A Pet Boarding Story You Don't Want to Hear  

8th August 2015

We had an unhappy review on our website last week, which made me feel so sad for the pet owner in question. As it turns out, the pet sitting service they had chosen had lost their dog. Now just from that statement alone, we could direct you to all sorts of great advice on how you can minimise anything as awful as this ever happening you. But it struck a chord, and unfortunately it can all so often happen if you haven’t vetted your choice of pet business appropriately. 

As it turns out, on that very same day, I came across an article with the introduction “No pet owner should have to go through this” and this made me think about what the owner is probably going through. In this story by BarkPost, titled ‘4 Things You Should Do to Make Sure Your Dog Never Gets Lost’, it outlines the importance of micro chipping and tagging your dog. That’s all very well however, but what if you happen to be overseas or interstate at the time? How does/will your pet sitter/boarder let you know that Fido has managed the ‘great escape’ and how will they manage this event? Did they ask you to leave emergency contact information? Is there a family member or friend back home who can ring or visit the relevant Dog Pounds and vets in the area? Personally, if the property in question does not have at least 6 foot high fences, I would have to think twice about leaving our dogs there. I have seen my female jump. It’s high. Especially, when she thinks we are leaving her behind somewhere she has never been to before. So as a timely reminder, here are 10 important questions every pet owner should ask and investigate, before boarding their pets with either a boarding facility or a pet sitter: 10 important questions to ask before boarding your pet.

To highlight the matter, we found some scary statistics around lost pets in general. In the United States, one-third of pets will get lost in their lifetime. Even more startling, 10 million pets get lost each year. That’s larger than the population of New York City. For Australia, the RSPCA gave the following statistics to Sydney Dog’s life Magazine; just for the RSPCA alone, they took in more than 66,344 dogs into their care in one year. Some were surrendered voluntarily, whilst others were discovered wandering the streets. The good news is, 33 per cent of these dogs were reclaimed by their owners, yet that still leaves a massive 44,450 dogs unaccounted for. Could that statistic be your fur baby? The Sydney Dog’s life Magazine has some great tips for any pet owner in Australia who may be unfortunate enough to experience this. 

In conclusion to this sad event, when looking for a pet boarding service to meet yours and your pet’s needs, always think about the following tips:

1. Ask for referrals
2. Check the place out, go for a visit beforehand
3. Review previous customers’ experiences
4. Ask how your pet will be identified amongst other pets in their care
5. What is the pet to staff ratio?
6. What would happen in an emergency situation?
7. What type of security is to be expected?

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