FAQ

Because you want the best possible care for your pet and what better way than to let them become part of our family for their stay, long or short. Pet lovers have been trusting Part of the Family Kennels as a reliable pet boarding kennel for over 30 years because they know their pet will be treated like one of our own and we have a stellar reputation for exceeding the expectations of our customers and our four-legged guests.

You are welcome to stop by and visit our pet hotel before you make an appointment and we will be happy to show you around and talk to you about the needs of your pet. Our promise to you is to provide a sanitary, loving environment for your pet while in our care and to assure that all of our employees are genuine pet lovers who know how to properly care for all our guests.

Just like kennels, some pet sitters are good and some aren’t. Can you be sure they will actually show up when they are supposed to? What happens if the sitter gets sick or has a family emergency? Will they do what you ask? Are they trained to identify problems? What if something happens when the sitter isn’t there? At Part of the Family, all the employees are trained to identify problems. Also, your pet is supervised all day before bedding down for the night, out of harms’ way. We feel the safest environment is a clean kennel with experienced employees who love pets. And at Part of the Family, the owners live on site.

As for boarding at a vet, we have found that some vets try to discourage people from boarding their dogs with them and they refer them to a boarding kennel. Why? Look at it this way. If you were going on vacation would you rather stay in a hotel or a hospital?

A vet hospital is no place for a healthy dog to board. Dogs can sense sickness, pain and fear. Also, some vets simply board the dogs in the same kind of cages as their patients and don’t have large runs for healthy boarding customers.

Of course if your pet is already sick or injured and you need to go away then yes, the vet would be the best place to board him.

Also, if your pet has recently had any surgery and still has stitches then you will need to use your vet to board him. We cannot board any pets that have stitches due to the risk of the wound opening up while being boarded. And if you think your pet is sick we will need to know from your vet that it is nothing contagious in order to keep him.

We watch all the pets throughout the day. If there are any problems that we cannot handle the first thing we will do is contact you to discuss it. If we are unable to reach you and the pet needs medical attention we will take it to the vet. We take care of your pet as if it were our own and since we live on site we frequently stop in and check on everyone.

Our experienced staff is very knowledgeable and we welcome pets at our pet boarding kennel with any special needs. We frequently board pets that have restricted or special diets, pets that need medication including insulin shots, older pets that need extra TLC and even handicapped pets with walkers. If your pet is a finicky eater we will sit with them during mealtime and even feed them by hand if necessary. For the really tough cases, we will head to the kitchen and cook them some chicken or ground beef and rice (and they just love that)!

Many pet owners like to bring something like a favorite toy that the pet is familiar with. If you would like to do that please only bring hard chew toys like nylabones or antlers. Of course treats are welcome.

We ask that you put your pet’s name on anything that you bring.

Do not bring beds, blankets, quilts or anything stuffed or made of fabric.

We will provide all of our furry guests with a cot or one of our fleece beds. The dogs really like the cots!

Please keep in mind that when pets are away from home they sometimes will chew or have accidents on their bedding. A stuffed toy or blanket can create a serious health hazard requiring emergency surgery if they swallow the stuffing, fabric or the squeaker. Vets see many pets because of an obstruction created from swallowing stuffing from toys or blankets.

We strongly recommend that you bring your pet’s food. Whenever a pets food is changed it should be done gradually mixing in the old with the new over several days. An abrupt change in diet can cause intestinal problems.

Yes, we do this regularly. All medications are carefully labeled and given at the appropriate time. Unlike many kennels, we do not charge extra to administer any medications.

Our kennels are all indoors with A/C, heat and we even have music playing for them. You may think that an indoor/outdoor run, where the dog has access to the outside at all times is a good idea, but these kennels do not have A/C and heat as there are doors open to the outside or else the AC must be kept off or it will go right outside.

Just like us, our pets prefer A/C in the heat of Florida and a cozy, warm bed when it’s cold outside. They do get to go outside to large,grassy runs twice a day, where they can see other dogs, but will be in their own secure run. We do not allow dogs to be together unless they are from the same family. Your dog’s comfort and safety are our number one priority!  This is why we have all our kennels inside, so your dog can have plenty of space and be kept nice and cool or heated in the winter.

Our kennels are cleaned and sanitized every day, 365 days a year,  and the pets bedding is washed as needed if any “accidents” occur. Our outdoor kennels are only used when we take the dogs outside in the morning and at the end of the day. The rest of the time your pet is inside in a nice, cool, air conditioned run in the summer and a heated, cozy run during the winter.

Yes, our kennel building has heat and air conditioning and is attached to a large generator so in the event power goes out our heat, AC and lighting all continue to function.

There are several vets nearby whom we work with regularly and who also takes care of our own dogs when needed. We will try to use your vet if it’s practical, but since we wouldn’t take your pet to a vet unless it was an emergency, we would likely take your pet to the closest vet or emergency care available.

Your pet should be at least 4 months old. The reason for this is because they need to be current with the series of distemper/parvo vaccines as well as rabies and most vets will not give a rabies vaccine to a dog under 4 months old.

Yes they can, but keep in mind if you have a female and male then both must be spayed or neutered to stay together. Contrary to popular belief neutered males and spayed females can and sometimes do still mate so we cannot board them together if they are not spayed/neutered as there is risk involved. We will board spayed and neutered dogs together as well as 2 males or 2 females as long as they get along with each other.

Our top priorities are to keep your pets healthy and safe.

Yes,  tours are available between the hours of 9am and 4pm Mon – Fri and 9am – 11am on Sat.

You may want to give us a call to make sure we are available and that it’s not a busy time of day and we would be pleased to give you a tour and explain what goes on.

You must have an appointment or reservation for any service we provide. We need time to verify that the pets vaccinations are current and we need to get additional information regarding you and your pets.

For the health and safety of all our pet guests, we cannot allow any pets into the building until we have verified they are current with their vaccinations and in good health.

Yes, of course!

We accept all breeds, all sizes at our boarding kennel. For maximum safety, we do not allow any dogs to come in contact with any other dogs. Keeping your pet safe and free from injury is one of our top priorities!

We don’t discriminate against any breed but we may refuse certain dogs because of their behavior.

We will not board any dogs that are aggressive to people.

Even though we are very good with handling difficult dogs, we reserve the right to not accept any dog based on their behavior which includes dogs that are just too difficult to handle.

If you are not sure if you have a dog with questionable behavior we are happy to set up a time for you to come in so we can do a temperament/behavior check at no charge to you.