06/18/2026
A bit of behind the scenes perspective. I love when my ‘new dog’ boarding intake procedures works with resounding success, specifically through the overnight assessment. It validates my process and reaffirms my goal to maintain a high quality boarding experience for dogs who DO fit well here. It amazes me that an occasional person thinks they can somehow get through the process without disclosing important information about their dog. The thing is that dogs don't lie, they don't conceal their true behaviors once they are here without their owner. And that's where we take one for the team. I never take an overnight dog boarding assessment on a night where I have another dog client. That's the rule. It's rare but sometimes the assessment doesn't work out and every time that has happened it's because the owner has not been forthcoming about their dog. Whether it is intentional or not doesn’t matter. Those clients usually need to come back the same day and pick up their dog. It’s not the dog’s fault. And I always feel bad when my service can’t meet those dogs’ needs.
It takes a lot of work for me to get a dog through that process to become an established client and I don't get compensated for that time. Luckily it doesn’t happen often. For this last one, it was a total of about an hour in phone work, a half hour meet and greet, a half hour reviewing and verifying forms after dinner, and then four hours of working with their dog during the assessment. All for $50. That’s not fair. Nobody wins. So here's to being forthright with pet service providers and a big thanks to team Toby, Kermit and Quill for taking one for the team! They get stressed when a dog comes here and isn’t a good fit. My front line staff right there. 🧡😻🐾
