Very pleasant on the phone and great customer service when I dropped them off. Met with the groomer to explain on of my cats is a polydactyl and may have an ingrown nail. I trim their nails as much as they let me at home and thought taking them to a «professional» would help and get them used to going out. Got a call a few hours later that they did great, and were not thrilled to be bathed but sat nicely for their manicures and there was no bleeding. One did in fact have an ingrown nail which was clipped and they even saved it in a bag to show me. This made me feel like I did the right thing by bringing them here. Once I got them home, I saw that both kittens claws appeared dirty. Almost all of their nails were cut below the quick and had been bleeding. Front and back paws split and bloody.
This is not acceptable. Anyone who works with animals knows that this hurts them and is unnecessary. The cats got out of their crate and immediately started licking their paws and cleaning themselves. They were visibly uncomfortable and I felt horrible for bringing them there. Also, each cat cost $ 45 to groom so $ 90 later I was left feeling guilty with two young cats that were bleeding and uncomfortable. A week later they are running around and feeling better but I will not be going back.

Best Friends takes as good care of my babies as I do… if that is possible!
They are the best

Thank you Best Friends! Rudi is a high strung Bull Terrier but when I picked her up I could not have been happier. She was happy and at ease. Thank you for providing a home away from home for my girl.
Regina Leadem.

Went here because someone suggested it. I should’ve checked the reviews first. I checked my dog when I got home and she had razor burns under her arms, her cut was terrible and uneven. Never coming here again.

I’m genuinely surprised by the negative reviews for Best Friends. We first took our puppy to Best Friends because it was recommended by a pet owner at dog training class at another local pet care facility. We’ve been taking our dog to Best Friends for almost a year now. Usually twice a week to day camp and we’ve boarded her for a long weekend several times. We’ve had nothing but positive experiences. Our dog LOVES going to Best Friends, the second we pull in the parking lot she is wagging her tail and pulling me through the door. The staff at the front desk and the camp counselor have always been very friendly to us and our dog.
What I love about Best Friends is that their day camp is constantly broadcast live on their website. I can check in anytime and see that my dog is having the time of her life. There have been times in the past (not recently) that we’ve picked her up from day camp and you can tell there is a urine odor, but I have to agree with the other reviewer that with that many dogs in a room it has to be nearly impossible to always have your dog come out smelling fresh and clean. I can also say that from watching the webcam the camp counselors are very diligent about cleaning up any messes in the camp area as soon they appear (that was actually one of the reasons we switched from our old pet care place). They are also willing to show you around the boarding area where the dogs sleep at night.
I can’t speak to the grooming services as our dog has short hair and therefore we’ve only had them give her bath and nail clipping, which have all turned out good.
We’ve been very happy with our dogs care at Best Friends and will continue to bring her there regularly.

This place is horrible! I went there 5 years ago, with my poodle and collie for boarding and haircuts. Not only did they botch up my poodle’s cut horribly, razor burns and all. They both came home sick with diahrrea. Okay, I am too forgiving. I went there again two weeks ago with my new puppy, a Havanese. And a girl just being ‘trained’ to be a stylist did my dog. I wanted a puppy cut. She came home shaved down. Mind you, this was my puppies 3RD haircut, NOT HER FIRST! They botched it up and would not do good on it. They insisted that their new stylist was well trained??? My dogs body is all uneven AND DISHEVELED. Now I really will never go back, THEY ARE NOT STYLIST THERE… THEY ARE NOT PROPERLY TRAINED! I THINK THEY JUST TRAIN THEM THERE WHILE THEY ARE WORKING. WORK AND LEARN AS YOU GO IS THEIR MOTTO! STAYING AWAY!

I have been bringing my dog to Best Friends for 11 years. The groomer, Carmine, is GREAT! He is very «bichon savvy». He cuts my bichon frise’s dog perfectly and always comes home poofy. When I left to the Dominican Republic for a week on business, I left Buddy at Best Friends. We have him the puppy spa package and he loved it! Theysent us pictures and we were able to see him through the cameras online. Buddy is aggressive also, and does NOT like people. they knew how to handle him very well.
Buddy has many medical conditions, and they took care of each one, very close to detail. Our neighbors (5 to be exact) go to Best Friends without complaints.
The only part I agree with below is that the place does smell bad, there is lack of parking, and the yard doesn’t look sanitary, but the customer service and «internal attention» makes up for it

Ive been bringing my dog here for day camp for a couple of months and overall, Im very happy with her care. I addressed the urine smell that someone else mentioned in a survey and received a personal letter from the manager letting them know that theyre making some changes and since then there has been a noticeable difference. She doesnt smell as bad when she comes home (but we still give her a bath anyway since she jumps on our furniture) My dog is always happy when I drop her off or pick her up. I think the staff is friendly and loves all the pets who come there. I have no complaints. To those who say its dirty, you try keeping a room with 20 dogs in it clean, and good luck.

I would like to warn others about the neglectful pet service here as well. Service is friendly at the front desk but my friend’s dog arrived home extremely, beyond extremely thirsty (it drank FOUR bowls of water as soon as it walked in!), AND is suffering from diarrhea as well.

Don’t leave your dog here. It’s dirty — workers don’t care.

One Sentence: Extremely long check-​in, Dogs come out smelling like urine, upon exiting having to request all my pet’s supplements, was given ANOTHER DOG’s MEDICINE!
I had to book my dogs in here as a last resort. I hadn’t heard anything bad about the place, but my two regular puppy-​care places were booked!
Check-​in, despite my carefully listing each and every supplement & medication on a document for them, had to be re-​entered in to their computer whilst I stood there and listed it all out. It’s a strict entry-​system, too, so it was frustrating and time consuming. It took over 30 minutes of me standing there. (how could they avoid this? Ask for it all in email, beforehand, or when you book!)
When I came back to pick up my dogs, just 2 days later they absolutely stank. They smelt like Urine and I was disgusted, utterly disgusting. Perhaps that’s how how they pressure you into getting the grooming.
I was given my dog’s toys and went to put them in the car, only to discover they hadn’t even bothered to return all my dog’s supplements! How could you miss that? They’ve been in business long enough to ‘know the routine’ — no?
Well, all that annoying-​ness aside I got home and unpacked their stuff only to find ANOTHER DOG’S MEDICATION amongst my own dog’s medication. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It’s a prescription-​only medication for the pancreas and I immediately called the place to get an explanation.
I was given some story about how the size of my supplements meant they were stored in a ‘common’ area, rather than their ‘cubbies’, and that there was no way that my dogs were given the wrong medication.
So, now I have some other poor Dog’s medication, and they have to send someone to come and get it, and I have to spend the day monitoring my dogs for any signs of illness.
Completely unacceptable and I am upset with myself for having taken them there. If anything happens to either of my dogs, you can be sure I’ll be editing this review!
Side Note: Where can I recommend? Cassio Kennels, in Bethel! My dogs have been going there for years and are always extremely well cared for, and there has never ever been an incident.