Gumnut Kennels & Cattery
Dog Boarding and Cat Boarding - Yarrambat Victoria

Our staffy was boarded at this establishment for 5 weeks. My initial phone call went well and the two owners sounded very friendly. Prior to agreeing to the stay, we were assured our pet would receive additional chicken mince in her food twice a day for a total of $25 per night (the mince was charged as an extra). When we arrived for drop off, we were not shown around beyond a large fence separating the car park/entry area from the kennel areas and I now regret not having looked at where Mina was being kept prior to leaving her there. We were told we would receive regular emails - we received two, with no photos. Upon our return I made an effort to go into the kennel area while the lady owner organised the bill (I didnt ask, I just slipped in myself) - what I saw was shocking: in addition to larger shed type shacks were old concrete kennels that were surrounded by long grass with a small manicured rectangular grass area no bigger than 20 square meters for what I guess would be "exercise." The area, much like this operation, presented as desolate and unkempt. When the male owner noticed i was in the area, he came over and asked me to leave as I might "set the dogs off." The worst part was how our dog looked when she was brought out to us from one of the concrete kennels. She had lost a great deal of weight (just around 4kg when weighed afterwards at home on our bathroom scales) and had her ribs showing - and I am not exaggerating in the slightest. She moved slowly, kind of wagged her tail a bit, but looked really, really down. of course you dont expect your pet to be happy to be left away from you, but this was beyond what we expected and it just totally killed my wife and i to see our pet so depressed and unhealthy looking after we had been holidaying and enjoying ourselves. The winter coat we had left for her to wear looked hardly worn, was not on her and had been put in a bag. To add insult to injury, we were then over charged at $30 per night (we came directly from the airport, so missed double checking the exact amount until after we paid on my card), instead of the agreed $25. After a debate, it was a agreed we would receive a refund, which was provided. In summary - I would absolutely avoid this place at all costs. Even two young, healthy people would struggle to run a small to medium sized pet boarding establishment like this one - note there were no extra staff here and the owners are well into their 60's or early 70's. When we got Mina home she was ravenously hungry, so how could a young, healthy staffy that had just turned 2 yeas old drop that much weight and be that hungry if it was being well cared for?!? Our pet wasn't dead, so I guess 1 star is about right, all things considered. Since this experience, we have vowed to check any future kennels out thoroughly, though we are even leaning towards just finding a pet sitter as this experience has scarred us. We are new dog owners and this was just the second kennel we have ever used. (for those wondering, our beautiful pooch has made a full recovery).