Pet Boarding Services Your pet s home away from home. BOARDING YOUR PET What types of boarding services does Green Acres provide? Dog Boarding Dogs boarding at Green Acres stay in one of our four heated rooms. Each dog is assigned their own spacious indoor-outdoor kennel. Kennels are available in small, medium, large and giant sizes. Run dimensions vary from 3x4 to 5x8 inside and 3x12 to 5x20 outside. Your dog will be assigned to a run that is appropriate for their size. Each individual kennel has an indoor and outdoor section. Each inside run is separated by a solid wall to provide privacy for the dogs. A sliding door between the indoor and outdoor section of the kennel allows the dogs to come and go as they please. During the winter heating season we do not keep this door open, due to heat loss, but do allow the dogs several opportunities to go outside throughout the day. Both sides of the runs are cleaned daily or more frequently if needed. We will allow dogs that normally live together and that can be fed next to one another to share a run, providing there is ample room for them to move freely. Activity is important, so most clients opt for playtime for their pet. Cat Boarding Green Acres feline guests stay in our upstairs cattery, well separated from our canine guests. We have a total of 12 "Kitty Condos," 10 of a vertical design, complete with climbing trees, and 2 of a horizontal design for our senior, less mobile cats. Depending on their length of stay, our feline guests may also be rotated through our cat playroom, which includes furniture like that found at home and a window for watching the outside. The cattery is air conditioned during the summer. What type of exercise do pets get when they board at Green Acres? Playtime Playtime is a Boarding option that most dogs love! Our trained, experienced staff will assign you dog to a playgroup based on temperament, size, age and play style for a fun romp with up to four
Green Acres Kennel Shop Boarding Services - page 2 other dogs. All playtime sessions take place in one of our two outside, fenced, play yards. All play sessions are 100% supervised by a trained pet care technician and there are never more than 5 dogs per technician. Your dog will not be left unsupervised with dogs that are not part of its family. If your dog is not comfortable with other dogs, individual playtime is available. Individual playtimes may consist of going for a walk, running and fetching, just hanging out, or sitting on a lap and being pampered. Group playtimes last approximately 20 minutes and individual playtimes are approximately 10 minutes in length. Why is boarding such a good option for pets? People travel and often go places where pets are not allowed. Traveling with a pet has the risks of the pet getting scared and running off, or becoming sick. Changes are usually very stressful to a pet, especially cats, and traveling is a constantly changing situation. Boarding facilities provide a safe, caring environment with a staff trained to care for your pet and monitor their health while keeping them secure. A quality boarding facility gives a pet s guardian peace of mind, knowing that their pets are safe and comfortable. Why is it not a good idea to leave the pets with friends or family members? Actually that can be an option if the person you choose is well trained in caring for pets, is around 24 hours a day, and if your pet gets along well with pets that the other person may have. It is a big responsibility to take care of another persons pet and can be inconvenient if the pet gets ill or runs away while in their care. Few yards and homes are as secure as a good boarding facility. What if the pet doesn t do well being boarded? Although this happens rarely, it is a possibility, and when it does occur any reputable boarding facility will make you aware of your pet s unhappiness and distress and will suggest other options. In these cases we always recommend the pet stay at home and that you hire a well qualified pet/house sitter who will stay at your home and watch over both your pet and home. When you go this route, always make sure the pet sitter is well qualified; they need to have the same level of knowledge of animal behavior and healthcare as any employee at a boarding facility. Additionally, make sure they have a backup staff in case they get sick or in an accident while caring for your pet. Are there special requirements for boarding a pet? Requirements vary with facilities. At Green Acres we have specific requirements in the following areas: Vaccinations To ensure the health of all pets staying at Green Acres, we will need to see proof of vaccination for rabies for all cats and dogs, and either proof of vaccination or proof of immunity for distemper and canine cough for your dog and proof of vaccination or immunity for distemper for your cat. Proof of immunity would require a letter from your veterinarian stating that titer tests are performed on a routine basis and that your pet has sufficient immunity. A day before your reservation, we will contact your veterinarian to request this information.
Fleas Green Acres Kennel Shop Boarding Services - page 3 All pets entering Green Acres are checked for fleas and must be flea free before they may be boarded. All pets are checked for fleas daily to ensure that no guest goes home with fleas. If your pet is found to have fleas at the time of check in, they will need to have a flea bath prior to being admitted to the kennel, for which there will be an extra charge. Emergency Veterinary Care If your pet should require veterinary care while staying with us, we will work with your veterinarian and the local Emergency Veterinary Clinic to provide the required care. Whenever possible, we will contact you or the person you designate at the emergency number you leave us, if such care should be required. Veterinary care is provided under the terms of Green Acres boarding contract. What do people need to bring with them when they board their pet? There are several things you should bring with you when boarding your pet. 1. If it is your pet s first visit, bring proof of vaccinations. All dogs boarding at Green Acres must have current vaccinations for Rabies, Distemper, and Canine Cough/Bordetella. All cats must have current vaccinations for Rabies and Distemper and we encourage vaccination for Feline Leukemia. 2. An emergency phone number where we can contact you or someone else if your pet requires emergency care. 3. Any medications, prescription or otherwise (e.g. Aspirin), that your pet requires. All medications should be in containers clearly marked with your pets name, the name of the medication, the correct dosage for your pet, and if a prescription, the name of the veterinarian. 4. If your pet requires food other than what we provide in the kennel, you should bring enough food for their stay. Green Acres feeds Eagle Pack dry and canned dog and cat food. If you wish your pet to be fed something other than what we provide you may bring your own food or purchase any of the food we sell at Green Acres. Any food you bring should be clearly labeled with your pets name and the amount they are to receive at each feeding. 5. If your pet will be picked up by someone other than yourself, please leave us with the name and phone number of the person(s) authorized to pick up your pet. We will not release your pet to anyone but you without this information. No pet will be released until your account is settled. Can people bring their pets toys and bed? Yes, you may bring your pets toys; however, when possible they should be clearly labeled with your pet s name. We also suggest you limit yourself to bringing only one or two toys for your pet. You may also bring your pets bed, but please be aware that about 1 in 100 dogs will destroy their bed while staying at the kennel. While we try to prevent this, we can not make any
Green Acres Kennel Shop Boarding Services - page 4 guarantees. If you do not wish to bring your pets toys and bed, we will provide them with toys and bedding material that we maintain in the kennel. Any bedding you do provide needs to be machine-washable. It will be washed the day before your pet is scheduled to go home. How do I know my pet won't get fleas while boarding? Each pet that boards at Green Acres is checked for fleas when they check-in. Any pet found to have fleas or flea dirt must have a flea bath before being admitted to the kennel. There is an additional charge for a flea bath. Each pet is then checked daily to make sure they do not pick up any fleas during their stay. In 1997 we observed that many of our clients started to use some of the new flea control products available from their veterinarian (Program, FrontLine and Advantage). These products work very well and we encourage you to discuss them at your next veterinary visit. How often will my pet get exercise? During the warmer months the dogs are allowed free access to their indoor and outdoor runs from 7:00 AM until 7:00 PM. When we are heating the kennel, the dogs are allowed to use their outside runs several times during the day. The duration of this time is dependent on the weather. We encourage you to take advantage of our optional playtime programs if your dog or cat will be staying with us for more than 2 or 3 days. The dogs and cats really enjoy this extra interaction. The cats have runs filled with climbing posts and toys to keep them occupied. We also have two large cat playrooms which we rotate the cats through during their stay. What do my pets get to do during playtime? We try to customize our playtimes to the activities that your pet enjoys, whether it be going for a walk, playing fetch, playing with other dogs, or sitting on a lap and getting petted and brushed. Dog playtimes may be conducted inside or outside. We will allow dogs to play with other dogs when requested by both clients, providing the dogs get along. Cat playtimes are conducted in one of the cat playrooms by a staff member who will play with your cat or cats. How do you charge for my pets boarding? We charge for boarding like a hotel charges for a room. You are charged for the day your pet is dropped off and for every subsequent day your pet is here after our 12 noon checkout time. Pets groomed on the last day of their stay are not charged for boarding that day. How early should we make reservations and what is your policy on cancellations? While we wish we could accommodate all of you that want to board your pets with us during major holidays, we only have a set number of runs. To ensure you get a reservation when you need it, we encourage you to book as soon as possible. Reservations for major holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, February Vacation, and Spring Break generally need to be made 4 to 8 weeks in advance. Reservations for any summer weekend generally need to be made 2 to 4 weeks in advance.
Green Acres Kennel Shop Boarding Services - page 5 Boarding is a seasonal business and we need to optimize our run usage during peak times. Some kennels do this by overbooking and then placing "extra pets" in crates. We do not believe in this practice because we do not feel it is fair to your pets or to you. Once we are full we maintain a waiting list. As we get cancellations, we call people on the waiting list to offer them the space and dates they have requested. In order for this system to work, it requires that people cancel reservations in a timely manner. It is our policy that reservations must be canceled at least 72 hours in advance, or you will be billed for the dates and runs you reserved. This amount of time is necessary in order to fill the run that has been reserved. Thank you for all of your understanding and cooperation. What should people look for when choosing a boarding facility? There are many things people should look for when evaluating a boarding facility. 1. Start looking well in advance of when you will need to use a facility, as good ones can fill-up quickly, especially during peak times such as school vacation, summer, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Some years we will be booked for Christmas in September. 2. To locate a facility, ask your veterinarian and other pet guardians for recommendations. You can also check the yellow pages or use the American Boarding Kennel Association (ABKA) Pet Services Locator at www.abka.com. 3. Call facilities to inquire about their services, but don t make a decision until you actually visit a facility to see what it s really like. If possible, bring your pet with you when you visit so you can see how the staff responds to your pet. During the visit, make note of the following: a. Is the staff courteous and friendly to both you and your pet? b. Do they seem to truly enjoy your pet? c. Is the facility clean? d. Are the staff ABKA Certified Pet Care Technicians? e. Is the kennel a member of the ABKA? f. Does the facility have the proper licenses? Anyone boarding pets for a fee must have a Maine kennel license. g. Does the facility have a formal disinfection protocol? h. What are the vaccination requirements? Will they accept titers? i. How are dogs evaluated for playtime? What is the staff to dog ratio for playtimes? We recommend no more than 5 dogs per staff member. j. What are the facilities feeding procedures? Can you bring your own food?
Green Acres Kennel Shop Boarding Services - page 6 k. What are procedures and policies for dealing with pets requiring medications? l. What does the facility do if your pet requires veterinary care? m. Does someone live on-site? If not, who checks the pets at night? What do they do in case of an emergency? n. Does the facility have a protocol for dealing with parasites like fleas? o. Can you bring your pets toys and bed? p. Does the facility require a boarding contract to protect you and the facility from any misunderstandings q. Lastly, ask if it is a Pet Friendly facility What Is A Pet Friendly Facility? If you are a regular client you might be thinking, we know Green Acres is pet friendly, why are you telling us? I believe it is important that pet guardians realize not all people in the pet care business are pet friendly. There are facilities that spray your dog with a squirt bottle or a hose if they feel they are barking too much. Some will even go so far as to put shock collars on a dog that barks. These types of abusive behaviors can cause serious behavioral problems for your dog. Since no facility will admit to being not pet friendly, check them out thoroughly and ask them direct questions if you have any concerns. If they are NOT pet friendly, look elsewhere. For more on what it means to be Pet Friendly, click here. As a Pet Friendly facility Green Acres pledges that we will NEVER intentionally do anything that will cause your best friend any sort of physical, mental or emotional trauma. If your pet is stressed we will tell you, and while in our care will do everything we can to reduce or alleviate that stress, not contribute to it.