Dog Boarding Facilities in Washington

Cheryl says:
2010-10-31 00:50:13

We've had dogs our whole life. Whenever we left town, and couldn't take them, we would ask one of our kid's friends to house sit, so we wouldn't disturb their routine. Last March we took a family trip to Hawaii - since our kids are older we didn't have anyone to stay with our 12 year old lab. I asked a dear friend to watch him in her home. Well, as things happen, he passed away while we were g... view full comment

We've had dogs our whole life. Whenever we left town, and couldn't take them, we would ask one of our kid's friends to house sit, so we wouldn't disturb their routine. Last March we took a family trip to Hawaii - since our kids are older we didn't have anyone to stay with our 12 year old lab. I asked a dear friend to watch him in her home. Well, as things happen, he passed away while we were gone. It was unexpected, and we were devastated. By April, we brought home Dexter; another black lab. We had a family reunion scheduled for October. As the time came nearer, I became increasingly anxious. I had a spot for him reserved at our vets. I thought this would make me feel better, since we lost our dog the last time we left town. A week before we were scheduled to leave, Dexter and I went to visit the kennel. I came home and said to my husband, "they're going to put him in a cage". Well, we just couldn't do it. I spent the entire evening researching places throughout the city of Seattle to try to find the right match. I narrowed it down to 4 places. One was in a home and happened to be 3 miles from where we live. I started there. When I called Kathy on Sat (4 days before we were leaving) we chatted for quite some time while she considered the dynamics of taking one more dog - she had a full house that weekend: her dog Bailey, Joey, and 3 other small dogs. I appreciate that she didn't quickly respond, "sure", but gave careful thought to adding a 7 mos old Lab! We rushed right over. Together, we watched them play. Dexter loved it! When Kathy agreed, I felt myself relax. Still a little nervous, now not for Dexter, but for Kathy, I packed his bag, enough for a 3 week stay - his crate, 2 beds, food and tons of toys. Kathy must have known I was a little worried, because she called at 7:30am the next morning, as I'm getting ready to leave, to tell me he had a great night and was a wonderful dog! I didn't worry the entire weekend. When we picked him up on Monday, he was very excited to see us, running between myself and my husband for pets and licks, but also to Kathy too. As we packed up the car, he continued to run in and out of her house comfortably. Kathy has a love of animals, takes her job very seriously and has quite an extensive knowledge base. The only thing we noticed the next day is he was a little mopey - I think he was looking for Bailey, his new older brother. Because, I will need to be in Portland to care for a family member, Dexter is already booked for several overnights in the coming months. I don't know what we would do without her! She offers a variety of other services and is very accommodating. I never did called the other 3 places. Bud & Cheryl in Sammamish, WA view short comment