I have to board Duncan for the weekend:(

Well, it's official, Collin is now working and living in York PA. Duncan and I are, unfortunately, still working and living in New Jersey. (Well, I'm working and living here, Duncan is just living!;))
This upcoming weekend, I have to go to York to start our apartment hunt. I have set up some appointments for Saturday morning at some dog-friendly complexes. We would like to be out of here by the 1st of July at the latest so we have to get this show on the road!
I planned on taking Duncan with me and just paying the extra cost to keep him at the hotel that Collin's company has put him up at. I called yesterday to see how much the extra charges would be and was floored! They want a $100 deposit and an extra $50 per day!! That would mean a grand total of $250 dollars for us to stay there Friday night from around 11pm until 3pm Sunday. Mind you, I had emailed Collin's boss a few weeks ago with the names of 3 or 4 hotels in York that are pet friendly with no extra charges, including a Quality Inn that was .63 miles from the office! Instead they chose to put him in a place called the Heritage Hills Golf Resort and Conference Center, with a spa, 2 restaurants...Collin said all the cars out front are BMWs and Mercedes and he feels silly in his Dodge! And they didn't even put him in an extended stay room, with a kitchenette or anything...he is just in a regular room. Bad company, BAD!
So long story short, I called to get a room at the other hotels that do take pets but they have nothing available on short notice on Friday. I would prefer to bring Duncan to PA and find a kennel there for him so that I could bust him out during the day and take him with us but I have a 4 hour drive to PA and none of the kennels would be open at that hour of the evening.
I found him a great kennel in Jersey, actually about 1 hour from my house. It's $29 a day including food and 3 playtimes a day. It's a beautiful facility actually but I'm still nervous. And I feel so guilty, I can't even look at Duncan... :( So I have to drop him off at 7am Friday and then head off to work for the day and then to PA that evening. And I can't pick him up until Monday at 7am! So I will be leaving the house around 5:30am Fri and Mon!!!
I thought about getting him a pet-sitter for the weekend but I don't know how he would be...?He probably would be OK with the person coming in the house but I worry about when they leave the house. Duncan's aggressiveness seems in direct correlation to my proximity. He is not aggressive to strangers when I am not present. But I can't be sure. And I would worry that the pet sitter would allow him too much freedom on his walk and Duncan would bite someone and I can't allow that to happen...I mean I know they are trained and are professionals but I still worry. Hopefully, we will find an apartment this weekend and I won't have to go through this again. On top of all this, I have strep throat, my office is moving and guess who gets to do the actual "moving"...you guessed it, the employees! The stress of it all is killing me and I really need my dog with me!! Maybe I'll try to pass him off as a guide dog.... ;)

Edit: the ironic part of all this is that I took Duncan to the vet tonight to get his kennel cough updated and that bill was $145. So if you add that to the $120 for the kennel, we're paying more than the hotel asked!! ;) Collin's company said that they would "take care of all his expenses while he is in York" I think I'll submit the kennel bill to them and see if it's a "covered" expense!!

Well, it is good that you found a place that you like for Duncan. Have you actually been to visit that kennel, or did you find it on the Internet? I am sure that you thought everything through, but just let me ask, is there a family member that he is comfortable with that he can stay with for a couple of days? (How long is the trip to Syracuse?) It may mean having to take an extra day off from work to get him there, but it may save some money, and you know that he will be happy and safe.

Seriously, I am sure he will do great at the kennel, he may even make a whole lot of new friends. :)

Poor you, and poor Duncan! I hope the time goes fast for you -- he will probably have a blast! If I lived closer I would certainly volunteer to doggy sit! ;)

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Originally posted by Ginger's Mom
Well, it is good that you found a place that you like for Duncan. Have you actually been to visit that kennel, or did you find it on the Internet? I am sure that you thought everything through, but just let me ask, is there a family member that he is comfortable with that he can stay with for a couple of days? (How long is the trip to Syracuse?) It may mean having to take an extra day off from work to get him there, but it may save some money, and you know that he will be happy and safe.

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I haven't been to visit it yet. A woman at work recommended it to me and described the facility. It sounds fantastic and she was really happy with it when she had her 2 dogs boarded there. I read through an old post of DoggiesaretheBest when she kenneled Drake and I have a list of questions to ask when I arrive! If I don't get the right answers, I won't leave him. Collin will be upset but I can always reschedule our apartment visits and go to York next weekend if I have too.
I would love to take Duncan home to Syracuse. My dad loves him and would watch him for me but it's a 4 hour drive from here and 5 hours from Syracuse to York. And I can't take any time off of work...I didn't post about this because I just didn't have time and didn't want to worry everyone when more important things were going on...but Collin was in the hospital for 4 days with heart trouble and he had to have some surgery so I missed 3 days then. (He's totally fine now :D :D ) But needless to say, now that I'm sick and have 10 gazillion things to do, I have to work full days!! :rolleyes:
We'll figure it out somehow...one day at a time right! :rolleyes: :D Thanks for the responses....I appreciate them!

Well it sounds like you've found a great facility Jen, I do hope it all works out for you (and Duncan of course!).
On another note, sorry to hear Collin was in the hospital but glad to hear he's fine now!
Hope all goes well with the apt. hunting!

This is a picture of the place Duncan is staying for the weekend...I dropped him off this morning :( I hate doing that...but he will be fine. They have all these special services, like continental breakfast and gift bags! You can get your dogs picture taken doing different things and they will give them Kong toys with treats...all for extra fees of course! But they are cute ideas. They will take Duncan out of his kennel and play with him 3 times a day for minimum 15 minutes each time. I asked that they have only an adult worker play with him and not a teen volunteer because he is so big and God forbid something happens....
But overall, I think it will be ok. He won't be "happy". he is only happy when he is with me but he will be ok...:)

http://www.bestfriendspetcare.com/im...PLdriveway.jpg

Duncan will be fine, but I know you'll be missing him like heck!
When you get him back, you'll have to have a small celebration together. :)

I picked Duncan up yesterday from the kennel! A day earlier than expected! I was so happy to see him I started crying in the waiting room!! I missed him so much and I had had a miserable day up to that point. I was sick of driving, the weather was bad and I am STILL sick!! :mad: :rolleyes:
So I could not wait one more minute to see him! The girls at the front desk were telling me how much they enjoyed him. One girl in particular bonded with him and was so sad to see him go. I was so touched by that...Duncan doesn't make friends easily. He doesn't trust people and he hasn't been playing well with other dogs lately. So to know that this girl took a special interest in him for the weekend meant a lot to me!!!
Anyway, here is a picture that they took of him because it was his first visit! It's not very good but it's cute!! He is KISSING her not biting her!!!!! YEAH!! :D

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...c/f401c6a7.jpg

I am sorry to hear that Colin had been so ill. I hope everything is fine now. And I hope that you will feel better once you get a chance to relax in your own home.

Now on to the good news. I am glad that Duncan did so well at the doggie resort. :) I knew he could find a new friend. What a good boy he is. How did the apartment hunting go? Well, now when you go back to visit Colin at least you know you have somewhere to take Duncan where he has someone to play with and cuddle with. (Sorry I couldn't see the picture, but I really am glad that he found a friend there.)