Avalon Kennels

My teenage daughter wrote a 1 star review and Gavin responded calling it a trial by google. She was simply stating the facts to what she witnessed, an encounter with Gavin that left us all so shaken my daughter was compelled to write the review as soon as we got home. Gavin was present and personally involved when we raised our concerns so we did not follow up with a phone call or email, nor did we want to continue the ordeal of dealing with him. I accept dogs do get unwell and that is beyond anyone’s control but I would have appreciated some acknowledgment or reassurance as our dog had been under his care for several weeks. I was extremely taken aback by Gavin’s hostility and he rudely shut me down for even suggesting any connection between my dog’s sore eyes to the grooming or boarding at Avalon. I had also not brought a toy for our dog this time and on leaving the premise Gavin asked if a dirty looking fluffy toy belonged to us, which must have been given to our dog at some point during his stay. I felt disgusted as it did not seem hygienic to be mixing up toys belonging to other dogs especially since our dog contracted conjunctivitis. When I expressed my disapproval, Gavin taunted me about being from another planet! Never have I experienced such unprofessionalism from a business. We have been going to Avalon for many years and it had been fine, but that was before we had ever interacted with Gavin directly. To be fair the staff had always been helpful. However Gavin is right we will not be coming back.

If you’re looking for a kennel for your dog Avalon is the place! Having previously called numerous kennels and been told my dogs breeds weren’t accepted we finally found Avalon and have used them ever since. They are fantastic and know exactly what they’re doing when it comes to keeping dogs safe and well cared for. My German shepherd and Corso come back happy and healthy every time they stay and the pictures show how much of a fantastic time they have. (Baring in mind they’re not the easiest dogs the staff do amazing with them!)Highly impressed with their service and will continue to use for a long time. Thanks to all the team for all the hard work you do looking after them.

Just picked up my dog Bella from Avalon Hotel after a 2 week stay while we was on a family holiday.I would firstly like to thank the staff for being so kind and gentle with Bella as I know she can be difficult, all the staff are incredible and the whole place is absolutely immaculate!Bella didn’t just come out so happy but also smelling and looking amazing after her spa session.I would give 10 stars if I could!Thankyou Avalon, Bella will definitely return next year.

We picked our dog up today where he had been boarding and groomed. We were informed he had a sore eye and were immediately concerned with the cause. After previous grooming sessions with gavin our dog has come home with a red sore eye before, so we were understandably worried that there may be a link between the grooming and this repeated soreness. After asking to speak to gavin, he greeted us with a very confrontational attitude and immediately shut down my mothers worries, not with an explanation but with pure denial. This conversation ended up with raised voices, regardless of who was in the right I was shocked by the unprofessionalism by gavin (boss). He failed to provide any sort of explanation and instead completely denied any association with the problem, I find this funny because as the owner of the place surely everything is under his responsibility and supervision? Whether or not our dog’s eye was directly related to the grooming process or general time at the kennel, I think we would have all appreciated some sort of explanation rather than complete dismissal with gavin making a silly comment, ‘What kind of question is that, how could I possibly know? How does a dog get a sore foot?’ (paraphrased), and the only semi-explanation being our dog is just a nervous dog - would have thought a professional dog man and crufts man would know how to work with different dog personalities? He made the comment that such incidents were unrelated - the fact our dog has had a sore eye before and a sore eye now… - giving the analogy of a flat tire one day and the car breaking down the next. Overall, this review is not focused on the reason behind our dog’s sore, although we will still be looking for one, but mainly the attitude gavin showed to us as a customer. Witnessing the confrontation, I understand my mother reacted emotionally, due to her worries of our dog, but I was repeatedly appalled at how gavin continued to raise his voice and speak so confrontationally and aggressively, without giving a second to hear out our concerns and attempt to ease our worries with an explanation. Appearing like a bit of a bully and trying to get children involved, in what should have been a professional conversation, to strengthen his point. We were finally said goodbye to with the question ‘What planet are you from?’. Professional ?

Our dog had a lovely stay at Avalon Kennels, being a larger breeder we’re always wary of using kennels however the owners couldn’t have been more accommodating. Very reasonably priced, excellent facilities- would highly recommend.

Excellent and really appreciated the support when we couldnt fly back due to cancelled flights. The photos they sent us put our minds at ease and it was lovely to see Kayla running and looking happy. Thankyou to the whole team.

Was told they had availability but just had to come for a visit the following day to verify vaccination records etc. Once I arrived, they told me there was nothing available for the agreed dates. Very disappointing experience after driving an hour, especially since they could have had the courtesy to tell me before I left home.

Superb place which my cat seems to have found very homely. Not had any problems with her since she came home after her stay, so she's obviously been very relaxed there.

My dogs have stayed at Avalon several times, most recently over this summer. They are fantastically caring at Avalon and understand the needs of my dogs who are of 2 very different breeds. My older boy has been to other kennels previously and never seemed happy then but at Avalon he comes back happy and looking great. They love the staff and whenever we drop off they are both happy to go straight in and greet whoever meets them - I trust my dog’s opinions!! I travel 90 mins from home to take them to Avalon- they really are great. Even got sent a photo to put my kind at rest that they were fine while I was away for a couple of weeks.

Woody has had another great stay at Avalon! Really helps take away the holiday guilt of leaving them knowing they are going somewhere they will be kept safe and well looked after. Thank you so much to all the guys at Avalon, everyone is always so lovely and Woody really does seem to love going there.Woody has had a couple of holidays now at Avalon and seems to have absolutely loved it thank you so much. Gives us such peace of mind knowing he’s having his own holiday while we have ours and we loved seeing some of the photos that came through. He hopes to be able to holiday again soon!