Home Away From Home

Joel and his team are Amazing. I was very Leary to leave my fur pup with anyone until I met them. They greet my pup every time at the door acknowledging him by name and with warm hugs. They always make me feel there is never a stupid question or concerns. I now can go about my day knowing he is loved and cared for as though he was home with me. Thanks Joel and staff for such a great feeling when I'm away from my fur pup.

I am absolutely so disappointed that I brought my beautiful little rabbit Bambi to this establishment. The front desk was very rude and told me that our rabbit was stressed out and started biting her fur because we were late picking her up. She has never done that ever. When they brought her out she was missing a chunk of hair and stress shedding her hair was falling out please see picture.

The front desk person also charged my card without asking. She was also very unprofessional saying that she will sue me because we told her that we were going to give them a bad review. Absolutely a horrible person. I can't tell you how distressing this experience was.

I am a long-time customer, and have recently entrusted my new puppy to the loving care at Home Away From Home. All three dogs who have spent their days here over 15 years of being a customer have loved it. The pups leap out of the car and rush the door like a Swat Team, looking for love and fun. I had a recent emergency medical situation and asked for an extra weekend service, and they were instantly responsive and supportive. they spoil the humans as well as the critters! Love these folks.

I dropped off my dog at 12pm and got him back at 3:35. I asked for a shape on the face and a small trim on the body. They have messed up the request twice cause I've gone there twice. If you have a yorkie terrier don't take them here they don't know how to cut their hair. Overall not happy

First and definitely not last time here! First of all, Joel is not only kind but patient (and someone like me probably tested that but he never showed it) and the rest of his team is a reflection of that! Our dog has never been away from us for longer than a hour. She was already so Intuned and comfortable when we picked her up she was going for a walk instead of coming to me!

She of course was happy to be home but she obviously enjoyed it at HAFH. Also, they are so great about working with you for pick up/drop off. Not only did we run EXTRA late to get our dog, first from the original pick up and then the second time we thought we would make it; (four year old had an emergency poop situation) they still made it work. They also make it possible to take any dog, what ever needs were needed are met! We are so glad to have our doggie back and even more happy to know a safe reliable place to use for future trips

Thank you for keeping our dog in April at short notice. The daycare team kept her separate from others due to a misunderstanding about vaccines, but that worked well for her as she is shy. Am happy with their services and would gladly send her here again. Tip: You start conversation by text messages and then talk if needed

It has been two weeks now, and my wife and I are still in shock from the "grooming" service. Our one and a half year old collie was brought in for a normal grooming, and, like many long haired dogs, did have some mats. Apparently, these "groomers" have no idea how to handle a long haired dog like a collie and had decided - without asking us! - to shave her.

As a result the backside and the tail got shaved and the dog's coat has been completely ruined. The dog's belly, "pants", and tail were shaved, and genital area exposed. It was shaved to the skin, not trimmed. My wife was in so much shock that she actually paid for this travesty and came home in tears. We are all quite upset about this. I've had collies for more than twenty years and have NEVER seen anything like that.

I never thought I would meet a groomer who I would need to ask in advance to not shave a collie. It will now take many months for this to grow back. Appalling, thoughtless, and lazy job. It's affected the dog and the family. I will never bring her back here. It was our first and last time at "home" away from home.

Great groomers! Our goldendoodle always comes out looking great every time we take him there.

Horrible experience and I highly recommend you do not take your dog here to be boarded. My 5 year old German Shepherd Cooper stayed here for two nights and three days. On the second day, I received a phone call asking if Cooper was allergic to anything because his snout was very swollen. I told them no, and that it was very odd this was happening.

They told me they would monitor him and would have the "nurse" check him out. I received another call a couple hours later saying they had the "nurse" check him out, and that it was probably just a bee sting and asked if they could give him Benadryl. They also mentioned that the swelling had gone down a bit and that Cooper was acting fine and playing with the other dogs.

I trusted their judgement and told them they could administer the Benadryl to him but to let me know if he gets worse. The following day (Friday), our friends who also boarded their dog here was picking up their dog. Home Away From Home allowed them to pick Cooper up without even asking us first. When we saw Cooper, we noticed that he was acting strange and that he was still a bit swollen.

We tried to look for the "bee sting" and checked the inside of his mouth.to find he had an extremely swollen K9 tooth and two infected looking ulcers. This would have easily been seen if the so called nurse actually had taken a look at him and we would have picked him up immediately. He also had very cracked and dry skin on his snout and had a bit of dried blood, making me think he got bit by another dog. Additionally, he had extremely bad watery diarrhea and was very lethargic. Thankfully Cooper was able to be seen by our vet the same day he was picked up from Home Away From Home.

The vet said that there was no way this was just a bee sting and recommended a blood test, two shots (antihistamine and a steroid to help with pain and inflammation), and also prescribed him antibiotics and a pain and inflammation medication. Our vet said it looked like bite wounds from another dog and a potential allergic reaction to a chemical. We are hoping he gets better after he finishes his medication, but won't know forsure until his next checkup in a week. It's clear that this establishment does NOT look after the dogs here.

The fact that they tried to say this was just a bee sting is beyond me. This was our first time boarding Cooper and because of the experience we had, we will never board him at any kennel again. Please do yourself a favor and don't board your dog here.

This place is a huge let down if you ask me. My dog needed a place to go other than driving him all the way from marina to salinas everyday so home away from home seemed perfect I could take him to work on the way to Carmel. Well it turned out to be a disaster! My dog came home after about the fourth or fifth time he went their to be watched and I noticed blood coming from his neck.

I looked and saw the wound you see in the pictures. I called and texted to have the owner call me right away. The owner took about half the morning and then decided to call after I sent a text that pretty much said they don't care about my dog and he's bad wound if no one's calling and importance seemed to be the owner making house calls when all I wanted was hoping an explanation of what happened with my dog and he's injury.

The owner stopped by my house which I allowed and told me it looked like he snagged his collar on the crate and ripped he's neck open as you see in the pictures. My dog is smart. He would never snagged himself without whining which he never whines and if he was whining if that was the scenario the owner said then why didn't someone check on him when he was crying for help and why did no one tell me not one word about what happened that day to him?

Just questions galore that will never be answered. The ladies who take care of the front have always told me they never crate him either so why is the story with the crate applicable and then come to find out from the owner they always usually crate the dogs at some point regardless of good behavior to rotate the animals. He's wound three days later was bad and infected with puss and hair was covering plastered to the wound my dog wouldn't let me clean it or touch it to help.

I then had to take him to the vet which costs $300 bucks for them to clean the wound, cut the hair out and gave him an antibiotic spray to help it heal. I should of took him right to the vet to at least have some hair cut and get the spray but the owner firmly stated that I should just put neosporn an keep an eye on it and cut the hair myself to help the wound. Cutting my dogs hair when your not a professional is useless trying to do that when he won't allow it.

I should of took him in. It made me have to drive last Friday to the vet while I was puking with the flu because I didn't take him in the first place! I was given poor advice then told I could have him looked at at the doggie day care when I don't and can't just drive into town here and their with the purpose of a non Vetinary place just telling me their opinion when someone should of told me he got hurt that day!

Someone should of seen what happened. My dog definitely cried out with how that wound is and no one heard him? No one looked around to see why the dogs my dog would be whining like he would of been. Theirs no one in hell my dog got hurt like that and didn't scream out. Long story long the vet took care of it and he's healing much better now but if someone would of been watching him like they state they watch the dogs then he wouldn't of possibly like the vet said he got bite, scrapped and don't think it's because of a kennel. I'm done I would never and will never bring my dog their again or recommend it to anyone. It's bullshit what they say about caring for the animals if mine was unattended and never even told me how this happened or that it did. They gave me poor advice I trusted that advice and payed for it. End of story.

Do not send your pets here! Me and my husband left our three animals ( 1 dog and 2 cats) with them for a week and came back to them having lost approximately 3 pounds each. The cats food containers had the exact measurements for feeding, the scoop used for portioning them out, and how often they were to be fed. It was clear from the containers that several feedings were missed.

For the dog, we gave slightly more than was needed and almost half of it was still in the container after pick up, it should be noted that our dog doesn't let food remain in the bowl for more than 10 minutes after being handed out, so this was a major red flag. In addition to this, we were also charged double even though when I made the reservation I called to ensure that both the price quoted and the information was correct.

My husband called when the second charge of 300 was taken out and after the employee contacted the owner, we were told there was nothing to be done, because we weren't charged correctly in the beginning, despite what we had been told. Honestly if Google had the option for a negative amount of stars for a place I would freely give it as it came highly recommended by many of the reviews here, we thought our pets would be well taken care of and couldn't be more wrong. Always tour the facility and see how the other animals act, that will be how yours react.

Hubby and I planned a night out in Monterey and decided to take our baby with us only to find out that our hotel was not pet friendly. Luckily, I found out about HAFH on Yelp and decided to give it a go. The online booking process is super simple and convenient, the appointment was approved shortly after my request :) which I LOVE because I was booking for a Sunday and not many places are not open on Sunday's or they take forever to look at requests.

I have a pitbull which unfortunately scares a lot of people especially when it comes to dog sitting/boarding. He is also not social at all and hasn't been to any boarding place prior to this. But THANK GOD the staff was SO amazing! They took great care of my baby and took him out for play time. Thank you thank you thank you for accepting my baby and being patient with him.

They even sent me picture updates of my boy when he had play time :). The pricing is VERY affordable and they also provide many other services besides boarding, like grooming and day care. I would definitely recommend all my friends/yelpers to utilize HAFH if you need boarding in the Monterey area. Thank you guys again so much for your amazing facility and great staff.

VERY DISAPPOINTED! I've been taking my dog there a few times and have never had any issues until now. He stayed overnight for multiple nights and they had the nerve to tell me his injury was from last night. My dog has a love/hate relationship with crates and I understand dogs will try and escape, possibly scratching themselves and causing a little cut, but come on.

How are you going to tell me it happened last night and then turn around and say, "Ohh I see they put a note YESTERDAY MORNING about the type of crate to put him in at night." So I then said, "So then you're telling me this didn't happen last night." She didn't know what to say so I asked for the main owners number. He's stayed at other day cares before and they've always notified me about any little thing as a head up.

This place clearly doesn't do the same or care as much to let their pet parents know. I understand she did what she could to try to save herself, but I've worked in customer service for almost 10 years and management for half that. There's no way you can say we didn't know to tell you. That's a bunch of BS!

We've brought our dogs here for years. Around 4 years ago Home Away From Home suffered a major fire in the building, and since, they have rebuilt and come such a long way. Our Aussie Shepherd Haku loves it here, and the staff know and love him. He always comes back to us clean and happy with a fresh grooming when we pick him up. It's just a very personal experience with Home Away From Home. Joel obviously loves dogs, and has made his passion his career. Five stars from a loyal customer.

Dropped my kittens off here while we were visiting Monterey for the weekend. When I went to pick up my kittens on Sunday, I arrived at 9:55am to avoid being charged a late pick up fee. When we arrived there was a dog who had just been dropped off for daycare but was having a difficult time getting in the building so the worker had to console the dog to get him inside.

This took about 5-7 minutes. By the time she was done with the dog and was getting ready to check us out it was already 10:15am. I was then charged a fee for not picking up my pets by 10am when I tried saying something the workers there handed us our kittens and their stuff and pretty much shut the door on us. How can you charge a customer a late fee when your employee was the reason we didn't get our kittens until after 10am?

I've had to leave my fur baby with them about a handful of times and I'd say on my second visit they remembered him by name. The location is super convenient and the staff very friendly. They also offer grooming services as well as drop-off/pick-up of your pet for additional fees. Also, veteran owned.

Five stars for all of hard working people here. Such an amazing group. Our little Leo loves coming here. We do day care and we board him overnight as well. Leo always wages his tail and can't wait to get inside the door.

The lack of communication from staff to client was the first red flag for me. I booked my appointment a week in advance for an express bath but when I arrived to drop off my dog, the girl working asked if it was only a bath today. Anyone that's booked or been here should know the the express is a bath, haircut, nail and ears. She said the groomer would call me to discuss what I wanted to do IF she had the time.

They had my dog for 2 and a half hours when I got a text saying they had only bathed him. When I go to pick him up 2 employees are waiting in the lobby. For "not having time" the staff seemed nonchalant. Not only was my dog not dried fully but was still shedding. Truly the only good experience we're the workers. Will not be coming back.

Unfortunately my experience with HAFH was unpleasant and left me with a very negative perspective on the facility and management. I was planning on going on a one week vacation and started looking for dog accommodations. I checked out several facilities and was looking for one that could cater to the needs to my Beagle puppy, who tends to bark when neglected and/or anxious.

As most are aware, due to COVID, I have spent a lot of time with the puppy and used to people being around him. I talked to the owner on the phone several times and indicated to him that puppy does bark when anxious. He said to come on in and would do an assessment, which I gladly did. Long story short, I brought dog in and left him there for 1.5 hours.

When I picked him up, the first thing the owner said to me was that the "dog barks too much". I asked for recommendations/suggestions, and he indicated, after a 15 minute nonstop lecture, that I get him a bark collar. I asked if we can get VIP services for him (where owner takes dog home), and he said "No - Nobody at home will Sleep". Ok, then I said what about the kennel for overnight services - owner said "No - the neighbors will not sleep". Okay, well that leaves me with his only choice of getting a bark collar, which my vet does not recommend, and ended up looking elsewhere with successful results.

I wish that they could have been more accommodating and helpful with recommendations/suggestions. When the dog is shown attention and not ignored, the barking subsides. I know that they are not equipped to show him constant attention - and that is not my point - just wish they were not so direct in the delivery, but more sensitive to the needs to the puppy. FYI: After my visit, I found out that this facility experienced a very tragic event in 2015.

Apparently the outfit burned down when the owner was away for 30 minutes or so. As a result, 15 dogs perished - Very sad story for the dogs, their owners, and facility. https://www.montereycountyweekly.com/blogs/news_blog/breaking-and-heartbreaking-news-fire-at-monterey-pet-spa-day-care-kills-a-number-of/article_a31

These guys are the best in Monterey for your pets! I've been taking my dog to them for the past 3 years and I've never been disappointed. Joel is a great owner and him and the staff always make sure every pet is well taken care of.

Joel and his Staff are caring and friendly. They pride themselves in taking care of pets like they are their own. You can trust your Fur Baby with them!

My dog had an express bath and deshedding and he came back still little wet, and was shedding a lot after. I dropped him off 9:15 and I got a phone call @10:00 said it's done. 45 min and got everything done? Hard to believe. Not sure if I want to come back. The young lady at front desk is nice though:

Let me start off by saying that I don't trust ANYONE with my dog. I got my girl back in 2014 in the trenches of Alaska. She was found tied to a chain by herself in the wilderness with a broken jaw from a guy that deserves much more than that. She is extremely feral and is terrified of everything, especially people. I have always done her baths but with a newborn it is now hard for me to find time to bathe her and clean up all the fur afterwards (husky problems) BUT YOU GUYS she will be going here for the rest of her life.

The owner and all his staff were WONDERFUL. I told the owner about my dogs situation and he was so gentle. He immediately sat all his staff down when he got her and educated them about her situation and how to handle her. He used words like "slow and gentle" which is a big plus for me. He made sure his staff knew how to care for her and that means the world.

He allowed her time to decompress and get comfortable before grabbing her and immediately sat down so she can get used to his presence. His entire staff was so nice and you can tell cared about not only my dog but all the dogs that they were caring for. I have never been to a place that was so good with her but I'm so glad I found them. I will be back for sure!

Penny and I just had our last Spa day at Home Away From Home! As excited as we are to be moving back East - we are gonna miss this place and the people here! I have always had the most amazing experiences at Home Away From Home. And Penny - who HATES baths - is still excited to see everyone when I drop her off. She always comes out looking and smelling great.

They do her ears nails teeth AND anal glands! And I have never been disappointed with the results or the customer service. Down to requesting appointments over text - they have always been the easiest group of people to work with. Do yourself a favor and get ALL of your dog grooming services at Home Away From Home!

A safe spot for your fur babies! This was my first time doing pet boarding. I have *different* pets lol not a cat or dog, but two female guinea pigs! I was having trouble finding pet boarding for them near Oakland where I live. So we ended up bringing them on our weekend getaway to Monterey. I thought I could just sneak them into our hotel, but they make noise sometimes and make it harder to sleep and relax at night when they're in the same small hotel room as us. So, after night 1, I searched for pet boarding in the area.

I was so lucky to find HAFH! We were staying along Munras Ave near downtown Monterey and HAFH was only a 5 min drive from our hotel. I texted them in the morning and got a reply several hours later. I was able to check them in soon after. I really appreciate that HAFH was able to take us in on short notice. When I got there, I handed over the blankets, food bowls, towels, food, and playpen we had on us.

Just remember all the things you give them and make sure you get it all back at the end! When we came to pick the girls up, we didn't get our bowls back so we had to come back for those. Due to COVID, you have to stay outside, but they have a split door where they open up the top half and you can interact that way. There is paperwork to fill in before checking them in.

I felt good knowing my guinea pigs were in a different room than the dogs. And they were only sharing a room with one cat, and I was told there were locked enclosures so there wouldn't be a chance of interaction. Guinea pigs are so small that I would be worried about bigger animals accidentally hurting them. Texting is the best way to check-in with them. They're happy to provide updates and even a photo of your fur babies!

We even got a little bonus - our girls got a bath! And they checked out their nails and got little trims here and there! Our girls were happy and healthy when we got them back. I believe they washed our blanket and bowls as well before returning them. So kind and above and beyond. I'll be back to HAFH next time I'm in Monterey!

Home away from home is by far the best place for your fur babies. Wonderful location, loving and caring owners and staff great prices not to mention awesome grooming services. We will definitely be back. Skittles loves you all.

After adopting my dog from the SPCA I was hesitant to take my pup to any groomer. After doing some research and asking friends/family I decided to make an appointment and bring him in. Joi was helpful with setting up an appointment and all the staff including the groomer were fantastic. The whole experience was easy and hassle free, not to mention the groomer did a great job. I am so glad I found this place and will continue to bring him in!