Pooches' Playtime

09/19/2007 Posted by emilyhobbins

I have been boarding my dog, Red, at Pooches' and sending him to their playgroups for three years now. Jen and Molly (the owners) treat Red like their own - I can tell by his excitement when they come to the door to pick him up. Although they charge the same amount (or less) as all of the other walking services in SF for their playgroup, Red is almost always out playing for 2 or more hours and without fail comes back tired and happy. I also highly recommend their boarding services. If you have an active dog, they are free to run around and play all day. When I go out of town, I am always happy to leave Red at Pooches since I know he will be enjoying as much of a vacation as I am. To sum it up, Pooches' is fabulous and I highly recommend them. If you ask Red how he feels about Pooches', he is simply speechless!

Pros: Your dog has the time of his life and you have peace of mind!

Cons: None!

05/30/2007 Posted by wildlady

My husband and I would not trust our dogs to any one but Molly and Jen. We know that when we go away for any length of time that our Abbey will be taken care of. Molly and Jen have a staff that cares for your dog and loves them just as much as Molly and Jen do. I had a dog when I first married my husband and we left hime with Molly and Jen only once before he dided of Cancer. Our second dog Missy we left with Molly nad Jen and now our Abbey is goingto Molly and Jens when we go away. Molly and Jen have taken Missy to the vet for us on several occassions and are up on what is going on with you dog . When I know we are going to go away the first people I call is Molly and Jen. Keep up the great work. We love you. Teresa and Abbey. Greg as well.

05/20/2007 Posted by harrisgrayman

Thanks for taking the time to read this review of Pooches' Playtime. Molly and Jen are the most amazing people ever and run a top notch pet facility. My partner and I have been using them for a little over a year and have constantly recommended them to everyone we know. First, you will love the fact that the dogs have tremendous room to roam around, interact with others, sunbathe in the backyard, etc. It's a paradise for a pet! Second, the owners take extremely wonderful care of all of the pets, as if they were their own. Other places charge you for an open environment, or belly massages, etc. Molly and Jen give each of the pets much love, attention, and care -- much more individual care than any other place (oh, and they do belly rubs for free :o). And last, but not least, they are SO incredibly flexible and easy-going, especially if you are running late in picking up or dropping off (since they live on site). Where will you ever be able to find that?? We were so happy with them that when the time came to find a perpetual care situation for our dog, Molly and Jen were our first call. Today, our dog of 12 years is now living with Molly and Jen full-time and they are offering us perpetual care for him. We visit every other week or so and we have never seen him this happy. He follows Molly and Jen all over the house and you can tell he's going to live out his last number of years in the most wonderful, caring, loving environment ever! We are forever in debt to them for helping us out. You will never find a better place to care for your beloved pets. Make an appointment, talk to them, bring your pet by to try it out -- you have nothing to lose at all! :o)

Pros: Warm and loving environment, open atmosphere, super clean, and MUCH more!!

Cons: None whatsoever!!

05/14/2007 Posted by lolo76

Don't let the sketchy appearance of the neighborhood turn you off. Molly and Jen LOVE dogs and know how to take care of them. They live in the same building as the dog daycare and overnight play room, so they are there 24-7 to look out for the dogs. They also have enough space to separate big dogs and small dogs into different play areas. Really what stands out to me about Pooches' is how Molly and Jen are just natural "dog people." I always feel comfortable leaving my dog-child with them (I've been a client for over two years). They are also "green" and have fostered rescue dogs and done fund-raising for shelters.

Pros: Personal attention, overall atmosphere

Cons: Occasionally late with billing

05/14/2007 Posted by igolfer

I love Pooches Playtime!!! They don't charge extra for 1:1 play with the dogs or attention with their staff. My dog can play all day and can go potty when ever he needs to. Molly picked up on a medical concern re my dog that i just didn't see and thank goodness she did!!! They never charge to trim nails, clean ears, scratch a belly or brush out - the other places nickel and dime me to simply pet my dog!!! They have good hours and I like that the owners live on site.

Cons: none

05/14/2007 Posted by cluepkes

I've been taking my dog to Pooches for eight years. The owners, Molly & Jen, treat my dog like their own. He loves them so much! Even though it is a business, for me it is like dropping my most prized friend off at with my best friends! They take such good care, REALLY love animals and are devoted.

05/13/2007 Posted by apresta

I have taken my dog here since she was 9 weeks old. she is now almost 8. They worked with her as a puppy which was fantastic. Several places wont even take puppies. Now that she is all grown up I still take her there. It's nice to know when I'm out of town that she is well taken care of. The owners, Molly and Jen love the dogs. They do all they can to make sure your pooch is as happy as possible while away from you.

Pros: cage-free, takes puppies

Cons: none

04/24/2007 Posted by sonfron

An employee left a window open and my dog got out. My dog was later caught next to a freeway off ramp by a motorist.

Pros: none

Cons: everything

04/08/2007 Posted by koalatbs

We boarded our dog at Poochies Playtime for about 2 weeks while we were out of town at Christmas time this year. We chose Poochies Playtime because we used them this past summer for 2-3 days while looking for a place to live after moving to the area from Virginia. We had absolutely no problems that time and decided to use them again. I called to check on our dog every 2-3 days the whole 2+ weeks we were gone. I was always assured that everything was great and our dog was doing just fine (no problems, I was always told). However, after getting home we noticed our dog's stomach was severely irritated. I had asked Poochies Playtime staff to give him a bath before we arrived so that he would be nice and clean when we got home. It looked like someone had cut his hair and it was very uneven and looked basically like a hack job. I kept a close eye on our dog's tummy area for about a week after arriving back home and it seemed to continue to get redder and more irritated. Our dogs breath also smelled very bad, which was not the case before we left him. I eventually took him to a vet to be checked out and she prescribed him antibiotics. I contacted the Poochies Playtime owner my e-mail a couple times (back & forth) to tell her my concerns. Among other comments, she stated "Other points to consider are that he became aggressive, bit other dogs and a staff member and we can no longer care for him." I e-mailed her back immediately after receiving this message and asked her why this was never expressed to me when we picked him up or even when I had called every 2-3 days while we were gone! She didn't have an explaination, she just said they could not care for him anymore. I was very disappointed in the care my dog received and I wanted to express this to others who might consider using their service. If my dog was aggressive and bit like she said, why didn't she tell me this before I brought up my concerns about the health of my dog after spending time in her care?

Pros: Cage free care

Cons: Bad customer service

03/07/2007 Posted by jeffstryker

When you treat your dog as if it were your child, you need the best child care out there. Our family (including our Golden Retriever, Foster) recently had to relocate back East; we only wish we could take Pooches with us. For nearly ten years Molly and Jen and their colleagues took care of Foster as if he were their own child. Daily walks allowed us to be at work without feeling guilty. Overnight boarding at the commodious Jerrold street location permitted us to go on vacation, knowing Foster was also on vacation, not in jail/kennel. On occasion, Pooches staffers house sat for us as well. We knew we could trust them to take care of the place as well as our most trusted posession. The walks are great. Foster was often gone for hours, running off-leash with his friends from Pooches and coming home happy and tired. The daily company of other dogs and people goes a long way toward helping to make a social dog who can deal with any situation. I've never written a review for Citysearch before, but I feel compelled to do so to let fellow dog people know about Pooches. Pooches makes having a dog in the city not only possible, but easy-peasy. Now if only they would open a branch in Connecticut.......

Pros: friendly staff; convenient location