Embarkadero Social Club

Hands down the best place to bring your dog! Either day care or boarding. Luis and his team are who you want to trust with your pet. THE BEST!

I, as a human, felt so cared for and loved at Embarkadero Social Club. I was showed in to use the restroom when I was in desperate need while my dog did her interview. When I picked her up Luis taught me how to trim her nails on the house.
I could not have had a better experience. I’ve visited a lot of doggy day cares and this one is by far my favorite in the Bay Area.

This is the most amazing place to send your furry babies to play & have fun!!! Luis & his staff are simply wonderful with dogs!!! Luis is bitingly great with dogs but has substantial knowledge with all canines. He is a vet background & in training!!! I bring both of my poodles here several times a week & have been doing so for about 8yrs. My dog Sunny literally tries to jump out of the car with excitement when I pull up to Embarkadero!!! I highly recommend sending your furry babies here without a doubt!!!

This place is THE BEST, Luis and staff are beyond wonderful. My dog Lars loves going and cannot wait to get in the front door. Very clean, spacious, professional but not sterile, and they treat the dogs with so much care. I cannot recommend this place enough and am very thankful Lars’ second home and the love they give to him. Hope to see a picture of Lars on Facebook soon :)

We had a fantastic experience with Embarkadero Social Club! Our 3 four legged kids had never stayed overnight anywhere aside of my family’s place, for max of 1 evening. We boarded them for 8 nights while on vacation and we were extremely pleased with their true care of our kids. It was nice to see their photos posted on their Facebook page while on vacation! :)

Our dog Violet is crazy about this place and paws at their front door, eager to get inside every time we go. The staff is great, the place is super clean, and we never worry about leaving her for the day or overnight boarding. Luis clearly loves animals and wants to see yours happy. We even hired him to come to our house (very reasonable!) to help with aggression training. Happy to report that my mother-in-law’s last visit was free from ankle attacks thanks to Luis’ coaching. Your dog’s going to love Embarkadero!

I’ve been taking my dog Stanley to Embarkadero for about six months now and it’s been great! Luis and his team are wonderful — Stanley is so excited to get there every morning and leaves completely exhausted (I can tell from the FB photos they post daily that he spends most of his time running around playing with the other dogs). There is a large amount of space for the dogs to run around in and lounge outside in the sun. It’s also great knowing that whenever I have to board him there if I’m out of town, Stanley is staying at a place he enjoys so much! Thanks again Luis and team!

Our dog, Marty, loves coming here. He only goes to daycare on occasion but every time we pass this place on walks, he wants to go inside. He is always exhausted and happy when we pick him up. We have only used the daycare services but we plan to board him at the end of August. We trust the staff and are so happy we have a safe and fun place for Marty to stay while we are out of town.

Luis and his team are awesome! My dog, Tobey, has been going to Embarkadero for a couple of years. The transformation under Luis’s ownership has been incredible. Not only do they keep the dogs entertained and safe each day, they also help *train* us owners! I love going there and so does Tobey. He returns home each night happy and exhausted. The facilities are also great with both indoor and outdoor spaces for the dogs to play and lounge. They also keep the Facebook page updated daily with new photos of the dogs for all the working parents to peek in during the day. I always recommend Embarkadero to my dog-​owning friends!

What an amazing place! I’m so excited to have found Embarkadero Social Club and so is my dog, Ryder, who I can tell absolutely loves spending time here. After boarding my dog at other places, I am so impressed to see a staff and facility that works so hard to make owners comfortable and the dogs feel at home. I won’t take my dog anywhere else!

Under New Ownership ~ YEA!!!
Luis is the best thing to happen here for many years (I’ve been coming here for 3 dogs now) He and his staff are wonderful with the dogs and their owners. They always make me feel like they genuinely enjoy seeing/​caring for my dog and that makes a BIG difference. You want to know that your dog is in good hands and I really feel that way now.

The Embarkadero Social Club is our trusted boarding and day care venue for our special pup, Alexander the Great! Louis and his team of canine enthusiats do a wonderful job of providing a safe, fun, warm, and active environment for dogs. Our pooch literaly perks up with excitement 2 blocks away from the ESC, and he has to be persuaded to leave the fun and return home. Not only is Louis and his team caring and responsible, Louis is also a skilled trainer who taught our smart, but anxious, rescue pup wonderful lessons in obediene and crate training. We wholeheartedly recommend the Embarkadero Social Club to busy puppy parents!

This place is a true community for the dogs. They make real and lasting friendships, play freely in the indoor and outdoor runs, lounge on couches and chairs and lots of sunny fake grass mats, get loads of love from the staff, and are treated like family.

Embarkadero is no longer doing grooming stuff! They sent out an email recently saying they are focusing on their pet hotel.
They still have their teeth cleaner come in the first Tuesday of every month though, so bookmark it as «place to get crap scraped out of dog’s mouth.»

David and Nora are awesome and actually hang out with the dogs. My Boston Terrier, Harvey, is a huge pain in the butt and they still like him for some unknown reason :) In addition to the obvious benefits of a well managed, free roaming facility that posts pictures of your puppy on FB, they are pretty much full service, minus a vet.
I recently left my dog at the social club for 12 days (yes, I feel guilty about it). However, I don’t think he even noticed how long I was gone. Growing up we left our family pets at quite a few different boarding places and they always came back totally freaked out and traumatized. After ESC, Harvey slipped right back into his routine as if he were only there for a daycare session.
My experience is definitely related to the fact that my dog was already familiar with the dogs, people, and surroundings from twice a week daycare, but it is a comfort to know that your pet is getting attention and having fun while you are away, whether it is 6 hours or 6 days.

I’m so grateful that I found EmBARKadero Social Club via Unilocal!
I’ve taken my dog Meatball here twice for boarding. Nora and David are so nice and Meatball is always happy after getting back from boarding.
–The dogs are free to roam around in or outdoor within the second floor of the building.
–Nora post pictures of the dogs on facebook through out the day if you want to check up on your pup.
–Also, someone is there all the time even at night!

Embarkadero has been great taking care of my dog Rodney the last month or so (we’ve used daycare and boarding). He is a bit timid and slow to warm up to new dogs/​people/​surroundings, but needs TONS of exercise. So the right environment is critical.
We tried Petsmart Pet Hotel (near work) but it was a total failure — I watched as he just stood in a corner of their concrete «small dog» room all day, wary of the other dogs but otherwise not expending any energy.
At Embarkadero he seems to have a good time actually *playing* with Nora and the other dogs. I think this is a result of Nora (the owner) making sure all the dogs she takes in have compatible personalities, so everyone gets along. Nora even posts pictures during the day to the Embarkadero facebook page, so I get to see Rodney and his playmates from time to time.
The whole crew there are also super committed to the well-​being of the dogs. Rodney got spooked by a skater outside last Friday after I picked him up, and in a panic he slipped his collar and took off down Mission street. Everyone at Embarkadero took turns searching the neighborhood with me, and they put out an alert on their Facebook page. That night he turned up at SF Animal Control, but I was to be out of town during pick-​up hours — so Nora offered to pick him up on my behalf! Needless to say, I’m hugely grateful, and very impressed.

took the boys in for a fluff & fold on Saturday and the groomers did an awesome job at getting our 2 dogs cleaned up and looking good. If it wasn’t for the Plum deal they had we likely never would have found this place but will definitely return. the only drawback is that the grooming prices seem a bit high compared to what we’ve paid at Wags. but, we called with only a few days notice for a Sat appt and we would gladly pay a premium to not have to schedule an appt 1mo in advance.
my only recommendation would be to setup an area to buy dog treats. We always end up spending another $ 20 or so on Bully Sticks every time we wash the dogs at Wags or Pawtrero.

Max, my adopted border collie, loves his days at doggy daycare!
We first set up a 30 minute «interview”/tour on a weekend, where they «interviewed» (tested his social interaction w/​other doggies) Max just to make sure he’s not aggressive or anything like that, then gave me a tour of the place. After that and some paperwork, I can drop off Max for daycare anytime I like, without having to make appointments or anything. This flexibility is certainly handy for me since I bring him on different days each week.
Max has been going to ESC for twice a week for about 3 – 4 weeks now. He always comes home pooped after a day of play at daycare. That’s great since I don’t think we exercise him enough on non-​daycare days. Nora and David are awesome! I can tell they love the doggies they care for, and they’re really efficient about taking Max from me in the mornings when I’m already running late for work. I get a discount b/​c Max is an adopted dog, so $ 27 a day – what a good deal for a daycare in SF!
Also, while they don’t have a puppy cam, Nora does post pix of the dogs on the ESC facebook page! I love that I can facebook stalk Max while I’m at work! Most importantly, I can tell Max likes daycare, not just from the pictures, but also in his improved behavior around other dogs. Max is less shy and more social than before; he’s got a long way to go still, but at least now he shows interest in other dogs when we’re on walks! He used to hide behind my legs!
I love ESC! Max loves ESC! Great place for your pup!
Update 10/​16/​2010: Just wanted to add that Jimmy does a great job with the grooming at ESC as well! I got a «groupon» type deal from Plum District for grooming so I took Max in for the Fluff ‘n Fold. Jimmy did a great job with bathing and trimming Max’s hair and nails. My doggy came back fluffy as promised.

I know they haven’t been open that long but I would bet $ that ESC will be in business for many years to come. The company, before David and Nora took over, really did not keep things up well and the whole atmosphere was pretty dismal. Actually the only reason why I called them again was in desperation b/​c the city was sold out and I was relieved to find out that the kennel had new owners. But you can tell that both David and Nora have put nothing but love and complete attention into making sure they create a comfortable and loving atmosphere for the pups. Bunny was literally smiles when I dropped her off the second time.
Thank you so much for taking such great care of my girl. I am sure she will be back soon!!!