Options For Your Pets When You Go On Vacation

BY:  Laurie Brzostowski, President, Snaggle Foot Dog Walks and Pet Care-Round Lake, IL

With Spring Break right around the corner, I thought this would be a great opportunity to share the options you have for your pets when you go on vacation.

Make sure you do your research on anyone coming into your home, or anywhere you are leaving your pets.  Their safety should be your first priority.

Also when looking into these options, please do not put cost as your first priority.  It is important that you have quality care for your home and pets if you choose inhome pet sitting.  However, it is also important that you choose quality and care over price when looking at boarding facilities.

There are quite a few considerations to think about when you need to have your pets taken care.  To help you, here are 4 great options to think about. 

Pet Sitters
I own a pet sitting company so of course I would prefer you leave your pets at home and hire a pet sitter to come and take care of them in their own homes.  All animals do much better when they get to stay in a familiar place, their home.  They can sleep in their own beds, play with their own toys, eat and drink out of their own bowls.  In-home pet care reduces stress and anxiety on your pets while you are away.  Pet Sitters can either come many times during the day or offer overnight pet care where they stay overnight in your home.  In either case, not only are they taking care of your pets but they are also taking care of your home while you are gone.
NOTE:  If you are in the Lake County Illinois area, please feel free to call us to set up your inhome consult at (847) 886-4648 or check out our website at http://www.snagglefoot-roundlake.com.

Boarding
Boarding your dog or cat at a kennel is a good choice if your dog is friendly and sociable. Dogs can readily adapt to staying at a kennel, especially if they were introduced to it at a young age. It's a good idea, though, to leave him for short periods, such as weekends, before leaving him for a longer trip.  For cats, you need to talk with the boarding facility on how they handle the care of cats.


Pet Friendly Hotels and Campgrounds
If you don't want to leave your pets behind, there are a lot more pet friendly hotels and campgrounds now than ever.  In fact, when you Google hotels and/or campgrounds they are now listing them as pet friendly or not.  If your dog or cat can be left alone in a strange place without tearing the place apart, then a pet friendly hotel or campground might be your answer.  Check first to see what their policies are in regards to animals in the room.  
NOTE:  You can also see if there are any pet sitters in the area that might come and take care of your pets in the hotel while you are out sightseeing.  A lot of pet sitting businesses provide hotel care for guests.  Check with the hotel manager or concierge.. they may already know a few pet sitting businesses in the area.

Your Neighbor
If you happen to have a neighbor that loves your pets and doesn't mind taking care of them while you are gone, this is a wonderful option to use when traveling. 

So don't worry, there are lots of options out there for you so go ahead and order that plane ticket and start packing!