Pet Sitting/Boarding (Huntsville, Madison, Triana: home, neighborhood, buy)

[SarahBellum]

My family is planning a 2 week trip to Europe this spring and we are looking for a place to board our dog or a pet sitting service to visit our home. I've looked on a few local boarding sites but couldn't find any rates and reviews for the places I did find ran the gamut from excellent to horrific (I tend to take online reviews with a grain of salt and figure the truth lies somewhere between the extremes.) So, good folks and pet owners of this forum, any suggestions? What kind of rates have you run into and what are your experiences? Do you have a favorite place? We've boarded at the vet in the past but we weren't too happy with that situation. The vet took it upon himself to treat the dog for a handful of things (without consulting us or even being able to explain just why the tests on a seemingly healthy dog couldn't wait until we returned) that resulted in a very steep medical bill on top of the 3 days of boarding.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

[LCTMadison]

I've used Bark Avenue in Tanner for years and I absolutely LOVE Kathy! She takes excellent care of the dogs! One thing I really like is that the facility is on Kathy's land, so she is always very close by as her home is right there. For 2 in a "suite" its $55/night. I think its $35 for just one in the suite....of course she has the open runs that are less expensive but my dog stresses in those so we always pay a little more and get them a suite.

I also do the pet sitting in home but my neighbor helps us out with that, and we do have a neighborhood pet sitter but he is off at college so he's not available as much anymore.

[FatTails]

We went away for two weeks in December and it was tough sifting through the online reviews for boarding. Most of the reviews are pretty terrible. We ended up using Happy Tails Ranch. Paid something like $20-25/night. My dog didn't tell me how he liked it and nothing about it blew my mind, but my dog seemed happy when I picked him up.

We used our vet (Madison Animal Care Hospital) boarding service a few months before that and that okay too. We only used them because everyone else was booked. I remember looking at these boarding places on satellite and noticing most of them (including my vet) had tiny yards for the dogs to run in. I might try Bark Avenue next time. I've heard good things about that place from more than one person.

[hey teach]

I don't use a kennel, I use a house/pet sitter so I can't give you personal experience info, but there is a new facility going up on Homer Nance Road next door to the Publix shopping center. It is being billed as a "Bed and Biscuit". I think it is part of the Flint River Animal Clinic that is next door. I do have experience with them and they are top notch.

I would suggest you contact and check if they will be open and receiving guest at the time of your trip. By booking early you might get some sort of early discount.

[SarahBellum]

Thank you so much for all the info! I knew I could count on the community to give me some guidance. I'll check in and let you know what I find out and decide. It's scary to leave your pet with someone else, especially for an extended time.

[ToneyTiger]

Myself, I've used Paradise Pet Resorts and have LOVED it. The thing that really sold us on it was the fact they have various sized kennels and various packages you can buy for your pooch. And for people like my wife who just can't stand to not be with her baby....lol... they even have kennels with webcams on them so you can watch your dog. The webcam works through Itunes app or android app, so most people are covered there, and the cam refreshes every 1-2 seconds. We opted for the largest room which comes with the webcam and a TV to keep the dog feeling relaxed like the home environment - yes, I told you my wife wanted to take care of her baby...lol... They also walked the dogs several times a day, gave the dogs some outside time, and with the kennel/package we purchased, they came in to play with the dogs 2-3 times a day, which was verified by my wife watching the webcam(I think she was enjoying watching the webcam more than our 10 day Disney trip!!!!). The rate was a bit expensive($49/day) but considering the care he got and us being able to check on him, as well as the cleanliness of the facility, and the fact that someone is always present on-site 24 hours a day, it was a bargain. Anytime we need a kennel, this is where we will go from now on. They are located right beside the Cracker Barrel just SW of the Wall Triana/565 intersection. If you see the building with the blue roof, that's it!!!! Their website is Paradise Pet Resort and Spa offers boarding grooming in Huntsville AL & Northern Alabama

Just as a side note, on a previous trip, we had used Flint River Animal Hospital. We were VERY dissatisfied with them. When we came back to pick our dog up, he was walking with a VERY noticeable limp, and we heard a popping noise as he walked. It turns out he had developed a luxating patella while there(kneecap going in and out of place) which we could tell was painful for him as he didn't want to walk once we got him home. Nobody on the staff there bothered to contact us about this, and the surgery to fix it cost us right at $1000. After spending money on a trip, and boarding, we were definately not going back there for boarding as we felt the staff did not pay attention to their wards, which is what led us to Paradise Pet Resorts.

Hope this helps!!!!

[SarahBellum]

Thanks for your input, ToneyTiger -- every bit of information helps! I did look at Paradise Pet Resort's website but couldn't find any prices. I've seen their facility when driving by and I've heard some good things about them. I'll try to drop by this week and take a look.

I'm so sorry to hear about your pup's ordeal. That's just wrong for a boarder, especially an animal hospital, to allow that to happen. I hope he's doing well now.

[LCTMadison]

A dog "escaped" last year from Paradise, just FYI. Thankfully he was found by someone with one of the local rescues. Its a really nice, new facility and its pricey.... but that makes me nervous. I used to use them for grooming until they got my dog apparently mixed up with another and SHAVED MY POMERANIAN COMPLETELY BALD.....he looked like a skinned cat, just awful. When I went to pick him up I nearly cried. My husband went up there and raised *(&*#$# and they ended up refunding our money.

[CoreLysium]

Shaved pomeranian. Bwah ha ha hahahaaa. Do you have pics?

[SarahBellum]

Yikes! That is scary!