San Francisco or Bay Area Home Dog Boarder

Old Jul 4th, 2006, 01:10 PM
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San Francisco or Bay Area Home Dog Boarder

We decided yesterday to spend Christmas in Paris. Within an hour, everything fell into place - apartment and upgraded seats. So far so good, easiest and fastest trip we ever put into action.

The only problem is .. the person who takes in dogs to her home will be away for the Christmas Holidays and we don't know anyone else personally. We're checking everywhere for personal recommendations for a loving person to care for our Shih Tzu Monsieur Zebulon (Zebby). We're going to check ads if we can't get a personal recommendations.

Problem being we need to know ASAP to book the apartment and the tickets as it things go very quickly for the Holidays.

I know that I have almost 6 months to find someone, but the boarders go away over the holidays too (as we have found out) and the ones who don't are booked way in advance. DH says to go ahead and book the trip and in 6 months we are bound to find someone suitable ...

Any suggestions for uncaged boarding homes in the San Franciso (our home) or in the Bay Area. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU..

Nina
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Old Jul 4th, 2006, 01:43 PM
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Nina,

Check with the volunteers at the SF SPCA and Humane society. They may not have official recommendations, but individuals may know folks who do such a thing. Further afield, you could try posting the the Berkeley Parents Network. The focus is on services available in that city, but I find it useful for references of that nature.
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Old Jul 4th, 2006, 02:28 PM
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And don't forget to ask your vet! Also, local pet stores are a great source of info.
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Old Jul 4th, 2006, 04:41 PM
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You given me new leads to follow. I've sent emails and left messages with friends already.

In case you can't tell, I am sorta, kinda, obsessive compulsive and tend to jump right it with my feet, hands, and mouth.

The main thing is loosing those upgradeable seats, there were only 9 available coming and going, as of yesterday. I'm afraid to check to see if they are still available - especially I still don't know for sure.

If worse comes to worse ... heaven forbid, we can probably go steerage, but those upgraded seats to business can really change your traveling life ;-)

You've been great, thanks again.

Nina

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Old Jul 4th, 2006, 07:35 PM
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Hi Nina66..
Have you thought of bringing Zebby to Paris with you? Is he small enough to store under your cushy seats?
If not, Have you tried Craigslist.org?
Book your trip, you have plenty of time..
If worst case scenario you board him at an upscale pet hotel that will pamper your baby..
I wish you all the best!
 
Old Jul 4th, 2006, 08:21 PM
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Have you checked out Pet Camp in SF or K-9 Camp in Marin--those are the two places that people in my SF neighborhood send their dogs. You might check with the dog owners in your neighborhood for their recommendations. That's how I found my dog sitter who takes my dog when I go away but she only operates in Cole Valley.
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Old Jul 4th, 2006, 11:40 PM
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TahitiTams, we would love to travel with Zebby at some point in time. He is 10 months old and about 1l.5 lbs. and I think the airline limit is 10 lbs. I haven't even checked with the airline for crate dimensions.

Since he is only 10 months old now (he will be a year and 4 months at Christmas, we want to wait until he is older and we know his adult personality.

He is a little clown right now and the thought of keeping him in his crate under the seat for over 11 hours, bothers us. I don't think that he would stay quiet for that long. He is very social, loves people and every dog he sees. No way would he sit still for that long.

Eventually we do want to take him with us though. Also I don't know if this apartment accepts pets, I didn't ask. If we like the apartment and decide to use it again, we will definetly ask the owner. In fact she is here in San Francisco, so we would be able to introduce her to Zebby at some point.

We do know Pet Camp as a lot of our friends have used them for years. I guess because he is a puppy, I don't want him in a cage alone for any length of time. As you Shih Tzu owners know, they have to be brushed every day and their eyes cleaned. We keep his hair short, but he still gets little mats, which get worse if not caught right away.

He's still new to us, well almost, and there were some health issues when he was 9 weeks old and we were scared that we would have to return him to the breeder or worse. Fortunately he came through with flying colors, but the fear of loosing him is still with us, and we still think of him as a little guy. Actually he is more like a stubborn two year old, full of piss and vinegar ;-)

It's funny that we never worried about boarding our other dogs, sometimes for as long as 6 weeks, possibly because of the grooming issue, and they were not puppies.

DH just found out late this afternoon, that someone who we see almost every day at our dog park down the street, who has a Shih Tzu and a Cairn Terrier. She takes dogs into her home, one at a time. We are going to do a two way 'audition' soon to see if it will work out for both of us. We may have solved our problem.

What would I do if I had nothing to worry about?????

Nina
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Old Jul 5th, 2006, 06:58 AM
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http://www.petsit.com/locate.asp
This is where I get a sitter when I need one, just plug in your ZIP.
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Old Jul 5th, 2006, 09:00 AM
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HI Nina66..
I do feel your pain because we travel alot and it just breaks my heart to leave my dog, Spudgy who is a black & tan Pom with a boarder but there is one of the top Vet Hospital/Pet Hotel in Rancho Santa Fe,CA that just love him so much but we are going away for business for a month in Paris and I am going to take him because I cannot be without him for that long, plus, the French love dogs!
Zebby sounds like such a precious sweetie and it is stressful to find the right person/boarder who is up to my standards that wipes his eyes because they get yukky and gives him lots of love and washes him and brushes him etc..
Keep us posted as to what you found for Zebby..
Wishing you all the best!
 
Old Jul 5th, 2006, 09:42 AM
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Do keep us posted. We just left our baby, Lily Rose, also a Shih Tzu, for the first time w/ friends while we were gone on an 11 day trip. It's imperative to find a reliable pet sitter for your Zebby because the breed is so needy If I lived closer, I'd take him for you . I hope you found someone. I was thinking if the person you run into often at the park doesn't work out, try asking some of the Shih Tzu breeders in the area.
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Old Jul 5th, 2006, 09:43 AM
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There is a new place on Sutter, between Larkin and Polk, can't remember what it called, next door to the funeral house, it's like a kindergarden for dogs...

something like "dogplay" maybe you can check the yellow pages?
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Old Jul 5th, 2006, 09:50 AM
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If you have a university near you try to recruit a graduate student to stay at your house. They are often desperate for cash and appreciate nice digs. Make sure they have dog experience and understand the house rules etc.
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Old Jul 5th, 2006, 12:10 PM
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Zebby will do a trial sleep over with the woman from our dog park in the next few weeks. Her Cairn Terrier Katie is one of his many little girlfriends.

We have been talking to this woman several times a week for the past three months, but until yesterday, when DH asked another regular, we had no idea that she puppy sat. She is a very nice person and her her own two little dogs are well cared for and she treats them very well, so this may be it. Plus she only lives a block or so from our house.

Zebby has been neutered, so we don't have to worry about any hankie pankie with Kathie. Hopefully he won't fall in love and refuse to come home

If it doesn't work out, thanks to you and a few others, I have loads of leads.

Nina
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