Take Care To Find Right Kennel Before Boarding Your Pet

Take Care To Find Right Kennel Before Boarding Your Pet

by Denise Sautters

Nov 28,2005

When Lou Criswell's parents died several years, he had to kennel their pet, Phez, a mongrel they got from the Humane Society, while he took care of the business at hand.

"It took at least two weeks," he said. "My parents died four months apart, and after my mom died, a friend recommended I board Phez at the kennel where my parents boarded him, until I could take care of him.

"He was miserable there," Criswell said. "Unfortunately, I didn't know it until I picked him up. I had a lot to do at the time, but if the kennel would have just called and told me he wasn't doing well, I would have picked him up and brought him home."

One of the problems, said Criswell, executive director of the Stark County Humane Society in Canton, Ohio, was that Phez was suffering from separation anxiety. "I should have realized that at the time, but I didn't know Phez was so miserable and my focus was somewhere else."

That was the last time Criswell used a kennel. "Finding a good kennel is so important if you are planning to board your pet," he said. "My experience was horrible, but it shouldn't have been."

So, how do you find a kennel that is right for your pet?

Jim Krack, the executive director of the American Boarding Kennel Association in Colorado Springs, Colo., said that before choosing a kennel, it is important to visit it.

"First, find out whether your state requires boarding kennel inspections," he said. "If it does, make sure the kennel you are considering displays a license or certificate showing that the kennel meets mandated standards."

Melissa Brewer of the Ohio Department of Agriculture said licenses for kennels are handled by cities and counties in Ohio. According to Kirk Norris, environmental director for the Stark County Health Department, inspections are not required in Stark County.

A person also should ask whether the prospective kennel belongs to the American Boarding Kennels Association, he said. The trade association was founded by kennel operators to promote professional standards of dog care. The ABKA offers voluntary facility accreditation that indicates the facility has been inspected and meets ABKA standards of safety, and quality of care.

Krack also recommends checking with the local Better Business Bureau to see whether any complaints have been lodged against a kennel under consideration.

Both Krack and Criswell said it is helpful to ask friends, neighbors, a veterinarian, or the local animal shelter for kennel recommendations.

"That is where you start," Criswell said. "Word of mouth is very valuable. In addition, I've always thought it best to prepare your animal for a stay in a kennel. Take it to the one you are considering and leave it there overnight or a weekend to see how your pet does before leaving it for a week or two."

Spooky Pet Care Idea From Singapore

You could soon be patting your dog or stroking your cat online now that researchers at the Interaction and Entertainment Research Centre of Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, (NTU), looking for ways to help people to communicate with pets and children, have learned to transmit the sense of touch over the Internet.

The Straits Times has reported that students at the university have rigged up a system using a camera and a jacket that pets can wear when they are a left at home while the owner is at work. With this, the absent owner is able to monitor the pet's activities over a computer link.

If the owner sees that the pet is stressed or restless they are able to stroke and pat a touch sensitive model of the animal, and the touching, stroking sensation is replicated in the home, through the jacket on the pet's back!

The implication is that the long distance hugging and attention will help to soothe a stressed animal. Providing they don't believe in ghosts.

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