Boarding Dogs
I had always assumed that boarding dogs would be a simple and straightforward affair. I had never had a pet when I was a kid, but I had always wanted one. I was jealous of all of my friends who had dogs and cats, and I would go over and play with their animals whenever I get a chance. My parents, however, hated pets. They did not want to have to put up with the mess, you see, and in addition they didn't trust me to take care of them.
When I turned 18 and got myself a dog, I wasn't really prepared for how much went into taking care of one. You see, I had never cared for an animal before. I quickly picked up on what was involved, however, and soon I was doing a bang up job of raising my pet. Everything went alright until I had to find boarding for dogs. That is when the trouble started. I was looking for a place to board and visited a kennels which had a large advertisement in White pages but when I got there it all went wrong. The accommodation was small runs which were not as clean as I would have liked and the owner did not guarantee to take my boisterous Labradoodle for a walk each day! I will not be returning.
There are many different San Diego dog kennels around, and I had no idea what to look for when boarding dogs. I was running out of time however, and about to depart on a vacation. There is a place for boarding dogs down the street, and they seemed pretty clean and well run. I went in there and talked to the people who worked there, and they all seemed friendly. I couldn't actually go back to see the dogs, and this should have clued me in, but at the time I was oblivious. I wish I hadn't been – it took a long time for my dog to trust me again.
If you ever have to board a dog, even if it is only for a day or two, exercise extreme caution. Boarding dogs at the wrong place can be a disaster waiting to happen. You see, dog kennels run the gamut from very good to awfully bad. State-control and licensing is not very tight, and the dog boarding places can get away with basically anything when the doors are locked. I don't know what happened to my puppy, but I do know that he was shivering for a week after I got him back from the kennel. Whatever it was traumatized him badly, and it took him a long time to recover from it. You have a responsibility to take care of your pet, and that means not leaving it in a dangerous situation. Don't make the same mistake I did!
