Pet Care Information

About Pet Lodging

When you’re ready to go on vacation, it may not be an option to take your pet with you. Though you will find that quite a few hotels are pet friendly (for a fee) and traveling with your pet in tow is one way to go, you may find it more convenient to find pet lodging at home while you travel to your destination. An entire industry has grown up to provide you with a variety of services to choose from. Take your pick!

Pet Sitters

These kind people allow your pets to stay in the comfort of their own home while they handle the discomfort of your absence. Pet sitters come by daily for dogs, to walk them, feed them, and spend some time. For cats, they may come over every couple days to refresh the water bowl, scoop the litter box, and refill the food. Other pets require pet sitters on an as needed basis depending on the species for their basic survival requirements.

No matter what kind of pet you have, you may also employ your pet sitter to spend time with your pet so he doesn’t get lonely. This may help you avoid the angry ‘accidents’ that jilted pets leave for their owners (i.e. chewed up furniture, shoes with an extra special ‘gift’ left inside). It is essential, however, that you choose a pet sitter who you know and trust or a company with a solid track record and references you can contact. Unless your dog lives in the back yard, you will need to provide your pet sitter with keys and access to your home – a dangerous proposition if the person is a complete stranger.

Kennels

Kennels or pet hotels are just what they sound like – places where you can drop your pet for the duration of your trip, knowing that they will be cared for by professionals. Lower cost kennels keep your pet in a large concrete or caged room with a bed, food dishes, and towels or toys and blankets that you bring. You can bring food of your own and stipulate special medication that needs to be given, and you can be sure that your pet will get some attention at least once every day from the staff. Pet hotels are slightly nicer, offering higher quality rooms, more expensive food, a bath and nail clipping session, and perhaps even some backyard time.

Expense

Pet sitters usually charge by the hour – or by the day – with an additional charge for each pet and perhaps extra fees for special services like nail clipping or medication. You may be charged $10 a day by a teenager in the neighborhood or $25 a day or more for a local company.

This, however, is nothing to what you will pay per night for a kennel. These can range from $45 to $75 a night with higher costs during holiday seasons. And the price tag for a pet hotel stay? It may rival your own. Some are more than $100 a night.

Pet Friendly Hotels

If you decide that none of these options suit you, you will find a great many hotels across the country will accommodate your pet. Some may allow your pet to stay in your room while others offer a pet hotel within their hotel. You will even find that some establishments offer grooming services for your pet as well. You can find listings nationwide at any of the following websites:

• pets-allowed-hotels.com/

• petswelcome.com/

• dogfriendly.com/

• letsgopets.com/

• takeyourpet.com/

• hotdealsonhotels.com/pets/

Melissa Steele is a freelance writer for