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Home for your pet when you're not at home
By Ruwanthi Herat Gunaratne
Who said hostels and boardings are only for people? Now pet owners can relax and take that long overdue holiday with the assurance that their beloved dogs or cats will be well cared for during their absence. The anguish of either foregoing a vacation or leaving someone behind to look after the pet can be a thing of the past.

Pet boarding homes, quite common in the west are now catching on here too, not only for dogs and cats but also for tiny mice. And the services are wide-ranging with trained professionals just a phone call away if you are unable to take your pet for a walk and sitters who will visit your home whenever you require to see to the wellbeing of your pet while you are away.

"When my husband first came to Sri Lanka, he realized that there was a dire need for pet boarding homes," says Gina Cantley, a dog-lover herself who runs a boarding along with a pet food business. "The house we rented had a large garden and I have two dogs of my own. That's when I started up the kennels." The kennels initially housed Great Dane Lucy on charity in October 2001. "As I had a number of kennels, friends used to call up and ask if I could take care of their dogs when they left on holiday. That's how the pet boarding home concept started up."

Having looked after dogs for 25 years, taking care of a number of dogs at a time was not a problem for Gina. "I keep my own dogs away from the boarded dogs and the charity dogs. It's only if they see each other that problems arise. The garden is divided to prevent such a situation."

Unlike Gina, Prasad Devasundera set up a pet boarding home by chance. "I have six dogs of my own and complaints started coming in as they used to bark and disturb the neighbourhood. We were left with no option but to find another place for them." Luckily, the family owned another house in Ratmalana. "We transported all six dogs there."

Then inquiries poured in whether he was willing to take on other dogs for a few days and before he realised it, there was a boarding house. His Ratmalana home now boasts of seven kennels with more in the pipeline.

Prasad has also learnt that many dogs were being put to sleep as people found it difficult to handle them. He decided to try out an experiment with such a dog. "I feel that dogs are only what their owners make of them. The dog responds to others in the manner in which it is taught. There was a Rottweiler that I took on who was described as a man-eater. I managed to tame him."

For G. Heinrich of Silver Sands Kennels, first came dog breeding. "I have been breeding Dobermans for ten years. People began to inquire as to whether there was any place to board their dogs when they go on vacation and that's when the boarding house started up two years ago." Mr. Heinrich has 12 dogs of his own.

But for Drs. Channa Molligoda and Senerath Karunanayake starting up a pet boarding centre alongside their animal hospital in Rajagiriya seemed the most natural thing to do. "We started five years ago and have been boarding both dogs and cats."

Do boardings take in any dog? "I prefer to choose the dogs I do take in," smiles Gina. "This is because dogs have to feel comfortable here. It's a new place and in some cases even with new food." So, Gina has a chat with the owner on the background of the dog before she accepts it. "When I am unsure whether the dog will be comfortable in these surroundings I ask the owner to bring the fellow over for an overnight stay."

Mr. Heinrich caters to the need of each individual dog. "Sometimes the owners supply the meals, while others specify what should be given at what time. This makes it easier for me as the dogs are more comfortable following their routine."

According to Gina who has studied dog behaviour for over six years, some dogs suffer from separation anxiety. "For the dog, the owner is family. And being separated from the owner can be traumatic. They start barking and howling, disturbing the neighbourhood." She cites the case of a dog, which refused to stay in the space allotted to it but tried to jump about six feet to escape. "I hate caging up dogs. So I've put up large enclosures in my garden for them to roam about freely."

At the Silver Sands Kennels, the boarded dogs have about 11/2 acres of land. "I've never had a problem with aggression. At the moment I have a large male Labrador being boarded with a litter of Dobermans. And it's funny how the Labrador keeps checking up on the pups," says Mr. Heinrich.

"I've taken on dogs who get depressed," adds Prasad. "But I feel that they only require a bit of special attention to bounce right back." One "guest" at his boarding slumped herself down in a corner the moment her owner left. "She wouldn't take any food and would howl when I put her in a kennel." She was then kept in the house and given specially cooked meals. "Such occasions are rare. The stay is too short for the dogs to feel any big difference," he says.

At the animal hospital the situation is slightly different. Dr. Karunanayake feels the owners are more comfortable leaving their pets in the hands of vets. "We can even see to them if they fall ill. But this is a seasonal business. It's only when long weekends come around that we receive inquiries regarding boarding facilities."

What is a "normal day" at a pet boarding home? "When the dog is first brought over, I prefer to ignore it," says Gina. "I feel the dog needs time to settle down in its new surroundings." Gina also makes an effort to detach herself from the dog, as she feels it may engage in attention seeking. “I look after the dogs personally and feed them twice a day. Then they are let out into the garden to exercise. Some of the dogs are also brought for training and require special exercises." After that they are put back in their enclosures to rest or sunbathe. A walk is another part of the day. “I only pet the dogs once in a while," says Gina.

A day at Prasad's boarding home is very similar. "The dogs are taken for a walk and let out in the garden, but I make it a point to take only one dog out at a time," he says.

The longest stay? "I had to keep a dog for a month for a German owner," says Gina. "She wanted to take the dog back to Germany with her, but the requirement was that the dog had to be kept for a month here before being transported." Gina does not take in more than a maximum of four dogs at a time. Another difficulty she has faced is aggression. "When such a situation arises I use body language to calm the fellow down. I remember a particularly difficult case where I was asked if I could board an aggressive dog for a year. I took it on condition that I would be permitted to give it back if there were any difficulties."

Gina says such dogs feel secure only when they are with the owner or someone known to them. The most difficult age to leave dogs at a boarding home is between three to five years. "I have found that dogs who suffer most from separation anxiety are those who are closest to the family, especially dogs of smaller breeds." Terriers are so close to the family that they even sleep on the bed of the owner. They are carried around, petted and hugged frequently. "These dogs are the worst affected when the owners go away."

"There are times when I have felt that the dogs are happier at the boarding home," says Mr. Heinrich. "They have more space. I have not come across any troublesome dogs yet." He feels that the dogs brought in for boarding are well cared for. "Someone who didn't care for the dog would, in my opinion simply tie it up and leave it at home."
Do the dogs ever feel that they are being taken away from their owners? "That is not a problem, as the owner comes over to the boarding house to hand them over. It's never a case of my taking them away from familiar surroundings." Do the owners stay around until the dogs get a feel of the place? "That depends on the individual, some wish to move out as soon as possible so that the dog does not see them leaving while others stay until their pet gets a feel of the place."

Where do the owners of boarding homes leave their dogs when they go on holiday? "Nowhere," laughs Gina. "My husband and I take alternate holidays to ensure that there is someone with the dogs all the time."

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