HOLIDAY POLICIES PLEASE READ
Important:
All Holiday Reservations
(Thanksgiving, Christmas, & New Years)
are subject to a 5 day minimum charge.

Thank you for considering Wakefield Kennel to care for your pet during the holidays. All reservations are guaranteed and must be secured by a credit card number as a deposit.

We trust that you will be completely satisfied with our services and that if you have any questions or requests, you will make these known to an attendant on entry.

Please be aware that we try in all situations to work with our customers whenever possible -- on the other hand customers should be aware that we are usually "full" during the summer months at least 3-4 weeks in advanceand over major holiday periods, we may become full MONTHS in advance. This means that we are refusing potential customers in order to hold accommodations for your pet(s). If you cancel and we are forced to have vacant space you should expect to be charged -- simply put: "if we loose revenue due to a cancellation it will be charged. If we are not full and therefore the run would have been vacant and we would not have generated revenue -- you are not charged. Please do not blaim the attendant or ask them to "reconsider", all variations of policy are reviewed by the manager or owner on the next normal business day and if a refund is approved by the management it will be applied to your next stay or refunded by company check.

Thank You For Your Understanding -- I Hate To Have To Charge Cancellation Fees -- with your assistance in adhering to our policy as stated this will be avoided.

Unless otherwise arranged with our staff, all reservations between the day before Thanksgiving until the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and December 23 and January 2 are subject to a 5 day minimum charge and a FULL Non-Refundable deposit. Unfortunately we have this policy for holidays because of the large numbers of prospective clients who are turned away during the holiday seasons we have had to find some way to eliminate the customer who call and books an appointment "just in case my pet sitter falls through" or "my neighbor is going to watch our pet". There are as many reasons as customers for wanting to cancel reservations at the last minute. Unfortunately this causes us to lose business and many times it costs good and faithful clients to be refused space; because we are full. If you cancel you will be charged for your entire reservation as booked. (Please see our Cancellation Policy Page for detailed information).

During all holiday periods, we here at the kennel experience a tremendous demand for our boarding spaces. Invariably, some requests for reservations are unable to be serviced because there is "no room in the inn". Each holiday we have a number of persons and their pets that either forget to cancel their reservation request(s) or simply do not show up for the contracted space. This causes inconvenience to both the kennel and other clients who would love to use their "reserved spot".

When you arrive you will be asked to provide us with your signed Boarding Contract which we have previously mailed to you (Over Christmas and Thanksgiving ONLY). During Christmas and Thanksgiving you will be required to present this document for admission to board your pet(s).

Please note that there will be a space for telephone numbers at the bottom of the contract agreement. Please provide us with telephone numbers where you (and only you) may be contacted during your holiday. Please, do not give us the number of a neighbor or friend. The purpose of giving us the numbers is so that we might be able to contact YOU if we have problems with your pet during its stay. Local veterinarians do not want to speak with your friend or neighbor; they want to be able to contact you personally. If you have questions regarding this policy please call in advance.

We should have your pet's current vaccination records on file. (If not, please provide them to us, by telephone, at least 7 days prior to arrival).

If you are planning to bring your pet's own special diet please follow these instructions: Determine the number of days your pet is staying with us, measure all dry food using a standard dry cup measure (8oz) needed for each meal, multiply this by the number of meals required and put that quantity (plus 1 extra day's feeding) in a doubled, brown, paper grocery bag. On the outside of the bag write your last name, pet's name, and feeding quantity and instructions in large letters. Please do not use plastic grocery bags. Canned food should be placed in a similar brown bag and each can should have your name on it. You might want to include written instructions on a 3x5 card or note if they are complicated. We will not accept plastic containers, plastic bags, uncounted large bags, or trash containers filled with food. The reason for this is storage, logistics and feeding accuracy. We want to be able to keep track of all special diets; and proper identification is crucial.

All medications should be counted and sorted into plastic sandwich baggies which are labeled. You can write your medication instructions on a note card and put them inside the baggies. Please label everything plainly and accurately. You should tell us the medication name, and the dosage (i.e. 3mg tabs etc.). Please also indicate the quantity required in each administration. Logistics and accuracy are essential here. Do not bring original medication containers or uncounted lots of medicine - we will require it to be counted out before admission! Toys are welcome and encouraged as long as you limit them to 1 toy (no balls of any kind) and 1 chew item. If you want us to give your pet more chewies during its stay, treat them in the same manner as the food instructions above.

Remember that we do not accept outside bedding. We have four different types of bedding available here and you may select your preference upon admission.

Please remember to read our handouts (available in our offices or here on our website) regarding our additional offerings of "A La Carte Services". These include PlayTime, Bedding, and Nature Walks, choose what, if any, of these "add-ons" you might want for your pet during its stay with us. If you have access to the Internet you can find our Website at www.wakefieldkennel.com, all policies are outlined in our Website (www.wakefieldkennel.com). If you would like a hardcopy of our brochure mailed to you, please contact us by telephone at least 5 days in advance of your planned date of arrival. Please remember that these services are charged in addition to the Holiday board rates.

Check out our new "Virtual Visitation" (pictures of your pet via e-mail) service available to those of you who e-mail us during your pets' stay. If you are planning for someone other than you or your spouse to admit or pickup your pet you must advise us of this at the time of admission. We require advance written permission for non-owner discharge and such forms are available at check-in time. We will not discharge pets to anyone other than owners of record for any reason without this release form. This is to safeguard you and your pet from unauthorized removal of boarded pets. If you are away and find it necessary to call us and ask us to let someone pick up your pet, please make arrangements to fax us the necessary documents or we will not be able to comply with your requests. Our fax number is (434) 973-1562. Whew - we bet you never thought boarding your pet could be so complicated did you? Well, we agree, these suggestions and requests are born out of many years of experience. We hope that this along with answering questions and noticing problems will help you as the owner make your pet's stay less distracting to its routine and ours. We thank you in advance and apologize if these suggestions seem extreme. We know that this advance preparation will help all concerned make your pet's stay as wonderful an experience as possible. Thanks again for choosing us -- we promise to do our best to care for you and your pets while staying with us. If you have any questions or if we fail to satisfy your needs please bring such issues to our attention so that we might correct them. Have a wonderful trip, return safely, and relax --- we have done this for years and we want your pet to remain safe and happy as much as you do.

The Management and Staff of Wakefield Kennel, Inc.
This page last updated Sunday December 18, 2005 8:16 AM