Stella Ruffington’s Doggy Playcare

Most of the staff are probably dog-​people but there was an incident with one staff member that I witnessed when picking up my dog that was so troubling I will never bring my dog back. There was a Corgi being a normal dog, walking to the gate to leave (his/​her owner wasn’t there yet, but since the door to the business opened, he thought it was time to go) and the staff member picked him up by the collar in the air and forcefully moved him to the corner — the dog was yanked off the ground by his collar! — and as I watched the dog peed himself out of fear. Another staff member said the dog was «a submissive pee-​er» (clearly everyone knew this was basically abusive).
I would honestly recommend extreme caution before leaving your dog here.

I’ve been a loyal customer of Stella’s for years and love their service. My pug goes at least once a month for grooming and the staff are always friendly and helpful.
Today there was a gentleman I didn’t recognize who seemed to have issues using the card machine. I eventually paid in cash because he seemed frustrated. I was also in a rush because I wanted to take my dog home, he was OBVIOUSLY overheated. When I arrived to pick up my pug the gentleman went outside to pick him up! Any reputable dog daycare should know that a pug SHOULD NOT be let outside in the blinding sun when it’s 85 degrees out. My poor dog is now panting heavily and I’m working to cool him off as quickly as possibly.
This is just one incident and this new staff member is not someone I’ve encountered before but all it takes is one incident. Very disappointed.

Really happy with their service! They wanted to meet him and hang with him before it was ok for him to stay for days on end which meant a lot. We had called another service that didn’t even want to meet him which made us feel like they were just going to lock him in a room. After the mandatory daycare day (complimentary daycare day) he was exhausted when we came home. Tired dog = happy dog! It was a «go» for him to stay and when we picked him up he was filthy and tired and excited to see us. That was a win for us! He was filthy because he was outside all day and with other dogs, tired cause he was stimulated and when we got him home… We gave him a bath and we all took a nap! Would definitely use and recommend Stella Ruffington’s to others!

I brought Rue back a couple more times, and she really likes it now! She made a white fluffy friend and gets excited to see Stella’s staff when she goes once a week.

The staff of Stella Ruffington’s is the best! Our dog Barlee has been going here about once a week for a few years and every time he comes home he lets us know how great his day was by zooming through the house at full speed, up and down stairs, in and outside repeatedly. We had taken him to a previous daycare and never got this reception. In fact, every time we dropped him off he would dig in and refuse to go with them. This is very much NOT the case with the staff at Stella’s. We have seen some of them while out walking and before we could recognize the staff ourselves, Barlee immediately started pulling us to go greet them. I’d say he likes them!
My wife and I recently got married and decided to have Barlee be our ring bearer. We knew he’d do a great job down the aisle, but figuring out how to get him to the venue and back turned out to be a bigger deal than we thought. We decided since he loves Stella Ruffington’s so much, we’d see if they could help out that day. After talking with Jason (the owner), we worked it out for him to be Barlee’s «chauffeur» for the day. He even worked with Barlee before the big day, training him to sit nicely for the pictures! Everything worked out great and it was one less stress we had to deal with. I’m not sure there are many daycare providers out there that would go this extra mile for their customers.
Stella Ruffington’s has worked with Barlee over the years and we can tell he respects them and their authority. They know how to deal with his personality and when he might need some downtime from the rest of the pack. We are so grateful such a caring and competent facility is in our community! Thank you Stella Ruffington’s!

I did not do the Playcare this is for their Grooming/​Nail Trimming:
This is that hole in the wall, wish everyone knew about the amazing groomer!!!
The groomer, Michelle, knows what she is doing. Seriously.
I was so worried because a few days earlier, my Dottie Wiggles hurt her foot and broke her nail past the nub of her nail: (but she needed her nails trimmed.
Going to a vet for this would have been ridiculously $$$
I went in just expecting a regular nail trim by Michelle and had other plans elsewhere for Dottie’s hurt nail (which was going to cost me more). When I mentioned her hurt nail Michelle immediately looked at it, talked to me about what she could do (I agreed) and she took off the nail that was hanging and Dottie didn’t even flinch! Michelle cleaned up her nail and bandaged it up afterwards as well. Michelle was so real, genuine and quick to the point. I will not go anywhere else now. They did not over charge or try to sell me anything. Just real people that are genuinely there to help you and your pets.
Truly thankful for this place and Michelle gave me such a peace of mind with her knowledge of dogs (she has been doing this for 12+ years) and the best things for my Dottie. Thank you!!!

Twice I’ve visited this facility and it was enough to not want me to return.
The staff is nice enough, I guess. Although not very competent in my email correspondence to them which was odd.
Then I wasn’t allowed to tour the facility. So I dropped my dog off anyway not really thinking it was a big deal… But BOTH times I picked her up from daycare she was acting really weird. It was like she hated life both times I picked her up, and was acting antsy to leave. (For comparison she’s happy as a clam when I pick her up from DogCity)
Not going again — place gives me bad vibes.

Nothing but good things to say about Stella’s. My dog Franklin has been here for daycare and boarding and we love it. It’s right near my house — they offer grooming services and the staff has always been friendly and good to Franklin. I even notice he comes back from boarding a little more well-​behaved than when I drop him off — I’m attributing that to the owners’ history with dog training. I’d recommend you check it out — my experience was that it beats the giant day care alternatives like Barking Lounge which just left my little guy all shaking and stressed out.

Great atmosphere for our dog. Staff is super friendly! Walter can’t wait to come back and visit!

We’ve taken our young, super friendly pup here several times. She loves, loves, loves the dog park and is always jumps into play mode as soon as she even sees another dog but she does not like to go to Stella Ruffingtons. When my partner dropped her off last time, he said she tried to run out the door. When she first started going she’d come home absolutely filthy (grimy and smelling like pee) and I’ve seen scratches on her belly once but I figured it was just from playing. But obviously she is trying to tell us something, so I’ll have to find somewhere else that offers more supervision so she doesn’t get roughed up so much by the older dogs.

My beloved dog just turned 11 and I think we have been to every dog daycare on in the greater Seattle area (we move a lot; we’re not really that picky about daycare). However, Stella’s is the best! My pooch doesn’t usually get too excited about daycare, but he wags his tail every morning when we pull up. And he’s excited to see me when I pick him up (the highlight of MY day, seriously) but he’s not all «get me out of here, Mom!» No, he’s just calm and content, which makes a mama happy. John and Amanda and the rest of the staff are super friendly, warm, and most importantly, really care about my dog and his well-​being. Don’t let the naysayers stop you from taking your pet here… it is a wonderful place. Thank you everyone!

Well… that was strange. I have friends who take their dog to Stella’s for daycare and overnights, and their dog loves it there and has no issues. I have a regular dog sitter who is awesome, but sometimes she’s busy, so I was excited to go with my friend to drop off her dog and get a firsthand look at Stella Ruffington’s.
The staff was just fine, and the woman behind the counter was friendly and started pointing to images on the computer screen monitor that they have of all of Stella’s different play space. It was when I said, «Oh, great. Would there be a time I could come in and take a tour of the facility?» that things got weird.
The woman looked kind of crestfallen and said, «Oh, we don’t do that anymore.»
I was taken aback — a dog daycare and boarding facility that won’t let you actually see the spaces where your dog will be staying? The staff said that the new owner won’t do it because of liability reasons — «People getting bit» etc. So here are my thoughts:
1) I would NEVER leave an animal of any kind at a facility where I am not allowed to actually SEE the facility.
2) Tiny, grainy images of your facility on a monitor tell me nothing except there are some dogs and there are some rooms.
3) Your refusal to let me actually see the facility makes me immediately wonder what you are hiding.
4) The idea that you think it’s too much of a liability (if that is indeed the case) makes me think that you aren’t serious about caring for animals — because why wouldn’t being prepared for that kind of liability be part and parcel of your service to begin with?
5) Anyone who really cares about their dog would never leave her at a place that they didn’t get to see in person. (This is a new policy — my friends did see it before they started taking their dog there.)
Maybe Stella Ruffington’s plans to get by with the customers they already have. Good luck with that.

The best, most caring staff around. They don’t get any better than this!

Found a great daycare that shuttles from West Seattle and has the same philosophy as Tracy from WiggleRoom. Give this place a try…

We bring our pup here when we go on vacation and she always has a great time. Parker has separation anxiety and is always well taken care of, socializes with the other dogs, and the staff is always friendly and welcoming in taking care of her. We love that SR has an outdoor and indoor area for the dogs to play in and that the dogs aren’t crated at night. We’ll continue to come back to Stella Ruffington’s.

We boarded our dog here for the first time last weekend. I think he had a good time and they assured me he ate his raw food and slept in his crate, and he certainly came home exhausted from playing with other dogs. My only small complaint would be that he came home absolutely filthy and in desperate need of a bath. He also had a small mat in his long ear hair I had to cut out, but these things are a small price to pay for a happy hound I suppose.

Diego LOVES going to Stella’s. It’s a great neighborhood spot and all the staff are really great to the dogs there. They are always willing to accomodate my last minute overnight requests or late pickups and put up with my dog’s often fiesty behavior towards other weaker dogs. The only down side to this place is that my dog is 100 lbs and theres not a ton of space to run. He still loves it nonetheless! The other great thing is that they will wash your stinky dog before you pick him up!

Stella Ruffington’s was a god-​send in helping to deal with my boxer puppies hyper activity & seperation anxiety issues. Now she is 14 months old and simply LOVES her daycare time at SR– and so do we! My puppy gets to socialize with other dogs, wear herself out and we get a nice calm dog at the end of the day. Great deal!
Owner Shane and the staff are amazing — it’s obvious they love dogs and take great care of them. We’ve even boarded our pup and older lab (who requires meds) for 5 days and were pleased at how well they were taken care of. Someone stays over night so the dogs get to sleep out, cage free, and my dogs were happy to stay with the same folks they see during the day, during daycare hours. In fact, they weren’t even that excited to come home — they had rather settled in after five days! Not your usual effect from most boarding facilities, and I’ll never go anywhere else — THANK YOU Stella Ruffingtons!

My dog, Stella ironically, and I love this place. It’s a great break for Stella to have some play time during the week and social interaction with other dogs. She gets so excited when she realizes it’s daycare day and even more excited when she see Shane.
Shane and his staff are so friendly and helpful. I work in an industry where my schedule can be disrupted without notice. Shane is always willing to work with me to accommodate my needs.

I’ve been bringing our pom to SR for several years now. In my opinion, they have done good work. I am happy with the quality of the work, and our pom doesn’t seem to be traumatized by the experience (some dogs aren’t very keen on being washed, dried, cut, and especially nails trimmed.
One area SR really stands out: if they notice any anomalies on your dog, they inform you, and you can have your vet check things out. On two occasions the groomer gave me a ‘heads up’ regarding lumps found on our dog. On both occasions they proved to be benign, but I really appreciate SR’s attention to this stuff.
Some of the staff can seem a little terse at times, but they do get the job done.