Need a kennel to board your pet? It pays to shop around
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Some people take their pets with them when they travel. but many others board their pets in a local kennel. Based on feedback from local pet owners, it pays to shop around.
"There are a lot of great kennels out there, but there are also some that don't do very well. That don't seem to take very good care of animals," explained Kevin Brasler of Checkbook.org.
The non-profit consumer rating service surveyed thousands of Puget Sound area pet owners about their experiences boarding their pets. Many kennels get high marks for pet care, but there are also complaints.
"A lot of complaints about dogs returning home who lost a lot of weight who acted strangely," Brasler said.
The best kennels have the same things in common. They're clean, with good ventilation to help prevent illness. They have good lighting so pets get the daily light exposure they need. The animals looked healthy, and engaged, not sick or lethargic.
Brasler recommends visiting the kennel in person during business hours. He adds that another very important thing to look for is a very engaged, attentive staff that looks like they know what they're doing and are happy to be there.
When you go to check out a kennel, experts say don't make an appointment. Drop in during business hours and ask for a tour so you can see the place under normal conditions. If your tour is delayed for an extended amount of time, or restricted to only certain areas or if you're told you must make an appointment, experts say that may be a sign conditions are not as good as they should be.
Checkbook.org is a subscriber-based service, but as a special courtesy, they've arranged for the full Kennel report to be accessible to KOMO viewers until March 19th, just enter your email address on the designated page.
Keep in mind just because a kennel does not get top ratings for both quality and price doesn't mean it's not good. There are many excellent kennels in this area- but you have to do your homework.
"There are a lot of great kennels out there, but there are also some that don't do very well. That don't seem to take very good care of animals," explained Kevin Brasler of Checkbook.org.
The non-profit consumer rating service surveyed thousands of Puget Sound area pet owners about their experiences boarding their pets. Many kennels get high marks for pet care, but there are also complaints.
"A lot of complaints about dogs returning home who lost a lot of weight who acted strangely," Brasler said.
The best kennels have the same things in common. They're clean, with good ventilation to help prevent illness. They have good lighting so pets get the daily light exposure they need. The animals looked healthy, and engaged, not sick or lethargic.
Brasler recommends visiting the kennel in person during business hours. He adds that another very important thing to look for is a very engaged, attentive staff that looks like they know what they're doing and are happy to be there.
When you go to check out a kennel, experts say don't make an appointment. Drop in during business hours and ask for a tour so you can see the place under normal conditions. If your tour is delayed for an extended amount of time, or restricted to only certain areas or if you're told you must make an appointment, experts say that may be a sign conditions are not as good as they should be.
Checkbook.org is a subscriber-based service, but as a special courtesy, they've arranged for the full Kennel report to be accessible to KOMO viewers until March 19th, just enter your email address on the designated page.
Keep in mind just because a kennel does not get top ratings for both quality and price doesn't mean it's not good. There are many excellent kennels in this area- but you have to do your homework.
Thank you for the referrals. I haven't boarded my best friend here since returning from Eastern WA. The very best place over there is Prosser, Sunshine Doggy Resort, but I really don't want to drive all the way to E WA to catch a plane at SeaTac!
As an owner of a Our Best Friend LLC Doggie Daycare I enjoyed the info and defiantly agree it is extremely important to shop around, that means go in and visit. It is also true that you should be able to see the entire place without an appointment needed. What you neglected with this story is that many of the Care centers that are on this list as lower cost have a menu that they charge extra for meds, walking, petting, feeding and so on. We provide, day care, cage less overnight care ( We sleep with the dogs...really ). We have grooming and training. We do this for the quoted costs as seen on our web sight and we do not add additional costs so we tend to be less expensive with the best quality in many cases. We also work with the community 4H program as well as CHEW Dog Rescue. We were the winners of "The Best of the South Sound Magazine" for 2012. I was surprised that some of the great day cares and boarding facility were not mentioned or part of the survey.
I agree it pays to shop around. I believe there are many great places for your dog to stay. We try to accomodate walk-in tours for anytime of day but we are staffed and set up to do so without delay on Tuesday and Saturday. Our staff is busy with the dogs and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. We have been in business for 10 years and have many satisfied clients and happy dogs. Doggy Haven Resort has all boarding dogs in a playcare environment included with our standard boarding rates. We also have daycare Monday through Friday, grooming five days a week, bathing 7 days a week and many, many training options. We Love Dogs!
Thanks ! great to see reviews like this. We take out labs to AllMyPetFriends.com located in Snohomish and have been VERY satisfied with AllMyPetFriends. We were refered to them six years ago by friends and frankly there is no better place to board your dogs - we are picky pet owners and they really are the best. They have also won Best of Western Washington as well. : )
Thanks Edmondsgirl!
Yes, it would be great to be included in this list. We have won Best of Western Washington 3 years in a row.
www.roscoesranch.com
So glad to see that Prison Pet Partnership is #2! I think they are great and the "kids" Dorothy and Toto seem to love it and they love having the two of them. It is a great program. The price is very reasonable - haven't found anything cheaper (and if I did, I don't think I would switch.)  So glad that I found them! I just had them there and will be taking them back in August and mentioned that when I picked them up. The girl that brought them out got all excited and talked about what characters they are and it will be fun to have them again!  It was fun reading their report cards.Â
I can't believe Roscoe's Ranch wasn't on the list. It's the only place we board our dogs and schedule our trips around their availability. Wonderful staff, large kennels and cottages - our dogs come home happy, healthy and clean. Well worth the $!