GREENSBORO, N.C. — A Greensboro dog boarding kennel has temporarily closed following a state inspection.
Ruff Housing has the closure posted on the doors at their Battleground Court location.
The kennel has also reached out to clients, informing them of the closure and cancelling reservations.
A post on the Ruff Housing Facebook page reads in part, "Our center was recently inspected, and we are making some upgrades so we can provide the best possible experience. In order to do this, we will be closed effectively immediately for the next few weeks."
WFMY News 2 reached out to learn what may have led to the closure.
The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services oversees boarding kennels throughout the state.
State officials shared a letter that was sent to Ruff Housing's parent company, Destination Pets, LLC on October 11, 2022.
The letter was sent to inform the owners that their boarding kennel license was denied after officials found numerous deficiencies at the facility.
According to the Animal Welfare Section of the NC Department of Agriculture, on November 1, 2021, the kennel was found to be operating as a boarding kennel and offering boarding services to the public without a valid boarding license.
That is a violation of a North Carolina general statute.
Several deficiencies were also noted, which require repair.
According to state records, on November 24, 2021, a representative from Destination Pets LLC. provided a timeline of repairs for the kennel, stating the operator planned to have all of the violations corrected within 60 days.
Several months later, on April 7, 2022, AWS Inspector Christie Shore visited the kennel to check on the status of the corrective actions.
According to Inspector Shore, "not a single corrective action had been started, much less completed."
The director of Animal Welfare Services then contacted a company representative about the lack of progress.
Destination Pets LLC. told the director that a contractor would be at the facility to make repairs on April 11, 2022.
Other inspections were made by state officials, including a walk-through where Inspector Shore highlighted all of the violations and offered suggestions for corrective actions.
Destination Pets LLC. provided another timeline corrective actions on June 14, 2022, stating the repairs would be finished by August 11, 2022.
On September 6, 2022, a follow-up inspection was disapproved due to the "severity and repetitive nature of the violations."
Some of those violations include:
- Kennels were not provided with adequate ventilation
- Inadequate lighting
- Cracks in the floor and portions were not properly sealed
- Damaged plastic pool with sharp edges
- Damaged shade cells that protect animals from sunlight
On September 29, 2022, the AWS issued Destination Pets LLC. a notice of intent to deny boarding kennel license which later became final on October 11, 2022.
According to the letter sent to Destination Pets LLC., state officials found that "the kennel willfully disregarded and violated the AWA(Animal Welfare Act)," adding that "the kennel fails to possess the necessary qualifications to meet the requirements of the AWA for the holding of a boarding kennel license."
"I was really concerned. I was also really surprised that because the state had known about it for at least a year, it seems, but it was still in operation," said Sara Leck, a Ruff Housing client.
Leck has boarded her dog, Gracie, at Ruff housing several times.
She never had any problems, until she got a call about its closure and that her reservation for next week was cancelled.
"I was boarding my dog at a place that had all of these problems and was operating outside of the law and had no idea," said Leck.
Leck says she will be doing her homework before boarding from now on and urges others to do the same.
"If you're about to book someplace new, definitely take the extra few minutes to look it up," said Leck.
State inspectors did return to Ruff Housing this week to ensure they were no longer offering boarding services, which they were not.
Grooming is allowed to continue since those services do not require a license.
Ruff Housing will have an opportunity to re-apply for their kennel license, after completing the repairs noted in the AWS inspection.
So far, Destination Pet LLC. has not submitted a new boarding license application.
We have reached out to Ruff Housing for comment and are waiting to hear back.
An employee of the Greensboro kennel declined our request for information or an interview, instead, referring us to their legal department.
Ruff Housing's other locations in the Triad and another in Cary are properly licensed and are not impacted by this closure.