Meet Marissa!

How long have you worked at Ruff House?

I have worked at Ruff House now for about 5 months.

What is your favorite part of working at Ruff House?

My absolute favorite part of working at Ruff House is the simple joy of interacting with all the dogs and playing with them. I also enjoy learning more about different breeds as well as working with the different personalities of the doggies that come to Ruff House.

What do you want to be when you "grow up"?

I am considering taking classes from the Animal Behavior College to become a dog trainer, but for now I am working on completing my GE at BYU.

Tell us more about you!

I am 21 years old and I grew up in Beaverton, Oregon. I got married this past June and my husband, Kevin, and I enjoy road biking as well as camping and hiking. I have been a dog lover at heart since I was in elementary school, so on my free time I enjoy reading about different breeds as well as different training philosophies. I also enjoy spending time with my family and watching movies.

Do you have any pets?

Unfortunately, I do not have any pets at this time. The apartment my husband and I live in doesn't allow pets. We plan on getting 1 or 2 dogs within the next couple of years when we move, though. We would like to get a Doberman and a Golden Retriever.

Meet Molli!

How long have you worked at Ruff House?

2 years! Yay!

What is your favorite part of working at Ruff House?

Well obviously getting to play with dogs all day is awesome! I love getting to know all of our customers and their 4-legged babies. I love learning about canine communication and getting to understand these amazing creatures every day.

What do you want to be when you "grow up"?

I want to be a professional dog trainer! I would love to be able to one day travel around the country talking to people and kids about understanding how to communicate with dogs and how to be safe around them.

Tell us more about you!

Currently I am attending Animal Behavior College to get my ABC Certification in dog training. I intend to do lots of extended education programs with them after that and also want to learn about training service dogs, search and rescue dogs, Sniff dogs, etc. I love art, movies and movie making, camping, and anything that involves getting to spend time with other people.

Do you have any pets?

Yes! I have a 1 1/2 year old Border Collie/Heeler mix named "Suki." She is quite a handful but I love her lots and she has been an awesome help with my training ^_^

Meet Jon!!

How long have you worked at Ruff House?

Well, that depends on what counts? In early 2010 Jon officially became a Ruff House team member, but was a familial face through 2009 and has been a great help with caring for the dogs, and basic repairs just as long.

What is your favorite part of working at Ruff House?

Being with the dogs! Playing with them, interacting with them, learning their personalities. Some of them are such comedians.

What do you want to be when you "grow up"?

I'm in school for Forensic Chemistry, but sometimes I can't imagine doing anything else but working with dogs.

Tell us more about you.

Well, I was married in December 2009, and we live in Orem with our six dogs and three cats. Yeah, six dogs. So, it's kid of like daycare at home, too. When I'm not at school, or Ruff House, or my other job, we go to the Sandy Dog Park a lot, or just hang out and watch a movie. That's the great thing about Great Danes- they're as mellow as I am.

Do you have any pets?

Me? pets? NEVER! Just kidding. I have five Great Danes: Mousse, Zailey, Braxton, Timber, & Kola. And Annie the Boxer... and the three cats. I guess my wife and I are animal people.

Meet The Staff

Watch in the following week as we spotlight each of our amazing staff members for you to get to know.

We love to maintain an inviting atmosphere and safe play environment for all of our guests- human and canine. Over the past three years, we could not be happier with our growth and progress not only as a small business, but as a neighborhood friend. None of it would be possible without our dependable, educated staff. Whether it's a quick check-in, or an hour long chat, we enjoy our customers so much and since we are trusted every day with your "furkids" we thought we'd let you get to know us- if you haven't already!

Check back as one-by-one our amazing crew is spotlighted in the next week!

Howl-O-Ween Costume Contest!

It's October, which means the start of our First ever HOWL-O-WEEN COSTUME CONTEST! To enter, submit a photo of your pet in their Halloween costume to utahruffhouse@yahoo.com and later this month, we will post all entries here. You will be able to vote for your favorites, and the winner will be featured in our next newsletter, and get a Spooktacular basket full of all kinds of canine goodies!
The entry deadline is October 17th. Voting will open up immediately after we post the pictures on our Facebook page. You will vote for your favorites by "liking" the photo, send it to your friends and family and get as many votes as you can, because on October 30th, the winner will be announced, with the winner's photo displayed in our lobby, in our next newsletter, and of course here, and we have a spooktacular doggy bag full of all kinds of treats and fun stuff for the winner!
*If you haven't signed up for our newsletter yet, you're missing out! Email utahruffhouse@yahoo.com and see what all the ruff's about!

Local Artist WOWS Us With Her Talent!

We are the proud new owners of a wonderful work of art by the wonderful Mallory Johnson!

If you've been in our lobby lately- and we hope you have- perhaps you noticed the amazing painting of Sekoya, the beautiful Golden Retriever that has been one of the furry faces of Ruff House since the beginning.

If you're interested in having a portrait of your furkid(s) done, we would love to put you in touch with this fantastic local artist!

What? Why no Refunds?!

It is traditional at boarding facilities to charge fees and deposits at the time of any reservation request. We have opted out of this practice as we don't like unnecessary charges as we do understand plans can change last minute and our goal is to offer the best service possible, at the most affordable prices possible.
Many people wonder about our "no refunds" policy. Why is it there? Is it just a scam to keep your money? Does it serve a purpose? Rest assured, we have no interest in scams or dishonesty, and our no refund policy is there for a reason, and we'd like to shed some light on that.
In the past, we have been rather laid back in this policy, however as our numbers have grown we are finding that our boarding kennels are full on all holidays, and many weekends. This results in us having to turn away dogs for services that we do not have room for. Any time a pet is picked up early, it opens up space that may have been previously denied to someone else. While we welcome early pickups, and have no penalty for them, while most other places do, we do not refund the amount paid at drop off.
At most boarding places, you would get no refund, or receive only a small portion of the fees for the unused services. We do not feel this harsh of a policy is necessary, and that is why we do give our guests 100% of their remaining balance back in the form of store credit, which can be used for any services or products we offer at Ruff House. These credits do not expire, and can be used at any time, including holidays and weekends. While payment is due at drop off for boarding services, and on the first day of home visit services, we strongly discourage payment prior to that just in case things change... unless of course, you don't mind having store credit with us!
We hope that you understand why this is necessary, and apologize for any inconvenience. This policy has always been in our contract, which we hope you read before signing, to ease any confusion or frustration.