Dogtopia of Downtown D.C.

Highly recommend this place! My dog never wants to leave, and our lives are so much better after taking him to daycare. I am so grateful for all of the employees here. The care that they take of all the dogs and the love they give them is very much appreciated.

We lost Life of Riley in Adams Morgan, where our dog had been going for two years. We then sought out another daycare and found Dogtopia. Our dog never really played here or felt comfortable. They have big, unruly, and yes stinky, rooms that the staff are watching through a video monitor. This past Sunday, we took our dog to Dogtopia. Our dog has ZERO history of “scuffles” or any other negative interactions in two cities (NY and DC). We got a call informing us that our dog had gotten into a “scuffle” and needed to be picked up because she was bleeding. My husband rushed over to find that our dog’s right paw’s skin had peeled clean off and hanging. He rushed her to the vet, where she had emergency surgery. Our dog had NEVER undergone an anesthesia test and my husband had to make a snap decision. He got home 3.5 hours later with my dog stitched up but in intense pain and groggy. I called Dogtopia 6 times and there was “no one available to answer…” our call. I left an angry message, and a request to call back. This was approximately 2:45 pm on Sunday. By Monday at noon, WE HAD NOT HEARD FROM ANYONE. No one apologized. NO ONE Called to check in on whether our dog was ok, or anything even remotely humane. Is this the kind of people who care for animals? My husband and I then took a trip to the location to speak with them. When we got there no one was at the desk, and we were told to wait. About 1.5 mins later, a woman walked in gushing about how her dog was going to be staying an overnight, and immediately multiple staff suddenly materialized. I told her to wait because we were there first and need to address an important matter. The staff of course continued to serve her, and finally started talking to us. The first words out of their mouths were the video was too fuzzy for them to tell what “really happened”, so they had asked the GM to review “his video”. The GM had not reviewed the video, so I stood there demanding they call him right now so we could speak with him. He ignored their calls claiming he was “in a meeting” and would call us back. I refused to leave till I spoke with him. He finally called my husband’s phone, and as we were leaving, the woman from earlier was STILL standing outside and waiting to go back in till we were done. As I was walking out, I told her wow, you’re still here. And I went back in to say to the Dogtopia staff that if this woman complained about us and they took action against us, we would absolutely take this farther, and the woman THEN tried to cajole me into a physical fight. I looked her up and down and laughed in her face. The staff meanwhile were just standing there exerting no control over this psychotic lady who I hope never has to experience her dog being harmed by these irresponsible folk, but hey karma is real, and I walked out telling her I could handle her! The GM simply said we take no responsibility. They have “suspended” the dog and offensive parents for now, but will not take onus of our huge vet bill, and offered not even a stitch of corrective behavior, much less accountability. They refused to ban the dog because “he had been coming to them for a year and they’ve never had any issues with the dog”. One male staff member had even told me to “calm down” in a pretty loud voice, to which I told him to “keep stepping” before he gets fired for harassing a woman who’s dog they let come to harm. This isn’t just an unprofessional place, they lack complete accountability, honesty or any characteristic of a place that is taking care of people’s fur babies. They leave the dogs unattended, likely cause they are understaffed and trying to maximize “profit”. Yes, your dog may not have been hurt, but with this level of unprofessional behavior it’s just a matter of time before something happens to another dog. STAY WAY, or at least have pet insurance in case of a HUGE emergency surgery vet bill in these trying times. Sick!

Puga is 11 and has never been to daycare. I decided as she’s getting older that we would travel more. But I also want to still do human things lol. So while in DC this past weekend for cherry blossoms, she went to Dogtopia while I had dinner, and she had a great time! The staff was so sweet, all the dogs going in and out were super excited, and Puga is still sleeping off her weekend away! *Picture of Puga sitting on the Capitol lawn eating fries

I really appreciate that the Dogtopia team really gets to know your dogs and really work with them where they're at. I've already noticed such positive changes in my pups' behavior, and this is their first time in a daycare setting, going on two weeks! (Also please enjoy these CUTE photos from daycare)

We were in the city for just a few days but wanted to be able to go sightseeing where our dog was not necessarily welcome. Dogtopia to the rescue. It was so awesome to know our baby was getting her own mental and physical stimulation while we were out and about. The doggie cams gave us peace of mind and entertained us when we took a break from sightseeing. Every coach at dogtopia was so friendly and clearly loved working with their furry clients. Almost forgot the complimentary dog bath! Though usually offered for a fee, they provided it for free due to some issue with the floors - I really appreciated the business handling it without me even asking. Note- dogs go through an assessment before being accepted which gave us great confidence that they were careful in taking and placing the dogs together.