So far, one of our craziest client moments was during a facility tour of a new client. We are fortunate to have a custom building that has two separate ventilation systems so the isolation room is completely separated from the kennel area. This new patron asked, “Do you use the isolation rooms to take the dogs off camera and beat them?” We explained it was a medical isolation area and that if she was really concerned that we beat dogs, she should investigate another facility. This same client wanted us to provide her dog with distilled water in the private kennel and in the group play yard.

Pat Traufield

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From Our Readers: Question of the Day

What role does technology play in the daily operations of your facility?

I find that an increasing number of clients want to connect with us while they are away through FB, email, or cell phone calls to check on their pets. Also smart phones are finding us on Google more than ever before. Finally, GPSs are being used to find us. We have even had forgotten vaccination records captured on phone cameras and sent to us so that clients didn’t have to make a trip back to retrieve them!
– Linda Rubeo Goldner

Pretty simple at our place. Reservations, appointments, invoicing, FB photos.
– Robin Willingham Hill

We keep things pretty simple here. Computer for email/FB and kennel software. We take photos of the dogs daily and upload them to Facebook. No webcams, no tablets on the floor. We got rid of our fax machine last year.
– Carol Hibner Saunders

Did you run into any “red tape” issues when getting your facility started? (“Tangled in Red Tape,” September/October 2013)

I’m expanding 17,000 sq. ft; the permit process has been an eight-month nightmare. Sacramento planning department couldn’t be more unorganized and scattered. Maddening would be an understatement
– Lisa Chafee

Lots of zoning issues... My “pet friendly” city was a little wary of a daycare and boarding facility. It all worked out, but trying to move to a bigger and better location within our city has been darn near impossible due to the limitations of zoning.
– Beth Dasenbrock

The proliferation of dog boarding and daycare has brought hyper scrutiny to some projects. Owners must spend a lot of time educating zoning and building officials about animal care businesses. You are your best advocate.
– Mindy Moore Bacon

I own a boarding facility in Brenham, Texas. We will be building a larger facility soon (3,000 sq. ft). What is the best temp to keep your building?- Kathryn Eyster-Kwiatkowski

I find in South Louisiana, the best temp for my building (10,000 sq. ft) is around 71–73°.
– Suzette Fowler

What is important is the temperature at the pet level. The area of the country you are in will also affect the temp range, but good to stay between 60–80° at pet level.
– Gretchen Meienburg

If it’s properly insulated you should keep it at about 68–70°
– Rob and Dawn Richardson

How many of you are just daycare or just boarding? How many do another pet related service such as grooming, training, etc. We do boarding and grooming and a little retail. - Linda Rubeo Goldner

We do full service grooming, boarding, daycare, and retail.
– Laurie King

We consider ourselves full service. We do daycare, boarding, training, some retail, and some grooming (everything up to a haircut).
– Carol Hibner Saunders

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