Saturday, December 31, 2011

Lucy's first boarding experience

This Christmas our whole family went to spend Christmas with my sister out of town, so we had to board Lucy.

I went online and did some research on local boarding places. I found three that looked very promising. They all had small rooms, not crates for the dogs as well as land for the dogs to run and to walk. The place we selected was Town & Country Boarding in Apex.

We visited about a week before Christmas to ensure that we had a good feeling about the place. It was just me and Stuart. Lucy was staying with my parents for a few days. At the front desk, while waiting for a employee to give us a tour, I started talking to a dog owner who had a lovely small gray greyhound (or similar breed dog). She asked if it were my first time there and then said that her dog loves going there so much that he whines in the car and drags her to the door. I heard a similar story from another dog owner. That made me feel better.

On the tour, they showed us the dog pens. They weren't cages, but long rectangular spaces with floor to ceiling mesh metal fence with the last two or three feet as concrete blocks to the floor. There were raised dog beds and water bowls. To my pleasant surprise, it didn't smell bad, just like a cleaning solution.

I really liked the outside fenced areas for playtime too. Overall, I had a good feeling about the place and the people that worked there.

I left several days earlier, so Stuart had to drop off Lucy. Here's the picture he emailed me with Lucy and her special blanket, bag of food and one special toy (her yellow cat):



Lucy ready to go to her doggie boarding place, Dec 2011

When Stuart brought her there, Lucy didn't seem scared, just very excited. In fact, we decided to bring Lucy there for one day of boarding during the week to make sure she was comfortable with it. The Wednesday before Christmas, Lucy brought her there and when they arrived, she was just very excited. And when he picked her up, she was likewise very excited. Here's a pic of her actively moving around with one of their staffers:


Lucy when getting picked up at the Town & Country Boarding, Apex, NC
(of course, her eyes aren't really green like that!!)

All said and done, we would gladly board Lucy again there and are grateful that Lucy had a good time. Happy New Year!!