Dog Boarding: Ten Things to Look For in a Kennel or Pet Hotel

Spring break is just around the corner. The chance is that you are about to go on vacation with your family, but unfortunately won’t be able to take your four-legged friends. Sure, you can ask a friend or neighbor to come over three times a day, or pay someone to stay at your house. But you might also be looking into a boarding kennel for Fido.

Petropolis Pet Center, located in Chesterfield, doesn’t consider themselves a kennel. To them, kennel is almost a bad word. Instead, Petropolis says they are more of a “Pet Hotel.” And once you step foot into the 22,000 square foot facility, you know the reason why. You can tell from the moment that you walk in that they have spared no expense, making your pet’s stay with them as comfortable as possible.

New clients get their first day of boarding or doggie daycare free. Click here to print the offer.

Angie’s List has recently released a list of ten questions to ask before choosing a pet boarding facility, and Petropolis has responded by answering. The following are the criteria, and how the pet hotel stacks up:

1. Are your facilities a doggie daycare or kennel?

Petropolis offers one of the largest doggie daycare facilities in the area, and revolutionized the way that pets stay at boarding facilities. When your dog stays at Petropolis, not only do you get upscale accommodations with personalized care, but doggie daycare is included at no additional charge.

2. Are you a member of the Pet Care Services Association (PCSA)?

The Pet Care Services Association, or PCSA, is no longer in business. However Petropolis Pet Center was a certified member in good standing of the PCSA while it was around.

3. Do you offer cageless options?

At this time we do not offer cage-less boarding. We have found that as much as dogs love to play, sometimes they need their rest. And it is hard to do so when you have a group of dogs trying to play with you 24/7. However dogs who board with us do go to doggie daycare from 9am to 12pm, and again from 1pm to 4pm. While they are not playing at camp, we have our pet care associates monitoring their needs, taking them on potty-walks, etc.

4. If pets are primarily caged, how often are they let out for exercise?

Dogs receive 6 hours of play per day at doggie daycare, where they get plenty of exercise and socialization with other campers.

5. Are all the facilities outdoors, or do you have indoor facilities?

Petropolis offers both indoor and outdoor play facilities. Our condos and villas are exclusively inside, where they enjoy climate controlled and spacious living quarters. When the weather is nice, dogs go outside to play. If it is too cold or rainy, dogs get to play in our large indoor area.

6. If there are inside facilities, is there climate control?

Yes, our indoor pet boarding facilities are climate controlled for the comfort of our guests.

7. How often are the cages or rooms cleaned?

Both our 2 and 4 room condos, as well as the luxury villas, are cleaned on a daily basis. The condos have raiser floors in case pets have an accident, so that they don’t have to be uncomfortable until clean-up. Then any accidents are removed and the area is sanitized immediately.

8. How are emergency situations handled?

Every staff member at Petropolis is trained using an emergency and disaster preparedness guide that was custom written for our facility. Managers each have responsibilities to oversee, ensuring that risk and harm are kept to a minimum.

9. Do you have webcam access?

We have taken webcams a step further! Petropolis is the first facility in the nation to use Skype for two-way automated calling between pets and their owners. That means that you can see and hear your pets – and they can see and hear you!

10. Are you really for my pet?

We know that pets come in all different shapes and sizes. We know that the care we provide for another customer may not be the same for you. That is why Petropolis takes personalized instructions for the care of your pets, feed your food if requested or even administering medication – all at no additional charge.

For more information about Petropolis Pet Center, visit their official website at Petropolis.com.