Okay, I'll be frank. When I first found this place on CL and found out what the boarding fees were, I have to admit that I immediately thought the worst. How could they possibly be a place that I'd want to leave my dog with? Sure, the woman seemed knowledgeable and pleasant over the phone but, I wanted to go meet and see for myself.
Upon arriving at the kennel, which looked like a home rather than a business by the way, I noticed three not so great things immediately. There seemed to be a large amount of uncontrollable boxer dogs being walked in the streets, the parking situation was awful, and you can't see the kennel's address! (The boxer dog rescue is directly across the street from this place so be cautious if you have to drop off a dog on the weekends!) All I pictured was this kennel full of maniacal, barking dogs and thought twice about even keeping my appointment to meet and see.
Once I found the place, I was greeted by a very pleasant and very pregnant woman who is the manager. Not only did she make me feel right at home, she had no problems answering any questions that I had concerning the kennel as well as her level of experience. Here's what I found...
If you are looking for large community play areas, heated pools, flat screened TVs and couches for your pets, this is not your place to be. For health and safety reasons that I had never previously thought of, they have not jumped on that band wagon. The dog runs are just that. Dog runs, though they have plenty of room for even a great dane. Brushed concrete and not polished again, for the safety of your dog in order to prevent injury due to slipping or sliding in excitement. All of the dog runs have what looked to be large, redwood houses that are well maintained. Both the runs and houses are sanitized on a regular basis. Should you desire, they will provide the food for your dog at no extra cost or you can bring your dogs regular food so as to not cause the tummy problems. I know that my vet always recommends that we keep our dogs diet as consistent as possible. Should you decide to go with their food, rest assured, they feed only high quality food. They even have it broken down for small dogs, big dogs and self feeders! Special diets requirements, meds, etc are no problem either. I think I learned more from this one meet and see than I have from all of my years up to no owning dogs.
Did I mention that the manager and her family are on site 24/7 to watch over and care for the animals?
As for experience, between the owner's and the management, they have tons! The manager herself has been showing, training, conditioning, grooming and creating nutritional programs for all kinds of dogs for over 20 years. She has also rehabilitated severely abused rescues of all types and created a wonderful list of things to follow when adopting a new dog into your home. The owner's have been in the animal care world for over 40 years as well. (I think that's what she said, but don't quote me.) They also are/were dog show people.
- All in all, the people were great and seem to really know what they are doing.
- ALL of the dogs seemed really happy, healthy and well cared for.
The moral of this story? Suck it up and realize that the couches,TVs, heated pools, etc. are all to make YOU/ME feel better about leaving our dogs behind. I found that you don't have to pay the extreme prices for all of that stuff or give up the quality of care for your animal. They can be cared for properly and it can be easier on your pocket. read more