Thursday, May 29, 2014

Leaving the Dogs Behind for Vacation

   Now that summer vacationing has begun, it is time to decide if your destination will be a dog friendly adventure.  If not, what are you going to do with your four-legged friend?
   To paraphrase Paul Simon, there must be fifty ways to leave your puppy.  We love to travel, but most of our journeys require flying.  Bentley won’t fly, because he has to go as cargo and frankly, he is insulted by that.  In addition, the beverage and food cart doesn’t go below.
Some options that we have tried:
1.     Left the dogs at home and had a relative come by several times a day.
Pros: Dogs are in their own home.  Cons: Accidents can happen in a split second.
2.    The vet offers kenneling.
Pros: Pets are safe, secure, and veterinarian care is on site.
Cons: Pets are kept in cage/kennels.
3.    Have the adult children stay at the house.
Pros: Dogs love their human brother and sister.
Cons: Kids have to interrupt their lives to move home for a few days.  Both kids are now married so it’s not an option.
*Excuse me; Bentley has come to add his two cents.
Me: What is it Bentley?  I’m kind of busy.
Bentley: “Are y’all going on another trip?  Can we go this time?”
*Pierre hops up on the arm of the couch.
Pierre: “Are we going somewhere?
Me: “No, I was just going to write about your stay at the Bed & Biscuit Pet Resort.”
Bentley: “It was certainly a big step up from the last dive you left me.  What kind of person takes their BFF to the vet for vacation?”
Me: It was NOT a dive!  We left y’all at your veterinarian’s office.  It is nice and safe.  They put you in a large kennel by yourself and I brought your toys.  Besides, I worry like crazy when I have to leave you.  I liked that medical attention was always available.  What if you got sick?”
Bentley: “Hey, can you say kennel cough?  I came home with a wicked case and I even had the preventative shot.  Remember the time we stayed at that one vet and Tucker got so sick?  Some dog had the creeping crude stomach virus and poor Tuck caught it.”
Me: “Boy, do I remember that!  That’s why we never let you stay there again!  I never thought about all of the sick dogs that are staying at the vet.  Even though they kept y’all separate from them, the germs were still floating around.”
Pierre: I’ve been lucky to stay with you and Papaw when my mom went out of town.  I didn’t know what the heck was going on when you left us the other day.  I thought grandparents only went to the Grand Canyon in those cool scooter chairs!  I didn’t remember seeing any motorized chairs in the garage.  If you get one, can I ride on it?  Maybe you could get a side chair for me.  Sorry, I drifted off topic.  Anyway, I asked Bentley what was going down.  He clued me in, so I wasn’t worried about y’all scootering off into the sunset.”
Bentley: “Mom thought staying at a pet resort would be stupid expensive.  She called the vet where we usually stay to see if the days were available.  Then, she got the price of boarding both of us.  That’s when I mentioned a nice looking place that we’d passed in the car.  It is called the Bed & Biscuit.”
Me: “That’s right and sure enough, the prices were only a few dollars more per day than
the vet.  I spoke with Johnnette, the owner and asked if I could take a tour.  She was so sweet and I felt even better when she said, “Sure, stop by any time.”  That meant they had nothing to hide.”
Pierre: “Gramma liked the place right away.  It was extra clean and instead of cages, the dogs stayed in their own private rooms!  Each suite had an unbreakable glass door and opened in the middle, so we could hop up and look out.  Well, we could if we weren’t so vertically challenged.  She reserved our suite while she was there.  Of course, she stayed and visited for a little bit.  You know how she loves to talk.”
Bentley: “She does have a tendency to chatter away.  When she came back home, she was so excited.  After telling Dad how much she loved the place, she added that there was piped-in music, security cameras, and even webcams where pet parents can watch their dogs 24/7.  Our suite was a 6 x 6 with cots and a ceiling fan.  It didn’t have one of those hotel mini fridges, but I guess that is probably for the best.  The stuff for sale in those is usually ridiculously expensive.”
Me: “It would definitely be a bad idea for y’all to access to a dog-sized fridge.  You two would help yourself to everything.  Besides, I brought your regular dog food, so you wouldn’t get an upset stomach.  You know Pierre has tummy issues.  Did y’all enjoy staying together?”
Webcam views are available. *Photo courtesy of Bed & Biscuit.
Pierre: It was nice having a roomie, even if he does snore like a freight train.  I liked that we had a chance to run and wrestle in the yard.  The privacy fences were so tall; it looked like they reached the sky.  They said they were 8 ft. tall, but from my height they looked insurmountable.”
Bentley: “That’s the idea; they don’t want anyone jumping over, from either side.  Of course, I have no idea why anyone would want to try to break out.  It certainly isn’t like being in a jail; it is really a resort.  They have a wading pool to play in during the hot summer days, but it wasn’t open yet.  Some of their suites have regular human beds with comforters.  Mom brought our beds from home, so we didn’t need that.  We didn’t get a room with a television either, although they do offer them.  I prefer my tunes to the tube.”
Pierre: “I do enjoy my jams and it offered me an opportunity practice singing.  Mi, mi, mi…”
Me: “That’s okay Pierre.  Singing will break our concentration on this review.  What else did you boys enjoy about your stay?”
Bentley: “Everyone was so nice to us.  They even brought us a dog cookie at bedtime.  That is something that I’m used to, so I appreciated the gesture.  You know how difficult it is for me to sleep without a little extra snack.  I saw several dogs being groomed while we were there.  I just knew that you were gonna go under the clippers again.”
Pierre: “I wouldn’t have minded it so much.  Obviously, I still looked fabulous and didn’t need a makeover.  Papaw said that we still smelled terrific when they came to get us.  You must usually smell like dog when you stay at the vet.”
Me: “It’s true Bentley, you always have that doggie smell when we pick you up.  Both of you still smelling fresh was a pleasant surprise.  I fully expected to have to bathe y’all after bringing you home.  I wasn’t looking forward to that since; we were worn out from the BlogPaws conference.  You guys were so happy and calm, too.  I guess being able to move around made a big difference.  I remember the first time that we boarded Bentley at the vet.  You came home, went to the back of the yard, and turned your back to us.  You were miffed.”
Bentley: “You’re darn tootin’ that I was miffed, you left me at the vet.  I missed you, because I always want to be with you and daddy.  It wasn’t the same this time though.  Sure, I missed y’all, but we kept busy and received a lot of attention.  They made us feel really special.  Just so you know, they have a veterinarian on call and Miss Johnnette used to work at his clinic.  All of the dogs are required to have a Bordetella shot within the last six-months, so no catching the wretched Kennel Cough.  Of course, everyone must have to be current on all of their vaccinations and they don’t accept bullies.  Even the ginormous dogs were friendly.  I liked that French Bulldog two suites down from us.  He could really tell a great knock-knock joke.”
"We are packed and waiting for a family trip!"
Me: “I’m glad that we found such a fantastic place for y’all to stay.  Sometimes, we have to leave you both behind when we take a trip.  I still worried about you, that’s just the way it is when you’re a mom.  I hate to leave you.  At least I knew you were being taken great care of and that you weren’t in a cage.  Plus, the Bed & Biscuit is conveniently located just minutes from the airport.  It makes it easy to drop off and pick up when we travel by plane.”
Bentley: “It is a great little get-away.  Still, Pierre and I are planning the next trip for all of us.  Have you and Dad ever done any B.A.S.E. jumping?”
Me: Yeah, I’ll have to get back with you on that one.  We are definitely going to be doing some road trips this summer.  There are a lot of day trips that we can take y'all along.  Overall, if we did have to leave you, how do you feel about the Bed & Biscuit?”
Pierre & Bentley: “We loved our stay and gave the Bed & Biscuit FIVE PAWS!”

   The Bed & Biscuit is located at 5600 Hollywood Ave. in Shreveport, LA.  They offer 19 luxury suites ranging from 4 x 6 to 10 x 12 in size.  It has a dog loving, well-trained staff, automatic locking doors, and security cameras.  Additional services are available during your pet’s stay.  For more information on the comforts and services of the Bed & Biscuit, visit their website here.
   I would always rather travel with my pets, but when that’s not an option, it’s nice to know there are marvelous places like the Bed & Biscuit.  How do you deal with leaving your pets behind?  Have your dogs stayed at a hotel or resort for dogs?
We didn’t receive any discounts, freebies, nor benefit monetarily for this review.  I appreciated the service I received and wanted to share my Bed & Biscuit experience.


This is Thoughtless Thursday’s blog hop.  Thanks to Ruckus the Eskie and Loveis being owned by a Husky for hosting.  Hop over to say hello and visit these other thoughtless blogs.




18 comments :

  1. I was THRILLED to hear that Pierre and Bentley would be staying there and that it was such a great experience! I worry about that little toot and I am so glad he is in good hands even if y'all have to leave! Them coming back calm and smelling good made me feel even better. So great to know the staff there took amazing care of them!

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  2. Sounds like a very nice place guys! I used to care for boarding animals at the vet hospital, and I'm sure staying at a pet resort would be very nice too.

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  3. Glad you survived. I have never had to stay anywhere but with Mom or friends of the family. Luckily, Mom traveled most of her life and really prefers to stay at home or drive if she goes somewhere which means we can go along. Those nice dog hotels can get pretty spendy for three of us too. You enjoy your new found bed and biscuit and I hope you don't have to go too often.

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  4. We found the best situation ever shortly after Bailey came to live with us for daycare and overnight stays. That lasted until just after Katy arrived. It was on a farm and Bailey loved it. While it wasn't home,it was good. It was also less expensive than dog walkers we researched at the time. Then the woman had health issues and we've been patching our care together ever since.

    We have a relative that will stay overnight with them and that has worked to date. We've been looking at alternatives because Bailey and Katy both consider staying at the Vet to be jail time. We saw two at a recent dog fair that seem like possiblities.

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  5. Well i'm glad you found that place! It does sound great! Vacationing is a major thing when it comes to pet owners, and I know of far to many people who do not do their research and drop their dogs off at the first kennel they come across. I would never leave my dog with people at a kennel I knew nothing about! Bentley and Pierre are so lucky to have such a pawsome human to care for them and where they stay!
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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  6. One boarding kennel we looked into bragged that they let the dogs out for a potty break twice a day. I had to wonder if the people who ran it only needed potty breaks twice a day. We are very lucky to have a trusted neighbor who can house sit and pet sit. The dogs and cat love her. I suspect her of bribing them with bacon.

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  7. We have opted to have our dogs stay at home and have a friend/neighbor stay in the house with them. All the boarding places around here are very noisy and busy. My pyrs like to sleep for the vast majority of the day. I think they would become entirely too stressed in a kennel environment. On the other hand, our first dog was the perfect boarding dog. We found a wonderful place where we lived and he enjoyed playing the day away :)

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  8. That sounds like such an awesome place! We've always been lucky enough to have friends or family that would come stay with the animals when we're gone. But things keep changing for everyone and that's getting more difficult. We don't usually travel a lot, but we do some. Last summer we were going away with family and had to hire a pet sitter. She never even came to meet us beforehand, and I was panicking a few days before we left. One of our dogs had just passed away, and I was beside myself. Luckily an old friend came through at the last minute. It would be nice to have a place like this as an option!
    Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets

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  9. Looks like a wonderful place!!
    Smileys!
    Dory, Jakey, Arty & Bilbo

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  10. I'm just glad that my humans always take me with them when they both go someplace longer than a day. It is nice to know that there are quality places to stay, though, just in case!

    Bunny

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  11. Sounds like a great place for the pets to stay. That is a fabulous picture of Pierre on the luggage with Bentley along side. Do you train him to lay there and not move?

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  12. Your babies are so lucky. . . I have had my little ones stay at a "Doggy B&B" before, at the vets, and at home. The best experience was having one of the vet techs do a "sleepover" for a week while I was away. The vets is only 15 minutes away. She came home at lunch time to do "potty time" then stayed here at night. I left her with all their food of course, but also with a collection of meals for herself, and free rein with my books, movies, my favorite comfy chair, an outdoor bbq for the burgers for one of the nights. She didn't want to leave! LOL And the dogs were thrilled to have a new person to pet and hug and brush and feed them. . . and give treaties!

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  13. I bet that's much better than to travel in the cargo area of a plane (yes, I agree there is no food and beverage cart, that's a good point Bentley). It sounds like a great place for doggies.

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  14. Mom has accepted the fact that any vacations that happen while I am still living will require that I go with them. Separation anxiety has its benefits. Love Dolly

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  15. Jealous! We don't have many good dog boarding facilities in our area. There's one that seems pretty decent but I don't like it since it's a barn setting and they leave at night. I don't see what's preventing someone from strolling in and stealing the dogs. :(

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  16. Years ago we left our dogs at a similar place. Our two dog had a bed and TV in their suite. We still felt guilty for leaving them so opted to pay extra for a steak dinner at night. When we went to get the dogs, they wanted to stay!

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  17. It's tough leaving our dogs behind so we don't we just vacation at home. We're lucky though, because we've made our home into our very own vacation spot. The only thing missing is the water front.

    The cats are easier to leave behind because they just require food, water, a clean litter box, and a scratch behind the ears and right above their tail.

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