Things to know about pet boarding kennels.

So you are getting ready for a trip and are looking for a place for the pooch to stay? You think you've done your all your research:

- You've check for the first-class pet boarding facility within 50 miles.
- You've read Google, Yahoo and Bing reviews and nothing but positive comments.
- You've toured the facility and meet the staff.

Everything is perfect! Or is it? If you're like nearly all pet loving Americans your dogs are part of your family. You'd do just about anything for a family member. So, while you were touring the facility did you notice if the external areas were secure? could people off the street walk up to the area where your pets are staying? What is the relationship between the pet boarding kennels and its neighbors?
many municipalities carry zoning to separate pet boarding kennels from general business zoning and residential zoning; justly so if you've ever been near pet boarding kennels during 'outside time' you know how loud it can get. be that as it may depending on the age of the dog boarding kennel they can be grandfathered in to a previous zoning. This means they would be allowed to conduct the pet boarding kennels legally next to general business or residential properties.

That being said, does the dog boarding kennels have a good relationship with its neighbors?

We did just as I wrote above; we search for the best location; read reviews; tour the facility and everything was perfect. We didn't contemplate once about our pooch Eddy while we were on vacation. But when we came to pickup Eddy the staff informed us there had been an accident, and that Eddy didn't make it. Apparently Eddy was in an outside pen having 'outside time' and someone shot him to death with a pellet gun. My heart instantly broke. Eddy was like a member of our family and now he was gone. How were we going to tell the kids? When something like this happens a million things start racing through your head.
After consulting an attorney it appears that there had been several issues in the past between the dog boarding kennel and its neighbors. If we would have consulted public records we could have found this during our planning. I never a single time thought to walk to the dog boarding kennels neighbor and call upon them what they thought of the dog boarding kennel. The attorney let us know that there was no direct line of fault. She could file a case against anyone we like but there most likely would not be enough proof. The legal effort would greatly outweigh the gains. We got Eddy from the local APL and paid less than $100. Apparently in our city regardless we felt Eddy was part of the family the law believes he was a piece of replaceable property.

If I could turn back time; if I can do it all over again I really presume true that if I'd done better research that Eddy would be with us today. Simply using public records on the internet or knocking on the neighbor's door could have changed everything. From one dog love to another, do your research. Don't stop at the obvious, take and extra step to make sure the pet boarding kennels you choose are safe.

http://www.barkingdogs.net - Barking Dogs;
http://www.co.sherburne.mn.us/zoning/documents/kennel.pdf - Common Reqs;
http://laurabenjamin.wordpress.com/2008/07/20/barking-dogs-and-sleepless-in-the-springs/ - Social Impact