Just Dogs?

 

They say the world is divided into people with dogs and people without, but I’d take that further…

 Within the dog-owning group there are people whose dogs are “just dogs” and people whose dogs are “part of the family” with their own character, personality and needs.

 

The ‘just dogs’ people probably don’t agonise too much over where to board their pets when they need to go on holiday or be away from home. The dogs have to fit in with their plans and if that means a few days at the nearest kennel, so be it.

 

On the other hand, those whose pets mean a lot to them will spend hours, if not days trying to find a home-from-home for the family member who has to be left behind.

 

This can mean, as in my own case, not having a holiday with my husband for 15 years, because I don’t trust a kennel or cattery to look after my own much-loved (and, yes, spoiled) pets.

 

It might sound mad to some people, but I know I’m not alone in this. Here are extracts from a couple of the many emails we receive regularly here at www.boardingkennels.org.

 

“I’m just sick with worry, our dog is a rescue dog and we will have had her for  two years in July. She suffers from silent separation anxiety to the point that her temperature can rise as high as 45 degrees…”

 

While another writes:

 

 “I am desperate to find a luxury dog hotel or kennels for my Yorkshire Terrier… a very much loved little dog …Our home and garden is specially designed so there is no way she can get out. If she got a door open I would be afraid she would run out and maybe be killed on the roads…  My husband and I haven’t had a foreign holiday for a few years.” 

 

It’s so hard to find good kennels you can trust and who will understand that, as in the case of my own dogs, one likes to sleep in a bed under a duvet, another on her own settee. One has to have her ‘dolly’ in her mouth before she goes out and will pick up anything on the ground that is dolly-shaped before she will budge. That they have to have their rawhide chews immediately after their meal and, above all, that they want to stay together.

 

 Good kennels are like gold dust. Maybe even scarcer than that. How do you find one for a start?

 

How do you know that ‘luxury’ really means ‘luxury’ and isn’t just an adjective tacked on to help market somewhere mediocre?

 

Increasingly frustrated and desperate, you spend hours trying to locate suitable accommodation for your dogs. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this can take longer than finding and booking your own holiday

 

And after trawling the internet, you then have to face the fact that the only place even vaguely acceptable is hundreds of miles away. So off you go on a pre-holiday inspection trip. (We already know that caring dog owners have to travel many hours and miles to find kennels they are truly happy with. How mad is that when the demand is already there?)

 

You check that the kennels really are luxury, that beds mean beds, that your dog won’t get eaten, escape or freeze/boil to death. It is a nightmare.

 

You have to know and love dogs to understand.

 

Well, our aim here at www.boardingkennels.org is to help you. We understand (believe me!) the agony of the search, the sleepless nights and the frustration.

 

On these web pages we’ve created a way to help you find the very best kennels for your dog. The pages have everything you need to make an informed choice. We’ve set them out in a consistent and easily navigable way so you don’t spend half your time trying to understand and compare information. You’ll be able to find fees, descriptions, services, special care, location, reviews for every kennels with a profile.

 

Personal recommendations and customer reviews are vital when you are choosing a kennels and we value those really highly. Now you’ll know if ‘luxury’ actually means it or not.

 

We hope these pages will save you time and heartache and allow you to relax while you are away, knowing your four-legged friend is in safe hands. After all that’s what you really want, isn’t it?

 

And on your return, after the reunion, its frenzy of welcome kisses and leaps of joy (and that’s just you – never mind the dog!) maybe you’ll feel inspired enough to put pen to paper or mouse to keyboard and write your own recommendation here to put another worried dog owner’s mind at rest. Please do…

 

To add your review of the kennels you’ve used/visited,
just SEARCH for them, and click on their Reviews page.