Policies

Requests and confirmation

A request through the form or a text is a request, not a booking. I'll text back to confirm availability. A stay is booked once I've confirmed it.

Meet and greet

Required before any overnight stay, and strongly preferred before a first daycare visit. It's free, takes about twenty minutes, and there's no obligation.

Deposit on boarding

Boarding is held with a 20% deposit, and the balance is due at pickup. An overnight spot I'm holding for you is one I'm turning someone else away from, and a deposit is the only honest way to hold the dates.

Daycare needs no deposit. Just let me know when you need it.

Cancellation

Boarding: cancel more than 5 days before the first night and the deposit is refunded in full, no questions. Inside 5 days I keep it, because by then it's usually too late to fill the spot. Where you can, 5 days' notice.

Daycare: nothing to lose, so just tell me as early as you're able.

Holiday dates fill first, so the earlier you tell me about any change the better. And if something genuinely awful happens, talk to me. I'd rather hear it than enforce a rule at you.

Payment

Daycare is paid before drop-off. Boarding is 20% up front to hold the dates, the rest before drop-off. Rates are on the homepage, including holiday rates and pricing for dogs under a year old.

Zelle, Venmo, PayPal or cash.

Hours

I work from home, so times are flexible. Standard hours are 7 am to 7 pm. Drop-off before 7 am or pickup after 7 pm is an extra $10.

Standard daycare covers up to 10 hours. Past that it's the extended daycare rate.

Late pickup

Text me. A late pickup is not a problem as long as I know. If a daycare pickup runs very late and I haven't heard from you, I'll keep your dog overnight and charge the boarding rate, because the alternative is nobody knowing where they are.

What to bring

Their food, portioned out if that's easiest, treats, and any medication in its original packaging with written instructions. A crate if your dog sleeps in one. Waste bags are appreciated.

Please don't send anything you would be upset to lose. Bedding and toys get chewed, dragged outside and shared around, and I can't be responsible for items that are damaged or go missing.

Required

Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella must be current. Canine Influenza is strongly recommended. Proof of rabies vaccination is required by law, so I need it on file before any stay. A photo of the paperwork or the PDF from your vet is fine, and you can send new or renewed records here any time.

Fleas, ticks and parasites

Please have your dog on flea and tick prevention. If your dog arrives with fleas I'll treat them and let you know, because otherwise every dog here gets them.

Illness

If your dog is unwell, coughing, or has had diarrhea or vomiting in the last 48 hours, please reschedule. It costs you nothing to move a booking and it protects everyone else here.

Spay and neuter

Unspayed females are welcome, but not while in heat. Males need to be neutered.

Tell me everything up front

Anxiety, resource guarding, reactivity to other dogs, a bite history, escape attempts, anything. None of it automatically rules a dog out, and knowing about it means I can set the day up so it doesn't come up. Finding out afterwards is what causes problems.

When I might say no

I may decline or end a stay if a dog isn't safe with the others, with me, or with my own dog Georgie. If that happens mid-stay I'll call you and your emergency contact and we'll work out where they go. I'd rather have that conversation than an incident.

Supervision and the yard

There's a fenced back yard for off-leash play. Dogs are never left outside unsupervised. Walks are on leash.

Ordinary risk

Dogs play, and play sometimes means a scrape, a strain or an upset stomach. Boarding or daycare here means accepting that ordinary risk.

You're responsible for veterinary costs arising from your dog's own health, condition, or normal activity during a stay, including the first $200 of any claim on my insurance.

If I can't reach you

If your dog needs emergency care and I can't reach you or your emergency contact, I'll authorize what's needed to stabilize them, up to $1,000. Emergency exams and initial treatment commonly run $800 to $1,200, so the limit is set where it can actually do something rather than stall at the front desk. Beyond that, your emergency contact can authorize more.

Your emergency contact

Every boarding needs a local emergency contact who can make and pay for medical decisions if you're unreachable. This is the most important thing you give me. If you'll be out of the area, I'd also encourage putting a card on file with your emergency vet and naming me as an authorized agent.

What I do with them

I take photos through the day and send them to you. I may also post photos and videos of your dog on this website and on social media, mainly Instagram at @dogs_with_john. No names, no addresses, and nothing that shows where you live.

You can opt out at any time, before or after, and I'll take anything down. Just tell me. It won't change anything about your dog's care.

Loyalty and referrals

Every 10th daycare visit is free. Refer someone and they get $10 to $20 off their first stay, you get $20 to $30 off your next.