the Cost of Kennels and Boarding

We had to take a family trip to New York for a week so we had to place our dog (an American Staffordshire Terrier aka "pitbull") into a kennel. My sister said she puts her (ugly) pugs into a kennel that charges only $15 per day. We were like, "Wow, that's great, really cheap." And then I had a follow-up question, "Are they really good?" Her answer was, "Yeah, I take my dogs there all the time. They walk them and they feed them. You have to bring the food." Well, she travels alot so we thought it would be fine.

I suggested to my husband to call first. He said, "Nah, they should be fine. They have to have a license to be in business."

On the day we had to catch our flight, everything was very rushed. My husband took the dog to the kennel before I got home from work.

Anyway, the service was terrible. Our dog and her bed was covered in dog poop (not hers). Also, it looked like she did not eat any of the food we brought. And yes, she smelled really bad. We ended up throwing her bed away. And it took about a week for the dog to act normal again. Before we took her to the kennel, she was hyper and she usually is. After we got her back from the kennel, she wouldn't eat, wouldn't go play and would be very quiet.

I asked my husband to call the kennel to find out what they did. I wondered if they gave her sedatives (not by our request) and if they even walked her.

The kennel's response is that they let the dogs out at different times of the day and they always have food and water in their bowls. There was no comment about the poop being on our dog or her bed.

I hate to say it, but you get what you pay for. We felt that $15/day was too low and it was for the type of service or lack of service that we and our dog got.

Suggestions:

1. Visit the kennel first

2. Call and be annoying first before deciding to take the pet there

3. Shop around for prices and services

Maybe 4. Don't trust your sister/brother who doesn't usually pay attention to details