Does anyone leave their "furbabies" behind?

[LindaM]

More and more kennels are giving insulin shots----keep looking!! We were in the same situation and had to board both dogs at the vet, because of the insulin shots. I wish I wouldn't have gone back to see where they would be----it was depressing. Not like the place we just boarded them at---with a webcam, where I could watch them while at sea!!

 

Our Westie required LESS insulin while being boarded, due to stress. You might want to take that into consideration and have them give less (which won't hurt for a short time) and not have to worry about an overdose! We were in the Norwegian Fjords---trying to get phone service---paying $8/minute to confer with the vet, after a vet tech informed us her blood test was off!!

[lady_cruiser]

My sister and I both have cockatiels and while we both are at home, our birds are out of their cages. My sister lives in San Antonio and can not find anyone who is willing to take her Charley, even for a week, and agree to allow her to stay out of her cage when they are home. They will only care for her if they can keep her in her cage for over the week she will be gone.

 

I have a friend who has birds, dogs, cats, and horses so when she bird-sits for me I know her and her husband will allow my Baxter to be free and out of the cage when one of them is home. So in turn, my sister drives 420 miles to my house two days before our cruise and brings her bird to my friends' house. Then after the cruise she will drive back to my house where she picks up Charley at my friend's house and then the next day she is on the road again heading back to her house.

 

It is amazing what we do for our pets. And what most people don't realize is that birds are like dogs and cats. You need to spend a good amount of time playing, talking and interacting with them, just like any other pet.

[kristapb]

We just went on a month-long vacation to Hawaii (not a cruise, but fun dnyway) and arranged for a couple to stay here and care for our old cat. It worked out great. It was thru housecarers.com. There is no fee to post an ad there looking for a house/pet sitter, and the sitters have resumes and pictures posted. You can email with them to see if you think you will like them. I would definately do that again!

[tartanexile81]

We just went on a month-long vacation to Hawaii (not a cruise, but fun dnyway) and arranged for a couple to stay here and care for our old cat. It worked out great. It was thru housecarers.com. There is no fee to post an ad there looking for a house/pet sitter, and the sitters have resumes and pictures posted. You can email with them to see if you think you will like them. I would definately do that again!

 

We've also used housecarers.com VERY successfully and would highly recommend. We have 3 cats and 2 dogs and they are happy and settled with someone coming to us and caring for them. And it costs us nothing! Obviously, you have to be careful in vetting possible house-sitters but we have found really lovely, trust-worthy people.

[panoramaofthepast]

I hire a house/pet sitter. Usually I use a former student, but have also used college students recommended to me. I usually pay $100/week and make sure the frig is stocked. The students like the freedom to come and go, the cat/cats stay in their own environment and the house is not an open invitation to theft. Win-win all around.

[RKD]

We hate to leave our 4 yr. old Yorkie-Poo, Maggie, but we have some good friends who have been taking her recently when we can't take her along. She loves them, and we know she is in good hands! If they can't take her, we have a couple of our kids who will take her, too, but they have pretty busy lives! Maggie travels with us in our motorhome and loves to go! She is a well traveled pooch! Spoiled, too!:rolleyes:

[Cruiseroz]

Yes we leave our two standard poodles in kennels and get a big welcome

when we get home. But I am selective in the kennel, depends what choice you have and where one lives.

One of mine had to have 6 months in quarantine when husband was

transferred from Australia to the UK in 2000 before the pet passport.

We visited regularly and he was fine when he came to his new home.

Four years later we returned to Australia after the posting and he had

one month in Quarantine in Australia. A very sociable guy he had flown

three times to Melbourne from Perth too, that is a 3/4 hour jet ride.

Soon as we landed we collected him as they are not allowed in the cabin,

he was shown the lawn and abluted and we drove off as if nothing had happened. I think as humans we feel a terrible guilt doing this, but our

dog travelled well.:p

 

 

 

Now that we are retired and have the means to travel at least once a year, we are faced with boarding our much loved 8 year old Siamese and German Shepherd during cruise times.

I feel guilty, especially with the long 5 week stint they will have next year in the boarding kennel/cattery. To date their longest stay has been 3 weeks and it's always at the same boarding kennel. The reunions are just wonderful.

We have no family close by who could care for them and even if we did , I would worry that they would run away and we'd never see them again. There is something reassuring about the safety aspect of a boarding kennel.

 

Is anyone else in a similar situation and wish to share their thoughts about long term boarding?

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We have don it meny times in the past