Brown and white dog lying on its back in a bed with a robe on and a bottle of San Pellegrino on its belly

Doggy Hotel/Boarding Recipe

There are a few reasons why some Latinas might need a place to board their dog, somewhere for their dog to go when you’re away or sick. For example:

 

  • What if no one in your family and your best friends are not around during a specific season?

  • What if you don’t like your neighbors so you can’t ask them to keep an eye on your dog?

  • What if you have a puppy or a dog with specialized needs?

  • What if you’re bougie and you want to know that your dog gets two walks a day and there’s a camera where you can micromanage everything? 

 

Here’s the recipe for you: 

 

  • Do an internet search for dog boarding in order to find an option close to you.

  • Read the websites of the options and call them with core questions. Your dog might not be eligible so ask questions like:
      • My dog is not spayed. Is that okay?
      • My dog is on psychotropic medication. Can you handle that? 
      • I don’t have a bunch of money to dish out. What’s the cost? 
      • I don’t remember what immunizations my dog has and hasn’t had. What’s your requirement? 

  • Start freaking early. A lot of upper middle class families have their vacations scheduled and took a lot of spots at your local boarding option. Get in there as early as you can!

  • Be prepared to select additional services that the boarding place has to offer. Imagine going by a cafe and ordering your favorite drink with a bunch of specifics (e.g. almond milk latte with three shots of whatever and light creme, like that matters). You might see these sorts of situations:
      • Choose three services a day that go with boarding your dog. For example, a walk, a 20-minute cuddle, and a play group with other dogs for 30-mins.
      • Choose from various types of sleeping spaces like a kennel vs. a bedroom vs. a staff member’s office (i.e. some dogs do better being around a human so some boarding places have their staff work spaces also include dogs…). 
      • Opt in for daily treats, a weekly bath, etc. 

  • Your dog may or may not like the boarding, no matter how fancy you make it. Some of our dogs come back to us somewhat traumatized. After picking-up one of our dogs from a one-week boarding, she wouldn’t make eye contact with us for more than a day. So sad! You might plan to board for as short an amount of time as possible and/or make time for cuddling upon pick-up. 

 

BACKGROUND INFO

Do I really need to board?

No. It’s not automatic to a lot of us Latinas. There’s almost always someone in our lives who would be cool with helping us look after our dogs. Get over the fact that your bro may forget to feed the dog once; oh well. Get over the fact that your dog will miss you and might like doggy play groups; oh well. This recipe is good for you if you must board, but it’s definitely not native to most of us. It costs a lot of money, so weigh the options.