Four legged fur face children...

[paulh84]

This is such a dilemma for us when we travel. I have two very well behaved dogs that are quite needy. One is a senior and neither have ever been in a public kennel before. The boarding prices here in the Chicago burbs are astronomical. The only place I would consider using is $55-$120 per day for two dogs. They have more boarding options than cabin choices when booking your cruise. In the “rooms” they recommend for two dogs from the same household, we would be looking at nearly a $1,100 bill before baths for a weeklong stay.

 

Luckily I have a friend of a friend who will come stay at our house. She takes care of the pets and keeps an eye on things around the house. We usually pay her $250 for a week plus leave a grocery store gift card. If she would move or become unable to help us out, I truly do not know what we would do.

[California kitty]

We have a spoiled three year old kitty and travel was very hard until we found a professional kitty sitter! She goes twice a day and plays with cali and takes plenty of photos. We had previously taken her to a pet hotel but this is so much better! She gets 23.00 a day and worth every penny!

[Desert Cruizers]

California kitty, at first I felt having our kitty at the animal hospital where I worked, was the better option then should an emergency arise, he is right there to get immediate help, but as he got older I knew he was happier at home and we had full confidence to have the lady who cleans our home stay there while we were gone. I always had an authorization letter for any care needed and instructed his Dr of my decisions due to his age. Any cost owed would be taken care of upon our arrival.

Edited June 15, 2015 by Desert Cruizers

[island lady]

Where is the like button...:)

 

Thanks! I knew we were two of kind! ;)

 

"Sea" you in January! :)

[Ocean Boy]

Sarcasm people!! I forgot that Amercian's don't understand sarcasm (or irony!)

 

Yeah, defend yourself and your position however you want. Now it is the fault of American cuture that you are so misunderstood.:rolleyes:

[Ocean Boy]

I always remember that saying: "If you can't say anything nice...don't say

anything at all". Shame the naysayers on this thread want to stomp on the hearts of we that

care. I see the way some "parents" treat their biological children. Some

cases are very sad. There are good parents and bad parents. Then there are

the angels who adopt the orphaned children in this world...be they two legged or

four legged. They are the ones that have true hearts of gold.

 

Some people can't even bond with other humans. They certainly are not going to have any understanding of a cross species bond.

[rjrice1]

Need that like button again.... :) ;)

 

 

 

 

Some people can't even bond with other humans. They certainly are not going to have any understanding of a cross species bond.

[Yorkvillain]

Some people can't even bond with other humans. They certainly are not going to have any understanding of a cross species bond.

 

Well said.

[rjrice1]

Like !!!! Like !!!

 

yeah, defend yourself and your position however you want. Now it is the fault of american cuture that you are so misunderstood.:rolleyes:

[PTAngel]

I'm really lucky that my breeder (also a friend) will also board my 2 Shelties. One on them was bred by her. At times, she makes me beg to get them back! She also goes with me on a cruise if hubby doesn't want to go. I have the best of both worlds.

 

I looked into 2 different kennels near me but they disgusted me. One had the nerve to show me a dirty kennel & said it would be cleaned before I dropped them off. The other put both dogs in the back of the property in kennels & didn't see them but once a day to feed them. My dogs are used to being in the house with us. I have to drive 1 & 1/2 hour to take them to my friend but it is worth it to me. They are in the house & she has a large fenced in yard for them to play. She is not a kennel so the only other dogs are her own.

[AZ Ocean Lover]

I think I finally found a group of people that understand me. We were boarding a plan to attend the 100th anniversary of the US Open in Pebble Beach when our vet called us and said our cat, Ike, has diabetes and need treatment right away. We walked off the plane and headed right to the vet. My BIL was watching him for us and didn't feel right to put that burden on him and besides if he didn't make it through the initial ordeal we could have never lived with ourselves.

 

Ike pulled through and had twice daily insulin shots for the next seven years. We took the unused Open tickets and had them framed. It's our reminder of Ike.

[Reader0108598]

Sarcasm people!! I forgot that Amercian's don't understand sarcasm (or irony!)

 

We understand Sarcasm ...we just don't like it!;)

 

Reader

[sunlovingirl]

I don't like the idea of kenneling at all. When we first got our kids (and yes they are our kids, we can't have human babies, nor would I want to bring any into this world) and our pups are our babies.... Anyway, when we first got them, we let them stay with their breeder when we went on a cruise. Now that they are a little older, we tried Kenneling and it is expensive, they don't get exercised enough, they always get sick afterwards and then there are vet bills. So, we have found it's cheaper (and healthier) to fly my stepdad up when we go on vacation, and he works from our house (house sitting) and plays with the babies. So, it's a win-win. He loves doing it. I feel way better about everything when someone's at the house with them. I wouldn't do it any other way...

 

I don't like the idea that at a kennel they are alone from 5pm to 7 or 8 am the next day. Thats a long time to not go pee... And if there is a fire, they will die. Not cool....

[Peemagg]

I have 3 babies. One of them is even a service dog for me. We have a friend who comes and stays at the house with them all.

 

We did kennel one of our 3 once, because he is handicapped and our sitter at the time was not able to give him the care he needed. We found a great place that could and did offer the care that he needed. He did great, but since then we have another lady who has 3 kids that all come and live at the house and takes care of them all. We pay her instead of kenneling them and it is much cheaper in the long run. If something happens that the pups need vet care, it is all arranged with our vets (we have two that we love) to do what is necessary and we will take care of the bill when we get home.

 

It is just a wonderful peace of mind to know that they are well cared for!

 

I do miss them all terribly when gone, especially my little service dog. I am used to her being with me everywhere. Just not sure she is ready for cruising or our other trips yet since she is still young. In another year or so, maybe.

[donaldsc]

No problems at all. After all, they are just pets - not people. Of course, I do make sure that they are well cared for in our absence.

 

For the people who say 'but what would happen if something happened to our pet when we were gone', we give our neighbor whom we trust pet medical power of attorney and the vet knows that we will be responsible for any accrued medical bills. We had a cat who had kidney problems that were basically under control. However, on one long overseas trip, things went downhill very rapidly about a week after we returned from a long trip and he had to be put down. If our trip was a week longer or the downturn had occurred a week earlier, our neighbor would have had to make the decision.

 

Would we have preferred to make it ourselves - obviously yes. Would we have trusted the decision that the neighbor would have been forced to make - yes. Would we have preferred to be with the cat at the end - obviously yes. Would we have rushed back early from overseas - no way.

 

DON

Edited June 16, 2015 by donaldsc

[BeagleOne]

Sarcasm people!! I forgot that Amercian's don't understand sarcasm (or irony!)

 

So did you just come to this thread to be rude, not to mention wrong? Or do you have something positive to contribute? BTW, there was no irony in either of your posts.

 

OP, I'm sure you've thought of this, but please be sure to puppy-proof your house as much as possible before you go. No plugged-in cords within reach, nothing that can be knocked loose/off and fall on somebody, etc. Might be an idea for the neighbor to leave the radio or TV on to distract the dogs a bit and also to keep them from hearing all of the noises outside that might trigger barking.

 

There is a plug-in pheromone dispenser, DAP/Comfort Zone, that can reduce anxiety in dogs. Might be worth considering.

 

Be sure to call your regular vet and a local emergency clinic to give your petsitter authorization to have the animals treated if necessary, and discuss how things will be paid for. Having her name and a payment plan in the clinic computer ahead of time can save valuable time in an emergency.

[BTSEN5]

We have always had dogs as my three boys were growing up. We had two Bichons and we recently lost them within a year of each other. I didn't put my pups absolutely first then, and I did not go overboard with spoiling them. They were well loved and wonderful family friends, but I had children and they kept us very busy and they were our priority and rightly so.

 

Now that all my boys are grown, we for our wonderful Havanese puppy, and I find myself spoiling him and pretty much personifying him. I spoil him and he comes first. I look into his eyEs and I see understanding that may or may not really be there. Whether it is normal or not for me to do this, I thank God for puppies. They certainly have given me great joy as I go through the empty nest period. I will always think of my dogs as my babies.

[charmed101]

We have two shibas and are lucky enough to have friends that come and stay in our house while we are away (last cruise 14 days). We gave them $600. for the two weeks, we consider the price part of our cruise fund. Its a win-win because they move from a half hour drive to 5 minute drive to work, and we have the benefit of good sitters and our dogs living at home with the least disruption to their lives.

[rjrice1]

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR SUCH POSITIVES AND HAPPY THOUGHTS.

 

TOO BAD THE POST WAS MOVED....

HOPE EVERYONE HAS THE SAME ENJOYMENT WITH THEIR PETS AS I DO.

AND CONTINUE TO RESCUE THEM FROM PEOPLE WHO GIVE UP ON THEM...

Cathy

[island lady]

Like !!!! Like !!!

 

Ditto...ditto!! :D

[island lady]

I have 3 babies. One of them is even a service dog for me. We have a friend who comes and stays at the house with them all.

 

We did kennel one of our 3 once, because he is handicapped and our sitter at the time was not able to give him the care he needed. We found a great place that could and did offer the care that he needed. He did great, but since then we have another lady who has 3 kids that all come and live at the house and takes care of them all. We pay her instead of kenneling them and it is much cheaper in the long run. If something happens that the pups need vet care, it is all arranged with our vets (we have two that we love) to do what is necessary and we will take care of the bill when we get home.

 

It is just a wonderful peace of mind to know that they are well cared for!

 

I do miss them all terribly when gone, especially my little service dog. I am used to her being with me everywhere. Just not sure she is ready for cruising or our other trips yet since she is still young. In another year or so, maybe.

 

We have seen many service dogs on cruises. The ship sets up a "poopie patch" of plastic grass or shaved wood with poopie bags and a scoop for clean up on the lifeboat deck. All of the service dogs we have met have been very well behaved and it seems to help so much being there for their owner/parent. It's a nice system that RCI offers. Maybe she will be able to go with you some day. :)

Edited June 16, 2015 by island lady

[island lady]

We have always had dogs as my three boys were growing up. We had two Bichons and we recently lost them within a year of each other. I didn't put my pups absolutely first then, and I did not go overboard with spoiling them. They were well loved and wonderful family friends, but I had children and they kept us very busy and they were our priority and rightly so.

 

Now that all my boys are grown, we for our wonderful Havanese puppy, and I find myself spoiling him and pretty much personifying him. I spoil him and he comes first. I look into his eyEs and I see understanding that may or may not really be there. Whether it is normal or not for me to do this, I thank God for puppies. They certainly have given me great joy as I go through the empty nest period. I will always think of my dogs as my babies.

 

 

Well said. :)

[island lady]

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR SUCH POSITIVES AND HAPPY THOUGHTS.

 

TOO BAD THE POST WAS MOVED....

HOPE EVERYONE HAS THE SAME ENJOYMENT WITH THEIR PETS AS I DO.

AND CONTINUE TO RESCUE THEM FROM PEOPLE WHO GIVE UP ON THEM...

Cathy

 

It was moved? I tend to go to my subscribed threads first before I check

out the main boards. So I did not see that yet.

 

My two rescue Tabbies are my only children. I don't have the biological

two legged kind, so they get all that extra love I have to offer. :)

[Guest maddycat]

I have a hard time leaving my very spoiled cat when I go away! I have a wonderful cat sitter that comes to the house every day for a quick 15 minute visit. He only charges $11 per visit. That is very low - we tip him very well! Every other fur babysitter in my area (New Jersey) charges $18 per visit. Hope that helps!

 

You're really getting a bargain. I'm in northern New Jersey. I pay my cat sitter $30 a day. She comes in once a day to feed my 2 cats, take in the mail, and clean the litter box.

[kelkel2]

We have 2 little pugs. Right now as we have only been married a few years, we don't have kids so they are our kids. We always arrange them to go to my mom and dad's house while we are gone. My mom and dad don't mind watching them and I am happy knowing they are somewhere they are loved and cared for. I would have a harder time leaving if we had to kennel them. I know they miss us and we miss them but the dogs love my parents and they spoil them so it's nice they get to stay with them for a while.

We pay them with brining back whatever they would like from our vacation and of course we pay them too.