A few months ago, I grew concerned that my dog Marlene, Marley for short, wasn’t getting enough exercise while I was in class or at work, so I started my search for a quality doggy daycare. After examining the few options Grand Junction had to offer, I decided that the Animal Nanny, located off of 25 ½ road in North Grand Junction, seemed the most promising.

I dropped Marley off at the daycare facility at 7 a.m. and picked her up at 6 p.m. When I returned at six, I was given a tour of the facility, which included an indoor and outdoor obstacle course, a lounging area, lots of room to run and wrestle, a puppy pool, and plenty of toys. I could tell by the looks of the complex and by the behavior of my normally off-the-wall pup that Marley had had a busy day. Once I got her into the car, she curled up into a ball and passed out before I even started the car.

When we got home, I fed Marley her dinner, which she ate fairly quickly. But I noticed she was doing something a bit odd. She was air humping while she ate. Literally, she was pelvic thrusting with every bite. Now, for those of you who haven’t met Marlene, she’s a well-mannered young lady. It became apparent that she picked up the nasty habit at daycare. As the night progressed, so did the humping. She was thrusting against the toilet, side of the bed, her stuffed animals, my roommate’s dog, anything and everything. My overtly horny dog was honestly becoming an issue. I couldn’t even walk her in my development because so many children would stare and ask what she was doing. I eventually had to start spanking her on the butt with a Criterion to get her to stop with the crudeness.

Even though I felt that the daycare had corrupted my wholesome and innocent pup, I continued to take her to the Animal Nanny because it was important to me that she socialize and get a good amount of exercise in while I was in class. The only objection I had about the business was its location, because 25 ½ road is a fairly busy road, and it’s about 200 yards from a highway. Also, the outside of the daycare looks like an abandoned residential home that you might expect to see on an episode of “Hoarders.” But I ignored these details because the Animal Nanny seemed to be doing a good job with Marley. She really seemed to look forward to her days there and was, without fail, exhausted when I picked her up.

One day before Christmas break, I went into the daycare and told the woman at the desk that Marley wouldn’t be at daycare for the next few weeks as she was going home with me for Christmas. I noticed that the only record she made of my statement was a scribble on a post-it, but I didn’t think much of it.

A few weeks later I received an email from the Animal Nanny claiming I owed them $80 to make up for the daycare sessions that Marley had missed. Apparently my notice was never passed on from the post-it, and therefore, I was charged for Marley’s absences since they had reserved a spot in the class for her. This is an understandable system, but not when I had in fact informed the daycare of our Christmas plans.

I replied to the email and received a few replies from the woman that I had left my notice with. Her emails were particularly accusatory and very unprofessional. That’s when I decided I wouldn’t be taking Marley back to the Animal Nanny.

The concept of their business is unique and convenient, but the organization of the facility and competency of the staff isn’t quite up-to-par.