Sunny Acres Pet Resort

It's difficult to describe the poor service we received from Donna, the owner of this business, and her daughter.\r \r Readers can take an indication of the business owner's attitude based on her responses to postings here on Citysearch and also on Google+. The arrogant, argumentative replies to patron's concerns (""This is not true at all."" and we didn't receive a letter from a client mentioned in a posting, because: ""We get other people's mail so I assume someone else may have gotten your letter"") give quick testimony to the rude, unprofessional treatment that this business owner believes is appropriate.\r \r I wished I had read the many postings on these sites (and Yelp, etc) regarding add-ons and ""hidden fees"" that others mention before we took our pet to Sunny Acres.\r An upshot of this whole post is that, after much arguing (actually I was looking for discussion, the owner, her daughter, and her son-in-law were looking for argument), WE WERE OVERCHARGED BY THE BUSINESS and neither of us feel it's worth calling them to get our sixteen bucks returned to us!\r \r The story, in brief: We took our frail/elderly cat there for a week and arranged to pick the cat up the following Sunday during the hours they're open from 4:00 to 6:00. When I arrived the following Sunday, there were employees walking dogs outside, but I was informed they were closed (while there is a notice on their website stating they're closed on Easter Sunday, there was no sign on the gate, no sign on the door, no sign inside the office). To make a long story short, an employee called Donna Easterlin, the owner and had me speak with her. Ms. Easterlin was immediately combative telling me my wife made a mistake and that there was no way that one of her employees could have not realized three weeks earlier that the 31st was Easter Sunday.\r \r We talked, at length, and she told me she'd come to give me my pet if I paid an after-hours charge. After much more conversation, during which I refused to pay any charges other than those agreed to, she said she'd come give me the cat. Her daughter and son-in-law show up and tell me they're charging me a $50 fee. Again, after much argument, and harsh words from the son-in-law (YOU WERE RUDE TO MY MOTHER-IN LAW!), they waive the $50 fee, I agree to pay my bill....and I leave.\r \r When I get home, I realize:\r 1. The cat was wet and smelled like urine,\r 2. They only returned one of the two blankets we had provided,\r 3. The blanket they returned was soaked with urine the cat had been sitting on (I even took pictures of it to show my wife),\r 4. They charged me twice for giving the cat medication (even though the website says ""$2 per pet per day"").\r \r Buyer beware: Read others' reviews of this place before taking your pet there. I'm certain there are pet owners that drop off their animal, return and pay their fee. It's a simple business model and they should well be happy. The question always is: what type of people are we dealing with, and what will be their attitude, reaction, and willingness to help in the event all doesn't go as planned.\r \r Shame on these people. more

we have used S.A four times and EVERY time have had problems with hidden fees/being charged in a way that was not explained or made clear at check-in. we will not be going back. i have heard the same from others and many of my friends have tried them but eventually left to choose other places. don't trust the pricing schedule on the web site! more

Nigel has been playing at Sunny Acres' day camp for at least a half-day Monday - Friday since March of 2010. It's been a great thing to have a place for him to burn off energy and keep his mind active while I'm at work. He's always warmly greeted by his people there and enjoys playing with his canine friends. The staff does a good job of observing the dogs and matching them with others of similar temperment, size and energy level. Nigel has 'graduated' to a different yard as he has matured (he's now 2 and a half), to keep him happily busy. I get an update from time to time by the staff members who have been taking care of him, which I appreciate. It's nice to know that they care about my dog and pay attention to his needs as well as all the other dogs. We'll be going to Sunny Acres for a long time to come. more

I started going to Sunny Acres back in March, 2009. My first dog Salsa used to be scared to death of men and a little shy of just about everyone. She also had quite the problem with separation anxiety. Sunny Acres started working with her and she has blossomed into a new dog with a great personality who loves everyone. She is still a little sad to see Mom go sometimes, but never when she goes to Sunny Acres...no separation anxiety there. We adopted a second pup, Frito and Frito absolutely loves Sunny Acres as well. One day, I accidentally passed the exit and both dogs started whining in confusion. This place is their second home. Everyone there is awesome. Lynn is like my sister...we have a game about ""how long are the dogs staying this time?"" Everyone knows me by name, I feel at home and I feel like my dogs are as safe there as they are at home. I would not trust my animals with anyone else. I LOVE SUNNY ACRES...It is truly the Sunniest place on earth! And Fiona (the groomer) is the best- anyone who can touch Salsa's feet (Salsa has an obsession with her own feet- she's a Diva) is talented beyond believe! more

The groomer that was assigned to my dogs was a raving idiot. She never introduced herself, and proceeded to attack me when I expressed concerns for my dogs, who are getting older. I hate leaving them anywhere. This woman produces no confidence in her ability. Extremely rude and should think about getting some sort of counseling on public relations...not an asset to a business. I'm not sure what occurred there, but I am not happy. One of my dogs looks injured and looks like he was drugged while there for his haircut. I am concerned that she hurt my dog while she should have been caring for him. If I find out my dog was drugged or abused, I will be contacting the appropriate authorities. more

In response to Weimpack: more

I don't ususally participate in writing reviews and especially bad ones but when I read that Sunny Acres won anykind of an award I had to say something about our experiences. The staff is rude...period. They would not let us tour the facility and that should have told us something then but we tried anyway because we have taken our last dog there and everything seemed ok but our last few times going has been very troubling. I dropped my dog off before 8:30am and when i was back in the area(about 10:30) I stopped by to see how he was doing by observing from the fence---he wasn't out there with the other dogs. While i was standing there he was brought out---2 hours after being dropped off and the handler..well couldn't handle him and seemed not to care too much about jerking my puppy around which really bothered me. Not just the inability but where was he for the 2 hours prior?? I blew it off and we tried again only to get a call saying that he scratched himself....when we got there he had a gaping hole in his side that had to be stapled!! They make you sign a contract saying that if your dog attacks another that YOU are responsible--thats fine but how did that happen to my dog? Funny--they didn't know, but they are constantly supervising(yes sarcastic) right? The staff at the front desk could care less--all they wanted was there daycare money and for us to leave. Of course we paid and wrote the owners(addressed to owner-not sunny acres) and never got a response. A very expensive day at doogy daycare indeed and will never go back. We go to the dog park at Northgate and have talked to numerous people who are reporting the same things. injured dogs--always coming home with a little bit of kennel cough--rude staff--dirty facilities. Too many options to go to Sunny Acres. more

My dogs have stayed here multiple times. I have my own dog and I foster dogs. Pros: Knowledge staff, staff loves dogs, segrated play area more

Me and my boyfriend had recently boarded our dogs with sunny acres after the pickup we had found out that our dogs were put in crates in a house on sote after being told we were paying for a 2 sided room apon getting home we could honestly tell that something was wrong with our dogs it just goes to show any buisness can put up a front but what happens behind closed doors you will really never know more

I found Sunny Acres through- of all places- the BBB. I had just found out that my family was suddenly unable to care for my dog during our upcoming vacation and I had very little time to arrange for my dog's care. I checked out their website and liked what I saw. The pricing online was odd. If you want your dog to have a really good time, you've got to enroll them in day camp, which is a different price depending on half-day or full-day... and how many times you want them to have it during your dogs stay. It's all clearly listed, but a little confusing. As far as complaints go, that's the only one I've got. I had a great experience with Sunny Acres. My dog hates being away from us and is not a fan of strangers. I picked Sunny Acres because I was hoping that enrolling her in the day camp while we were boarding her during our vacation would keep her sufficiently occupied and lessen her separation anxiety. I also inquired about having her work with a trainer to improve on her quirks while she was there but, unfortunately, their trainer was on vacation as well. I informed them that my dog was extremely skittish around strangers (mostly a lot of barking) but that she'd never attempted to bite anyone- I told them in person and in the fairly hefty amount of paperwork they gave me. I was really appreciative that they wanted to know so much about my dog at the very beginning. It even asked questions I wouldn't have necessarily thought to inform them of. I asked them to call me if they had any problems with her. I got a call about halfway through our trip. The woman calling said she was concerned because my dog was not eating- which my dog has done before when we've left her with my family- and asked for my permission to add some wet food into her kibble. Since it was an additional cost (and a low one at that) I really appreciate them calling... especially since the wet food is our solution to the problem. When we came back, our dog was super-happy to see us but not super-clingy (as she has been other times we've left her). She'd just been bathed and her claws were trimmed very well. She's got a bit of a cold, but otherwise she couldn't be better. I would not hesitate to recommend them. Pros: Great for short notice, attentive staff, my dog smells great Cons: Pricing structure is a little confusing for boarding more

I was an avid customer to Sunny Acres but that ended abruptly after my baby came home with trauma to his right eye - and he is a very timid, friendly Lab. Normally, every time I brought my baby home from a bath and his nails done here, he always had a raw nose that turned into a scab. The first few times I concluded to be his fault - rubbing his nose or something of that nature - but later came to the realization that it was definitely him rubbing his nose, only on the cage while they had the fans on him to dry him - which I understand that is their process; however, I repeatedly asked them to try to prevent this by watching him, guiding him to stop, or call me and I would pick him up wet, but they failed to do either. The last straw was a few months ago when I picked him and brought him home and shortly recognized the corner of his eye looked like a b lood vessel had popped. Two hours later it covered half of his eye and I had to take him to the Emergency Vet. They found abraisions on each eye, along with the b lood in his right eye, and concluded it was the result of extreme trauma to his eye and confirmed that he could not have done this to himself. I did contact Sunny Acres to report the event, in which they replied that they didn't see anything and he must have done it to himself in the cage. Not only did they dodge the fact that the incident occurred on site, but they blamed it on my baby. Obviously, if they didn't ""see anything"", they were either trying to cover up the incident or they were just not watching him (which they stated they ""cannot watch him every second"") - either one is an environment my angel will NOT be involved in. I hope this aids potential customers or helps current customers stay alert (hopefully my comment won't get ""erased"" like the other guy's) and only hope this doesn't happen to someone else's baby. I will certainly make sure it will not reoccur with mine. more

Reading the other reviews I'm not sure who some of these people were talking about, but it wasn't the Sunny Acres I've been taking my dog to. They told me up front how much it would cost each day, have never overcharged me and my dog has never been more pampered. I'm not sure why someone would think that 5.00 for a 20 minute personal play time is all that much, my beast loves it. He hates to come home to the old cripple who can't run around with him all the time like Samantha and the rest do. I've paid a LOT more for a LOT less. Pros: they really care more

Our two big dogs love this place. The staff is great, very friendly and know our dogs on a first name basis. We frequently board our dogs here, but what they really love is the doggy day care. Our Pit-Bull, very high energy, gets put in the rough and tumble play area, while our lab gets grouped with other dogs that just want to run around all day and sniff each other. They are always so excited to arrive, and happy and tired when I pick them up at the end of the day. Pros: Great doggie day care more

I noticed it had been sometime since a review was written - so here is my 2cents. I absolutely adore the staff at Sunny Acres, and if I didn't believe they loved the animals I wouldn't have taken my only child there for the past year. I have to admit my impression during my first couple of visits wasn't entirely positive. They do have rules which are similiar to a hotel or day care; specific check in/out times, etc., which can be a bit restrictive during holidays; otherwise I think their hours of operation are reasonable and accommodating. They do charge extra to administer special feeding instructions but if I am leaving my dog somewhere for 3-5 days; it's worth it to me. Pros: Great Care & Service Cons: HOO can be restrictive more

I am the owner of Sunny Acres. Raymack neglected to tell us that his dogs are dangerous. We had to separate them because they were fighting with each other. One of our employees was the victim of an unprovoked attack by one of his dogs. As a result of this incident, Animal Control put his dog on Bite Quarantine. Raymac refused to cover the employee?s medical co-pay of $30. more

We have boarded here several times,each time saying ""maybe it was an off day and we should give them another chance."" Here are just a FEW concerns from our experiences: Pros: Facilities Cons: Staff, billing methods more

I recently took my dog here for training. The training was great, however something that happened in the office alarmed me. I recieved my reciept, and my full credit card number and expiration date were printed on it. To make things stranger, on the back of my reciept was someone elses reciept, as if our personal information was just scrap paper. Very very odd. I ended up cancelling that card, because of the lack of personal security. The trainers are great, so if you go here make sure you pay cash. Pros: good trainers, cheap Cons: personal info not secure, not lit well at nite more

My dog came home tired and lost weight. Not only that, I have caught them overcharging several times. more

I visited here after tracking down my former groomer Wendy (who is wonderful!). It's a very nice large facility and offers doggie daycamp too. I plan to use them for my future boarding needs! Very nice and helpful staff! Pros: Great place, lots of room for dogs to play, large facility, great groomer! Cons: a longer drive for me, but do-able from Chapel hill more