Lucky Dog Tampa

The facility itself is a good one, but the staff is utterly clueless. It’s simply too big with too many dogs to take care of at one time, so fights and attacks are pretty common. While my dogs were able to avoid any serious altercations, they did come home with kennel cough once — their shots were up to date, too. I can’t stress enough just how moronic the staff is. Nobody has any clue what’s going on in that place.

My dog was attacked by a pit-​bull during his INTRODUCTION to the play yard less than an hour after dropping him off. The pit bull grabbed onto his face puncturing and tearing his ear requiring stitches. It was his first time staying at Lucky Dog and obviously his last.
A note to any of the Lucky Dog staff that may be reading this review;
Pit bull’s are known as «dog-​aggressive» dog breeds and do not do well in large play groups of dogs. Please educate yourselves on how to properly care for the animals you are claiming to be responsible for. People trust you to care for their animals as they would themselves but that is clearly not a priority.

Woof, bark, yap, yap, yap!!!
I am translating for my Mia, the Weim, as she is called at Lucky Dog.
I cant say enough good things!
Mia has visited many, many doggie day care facilities in Tampa and Orlando. NONE have come close to the cleanliness, friendliness of the staff, and most of all the love and affection showered on my beloved Mimi!
Mia gets crazy excited whenever we turn down Fig St! She seriously cannot contain herself when she realizes that she is going to daycare!
Mia is usually at Lucky Dog 1 – 2 days a week. She comes home happy and exhausted. What more can a Weim mommy want?
I haven’t used Lucky Dog for boarding only since Mia doesn’t do well with sleepovers in a group environment, I have been out of town for an extended periods so I rely on a close friend to take care of Mia in my absence,
Carry on doggie mom and dads, just be sure to bring your fur baby to Lucky Dog for some lovin every now and then!

Typically I make a practice not to post negatively reviews. However when a business fails to meet fundamental safety requirements for it’s clients who cannot speak for themselves like my dog I feel obligated to post a negative review. I have several critical comments to make that I feel relate to the understaffing of this business. 1. When you call on the phone you get long wait times on hold and when you get to talk to a staff member they seemed rushed and not attentive to your conversation or requests. 2. They lose paperwork related to vaccinations submitted and you have submit more than once. 3. They claim you can see your dog on video but when you look at where your dog is supposed to be they are not there. 4. Related to #3 you can see dogs crowded into one location, on video, with no human supervisor visible. 5. My dog came home with two obvious bite marks, on his shoulder, they had called and told us he had a scratch from being in the play pool. My dog is a Weim who hates water so their story about the injury was obviously not the truth.
Basically they are seriously understaffed and do not take good care of the animals in the their charge. They never say no to requests to board or stay. JUST SAYIN!

DO NOT TAKE YOUR DOG HERE
After speaking with the owner of this facility yesterday, Jack Hamilton, I felt the need to update my review for anyone who is considering taking a pet here. My French Bulldog was attacked on February 2, 2016, by another much larger dog at this facility. My dog, Louis, required surgery and has significant scarring as a result of the attack. I spoke to the owner of the other dog who said that she had been in and out of shelters and had a history of such behavior. Despite this history the dog who attacked mine was put in the «yard» with other animals.
I posted on Facebook about the attack on my dog and very quickly heard from many people whose dogs were also attacked at this facility. I also heard from a former employee of the facility who had repeatedly complained of understaffing for the number of dogs they take in.
I wrote to the facility twice, requesting, among other things, to get a copy of the incident report and any video of the attack (the facility advertises that the various «yards» all have video cameras) and to be reimbursed for any prepaid daycare since I obviously was not going to bring my dog back here. After my second letter I was contacted by the owner, Jack Hamilton. When I brought up getting my money back, he asked if I’d sign a «non-​disparagement agreement.» Being an attorney, I indicated that I would not. It was at that point that things got really disturbing and unprofessional. He repeatedly referred to me as an «a$$hole attorney,» and indicated that whenever he goes up against such «a$$hole attorneys» he «always wins» and that he has an attorney on retainer and would counter-​sue if I took any legal action against him or Lucky Dog.
Obviously this is disturbing on several levels. First, it’s a completely unprofessional way to treat a customer, especially one whose dog was attacked at your facility. Second, anyone who owns a dog daycare that advertises loving, responsible pet care, and who claims to love animals, would never treat a fellow dog owner like that. Clearly, Mr. Hamilton is in this for the money, not because he is passionate about animals. Indeed, he actually owns an engineering company and, according to an article in the Tamp Bay Business Journal, had some space at his facility and opened Lucky Dog (ironic name) as a way to make «a little extra money.»
As an animal over I can’t stress enough that if you are considering a doggy daycare, you DO NOT take your dog to this facility. What my dog and I went through was awful, and I’d hate to hear of another animal suffering similar neglect and injuries at this horrible place.

Situated in an industrial area by University of Tampa, this «pet resort» offers a fabulous set up for pooches. There are day care and boarding services available to fit all of you and your dog’s needs. The facility was recently renovated and from what I can tell, the updates are stellar. The atmosphere of the place inviting and I love the ease of scheduling, drop-​off, and pick-​up procedures.
Although I hate having to leave my fur child behind when I occasionally unable to travel with her, I know that she is receiving the utmost care while in a deluxe, up-​to-​date, boarding facility. The building itself is clean and I always feel good about my choice to entrust LD with her care. It seems like such a fun place for dogs to spend their time away from loved ones.
The staff is friendly, helpful, and professional and they seem to enjoy their jobs. I have never had a bad incident or experience here. Prices are fair and as listed on their website with no hidden fees. I feel that the price is reasonable given the service they provide and I have never paid more than anticipated.
If you are sending your dog into Lucky Dog be certain that your dogs vaccinations are current or else LD cannot accept your dog. Also, if you are boarding, you can bring a bag of the food the dog eats with the dogs name on it. There is also food available by LD if you’re in a pinch for an additional charge. I bring her food and portion out Sophia’s meals into individual baggies so it’s a no-​brainer for them.
I enjoy that with the villa boarding option the dogs have many walks and are able to play with a counselor and go swimming. The packages and what they include can be found on their website.
Although my dog Sophia is pretty clingy to those she lives with, she does not hesitate or be visibly stressed to be left at Lucky Dog… actually quite the contrary. Sophia scampers towards the door with all her might, anticipating the fun that awaits her visit. Upon pick up, despite being excited to see me, Sophia wags her tail rapidly, as happy as can be. After her most recent two-​night visit my hyper Maltese mix was tuckered out to the point where she was mopey and just wanted to nap and cuddle. It made me want to know what she really does there. If only dogs could talk…

Lucky dog totally saved me when I was on vacation last week. I had my puppy with a sitter who decided they couldn’t care for her. When I was across the country I was able to coordinate with a Lucky Dog manager, Leslie, and fill out an application and she arranged so that she could do boarding for 5 nights without a reservation. They were so accommodating and answered any questions I had when I called a few times a day to check on her. They kept tabs on all of her belongings and gave me a progress note when I picked her up too. Some other nice features include the webcams of the «resort» and the ability to pay with Apple Pay. Even though it’s a little out of my way, I will likely take my pup here for boarding and daycare when needed. Highly recommend!!!

I LOVE Lucky Dog. And more importantly, my dog Winston LOVES Lucky Dog. I work long hours sometimes, and I feel bad leaving him alone in the house all day with no other dogs to play with. So I take him to Lucky Dog, and he romps around all day with his furry friends and the awesome staff. I know that he is well taken care of there, and he always comes home absolutely pooped.
I also like the convenience. They are open 24/​7, and I have sometimes dropped him off before 6 am, and picked him up late at night. In fact, on one occasion I came back from a long trip, and got in very late. I was actually able to pick him up at about 2 a.m.
This place is awesome. Take your dog there. (S)he will love it.

I’ve taken my dogs to Lucky Dog several times since I frequently travel for work hoping for a better result each time, but the last time was the absolute final straw. Each time I’ve taken my dogs there they’ve come home with scrapes and scratches which I assumed was somewhat normal since they play in the play yard all day. However, the day after I picked up my dog last time (after a four day boarding stay) I noticed her jaw was swollen. After looking closer I realized there was a puncture wound FILLED with infected puss. After looking closer she had several deep puncture wounds and scratches all over her body and she now has a scar on her face from it. That day I called Lucky Dog to find out why I wasn’t contacted since there had to of been blood involved and since they’re supposed to be supervised at all times someone should’ve seen what happened. They put me on hold for about ten minutes and then told me no one reported anything and they’d review video footage. They also asked me to send pictures of my dogs injuries via email, which I did immediately, and I NEVER recieved a response. I followed up via phone and email and still NOTHING. Not only was the whole situation sketchy considering they wouldn’t respond to me or provide details of what happened, but it’s also an obvious sign that they do not sufficiently supervise the dogs and even if they do, do not know how to manage them. I will never take my dogs back there and I urge anyone else considering it to avoid it as well.

Best doggy daycare ever! They are clean and very caring. They treat our dogs like their own pets and are very professional. They have obedience classes too. They were very helpful. Highly recommend you try Lucky Dog when your pooch is feeling rowdy and needs a day with the dogs.

I don’t normally leave reviews, but after reading a few of the experiences here, I thought I’d share a couple of my experiences. I have boarded my dog here a few times with no issues. She absolutely loved it and the staff was really great with her. The last 2 stays, however, were problematic. Two stays ago, she developed pancreatitis a few days after returning home from a 2 — night stay. My vet happened to also be treating another dog with the same issue that had stayed there the same 2 days. I was hesitant to use them again after that incident, but I moved recently and had to board her again for a couple of days while I dealt with movers. When I went to pick her up, they gave me the WRONG DOG! When one staffer went back to get MY dog, I asked the other one if this happens often, he said, «more than you know.» I played phone tag with the owner for a week before I finally reached her by email (I never did get to actually talk to her). She defended their practices and never tried to offer compensation or anything. I’m needing to board my dog again in the near future and trying to find a new place because I’m afraid to take her there again.

I have never had to leave a bad review in my life until today. I took my westie to get a haircut at this place because I am new in town and I have to honestly say I could have done a better job than the the girl (Sam) that cut my dog’s hair. The only thing that was done to the head was trimming the ears and the rest looked like it was not touched. I asked for a traditional westie cut and that is not what I got. They shaved her body very short and her legs and butt. Anyone that is a professional dog hairstylist should know that you do not shave the legs or butt of a westie. Her head to her body was not blended at all and same goes for the skirt. When I asked if they can at least cut the head a little more because it was left way too long they told me not today. The manager Gabby was there throughout my whole conversation with the «hairstylist» Sam and did not offer anything to make the situation better. I am so disappointed. I would not recommend anyone to take their dog for a haircut there.

I’ve never felt strongly enough to leave a review until now. I use Unilocal to find everything from restaurants to nail salons, so being new to Tampa I had to find a new place to board my dog and turned to Unilocal.I travel a lot so I’ve always boarded my dog and he always does excellent. I’ve never had any real issues. I went for a short 2 day sailing trip in the Atlantic this weekend so I decided to try Lucky Dog. I called to make sure they had space for a 60 pound dog to board and they said yes to fill out an application go online or come in. I couldn’t get the online application to open so I went in Saturday afternoon an hour or two before they closed. I told the girl at the desk, who seemed mad at me she was there, that I wanted to board a dog that had never been there before. She gave me an application and I gave her a copy of his shot records. She asked if I wanted to leave him then and I said yes. She never asked when I wanted to pick him up, or for any details actually. When I went to pick him up today (Monday) they were extremely rude and told me they were unaware he was being boarded with them. I told the girl that I dropped him off at 5pm on a Saturday, what else would I have been doing there. She was so rude in response and after I paid there was no Thank You or Have A Good Day. The man who was working in the front was extremely nice and helpful unfortunately he went to retrieve my dog, so I was left with two rude and seemingly airheaded girls to deal with. Really wish the experience would have been better because I liked the concept of him playing with other dogs and I board him about 3 nights a week. Unfortunately I’m not willing to deal with these kind of attitudes. I am NOT a complainer what so ever, but for the first time in my years of using Unilocal,I feel strongly enough to take the time to say don’t go here.

I dropped off my dog here for a couple days while I was visiting in Tampa and absolutely loved their service. The staff was very professional and were always prompt to answer the phone and my many questions whenever I checked on my dog. I am very happy with my experience with Lucky Dog and will definitely use them again when I visit Tampa. Absolute 5 stars in my book!

I have been using Lucky Dog for about a year now and I think I can now provide an honest review. They’re pretty awesome. I love the fact that they’re open ²⁴⁄₇. I’m active duty military so that’s been ever so helpful a few times. I love that when I walk in the door in the morning they call my pooch out by name and he’s excited to see them. Clearly, they’re doing something right because he almost jumps out of his skin every single time he runs through the door.
They’re in the middle of renovating to make the place bigger (always a good thing). They’ve also started using a computer system that lets you know when you’ve been registered for boarding. They have cameras which are great, but several have been down for a few months now.
Now for the reason I took away the 5^th star. I had scheduled my pooch for weekend boarding. I just received an email today, the day before I’m supposed to drop him off, letting me know his vaccines were expired and that they wouldn’t take him until they were updated. I called asking which ones were expired because I’m usually pretty good about this stuff and had a July vet visit already on the calendar. I was told his kennel cough had expired the month prior. An entire month and I’m just now getting the email the day before I’m going out of town? Not cool. It’s an easy fix, but I hope in the future that they update their system and people can be warned about expired/​ing vaccinations in a more timely manner.
Bottom line: take your dog here. You won’t regret it.

I took my dog here for over a year and a half. She is a sweet, loving, energetic, BIG dog and enjoyed getting to play with other dogs while I was at work. After a year and half of going here at least 2 days a week, the staff started to treat her differently and claimed she played too rough with other dogs. They started locking her up all day and didn’t let us know. We spoke to the main trainer to find out what was going on and all of the staff said she was a good dog who wouldn’t hurt other dogs but that she was too big and strong. This situation went on for months before we realized they were locking her up all day. We demanded to talk to the owners and was never given a proper conversation or explanation. Why would I pay to have my dog locked in a cage all day… I can keep her at home by herself for free if that was what I was looking for. I will NEVER take my dog here again and know that I am not the only one this has happened to. I have been using another daycare for over a year now and absolutely love them. I don’t think the staff at Lucky Dog truly cares about dogs… they just want as many customers through their doors as possible.

Our dog loves Lucky dog so much. Besides our pet sitter this is the only place that makes me feel that my dog is safe and properly taken care of. It’s a little bit over priced but when we take our dog home from Lucky dog she is exhausted.
They take a lot of dogs but they are separated by size. I love that they have a very affordable grooming service and they are open ²⁴⁄₇. I sometimes pick up my dog before midnight when my wife and I go out on a date. It’s nice that I can always sign up for late pick up, just call ahead and let them know at no additional charge.
They have cameras all over the place. That gives me piece of mind knowing that my dog is having fun.
They also do social functions. We always do the Christmas pictures. They used to be more active on Facebook, I really miss that.

Why 5 stars? Because we have found our favorite doggie daycare.
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After an absolute disaster at Camp Bow Wow, we took our pup to Lucky Dog, and it could not have been more of an opposite experience.
Lucky Dog has something like 15 web cams so that you can check on your buddy all throughout the day to see how much fun they’re having… and they have so much fun, that you feel sorry for them when they have to come home. They are out playing even longer than we were quoted, which is exactly what we hoped for.
They are quick and professional with our dog as he comes and goes. He has a nicely sized space to himself while he sleeps. The group play area is enormous, and mostly shaded. They give us a report card afterward that notes anything from silly things like, «Moose is my favorite Golden Retriever and so sweet,» to «we noticed loose stool, so please be sure to ask your vet for guidance.»
Really, we liked everything about Lucky Dog, and he will definitely be back the next time we go out of town. Unfortunately, we approached them late in the game, and they were all booked up for Christmas, which means that we had to take him elsewhere… and elsewhere wasn’t nearly as professional as Lucky Dog. That review comes tomorrow.

There is nothing more too say then awesome about this place. I have never been to somewhere that shares and shows how much they love pets. After trying out several of the other choices in Tampa I decided to trust Lucky dog with my beloved pet. They are always willing to go that extra step in caring for you pets when left there. They are never to busy to take a phone call to cheek in on your pet, and even from time to time have washed and dryer my pets doggie bed. If you looking for a great and safe place to leave your pets this is the spot and trust me your pet with thank you for leaving them there…

I feel that any business who caters to our furry friends is bound to have mixed reviews. Animals each their own temperament and just like humans they have good and bad days. It’s impossible to foresee every issue. Mistakes happen!
With the above in mind, the beginning and middle of my review is based on my overall experience with Lucky Dog and their employees and my rating along with the closing of my review is based solely on the attitude and action of the owners.
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TDLR: Amazing facility that dogs will love and a caring staff. Overshadowed by money hungry owners who don’t care about your pets.
Lucky Dog Resort has an amazing facility that features a small, medium and large dog play area; each play area has an air conditioned indoor section as well as an outdoor section. Additionally, the facility is equipped with outdoor water playgrounds with splash pools and misters and an indoor dry playground. The entire facility is also equipped with webcams that allow you can watch your dog play while your at work or away on vacation. AMAZING!
The minute my dogs hear «lucky dog» their tails start wagging and they bolt for the front door. They truly love Lucky Dog. I initially felt the same way…
After months of attending Lucky Dog (almost daily) and having no issues, I was ecstatic; my dogs were getting the exercise they needed while I was at work! When I picked them up after work, they would be asleep from exhaustion before we ever made it home.
In a routine vet check it was determined one of my dogs had a cancerous growth on his back leg that needed to be removed immediately. The vet explained that it would be best if my dog wasn’t left alone for one week as there could be complications from the surgery or the medication he’d be placed on.
I couldn’t take off work so I contacted Lucky Dog and explained the situations… they said, «No problem, we deal with these kind of things all the time. Bring him in!»
The surgery went great and the next morning I took my dog into Lucky Dog. Within two hour of dropping my dog off, I received a phone call that my dog had removed his cone and ripped one of his stitches out. I immediately returned and found my dog had ripped all of his stitches out (over 20).
After rushing my dog to the vet, I returned to Lucky Dog to ask how he removed his cone. I was told «we don’t know»! After pressing the issue and demanding answer — I was told an employee removed the cone and put a smaller cone on because the original cone was to large. OK, then how did this happen?
I asked to see the videos from the web cams and was told no, that they weren’t available. After having an attorney contact the owners a video magically showed up and it clearly shows an employee removing my dogs cone but not replacing it with a smaller cone. It later came out that the employee did it because she felt sorry for my dog because he couldn’t get comfortable with the cone on his head.
The employees of lucky dog are truly amazing and were apologetic and called several times a day to check on me and my dog. I do believe this was an honest mistake.
The owners couldn’t be found and didn’t return phone calls for days on end. Their overall attitude and lack of concern have earned them… one star!