We went for a drive yesterday... the three of us... my husband, myself, and Savannah. I'm sure that Savannah thought we were going to the dog park because we drove along the same highway where the dog park is located, and as we drove past the park, Savannah turned completely around in the back seat and stared at the park's entrance gate. I'm sure she was wondering why we didn't make that right turn into the park like we usually do, and when she realized we were going to keep on driving, she just stretched out on the back seat and put her head down.
I had made arrangements yesterday to tour a day-care/boarding facility for dogs. At some point this year, we will probably take a trip... and we thought that a good boarding kennel would be fine for Savannah. As it is now, she's very wary of our friends who come into the house, and sometimes she even barks at them if I don't get to the door before they ring the bell. Savannah's bark is very ferocious and intimidating to most of our friends, and she is not at all thrilled to see strangers when I walk her. To say that Savannah is protective is an understatement. I don't know yet if she will let anyone in here to take care of her when we go away, even our friend C who has taken care of the cats for us for more than a year now.
So we thought we'd have a look-see at the boarding kennel, and they suggested that we bring Savannah with us. We thought we were off to a good start when we walked into the building because the girl that greeted us got right down on the floor next to Savannah, and wonder of wonders, Savannah allowed the girl to pet her. Considering that Savannah had never set her puppy-eyes on that girl, my husband and I were both very surprised.
This particular boarding place is way out in the country... further out than we are here, and we had to following a winding country road to get to it, and we nearly drove past it because the only marking on the entrance was a big metal paw-print of a dog. The facility was on more than just a few acres, but the building containing the individual kennels wasn't all that large. They had the small dogs in one room, and the larger dogs in another room.... everything seemed as clean as it could be with dogs in the crates, but those small-dog crates and the big-dog kennels didn't seem all that large to me. Plus, the dogs had no access to the outside unless someone put a leash on them and brought them out into the yard for play-time.
And the yard.... I expected lots of green grass and some trees and lots of dog-toys. Very disappointed with that... the yard was all dirt, there were no trees for shade, and I didn't see many dog-toys at all. The best part about the facility were the three girls that we met there... very dog-friendly, very patient and understanding with the different personalities of each dog, and they all seemed to really love their jobs.
But.... if we kept Savannah there, she'd be in a dark indoor kennel for most of the day until they brought her outside to play, and in the heat of a summer day there would be no shade in that yard. And no grass.... we would have to ask the staff to bathe her before we picked her up because I know that Savannah's white fur would be as dark as her copper-colored fur after just a few hours of being in that dirt.
The worst part was all the barking of the dogs.... the sounds made Savannah cringe as we walked through there, and we got her out of the kennel area as quickly as we could. She was more comfortable outside on the patio of the building, and the more we talked to the girls about the play and rest schedules for the dogs, the more uncomfortable my husband and I were getting. Even if Savannah is inside our house for most of the day, she's very comfortable because she can walk around the rooms, and the interior of our home isn't dark during daylight hours. If kept in one of those kennels, Savannah's choices would be to stretch out on a camping-type of cot or try and get comfy on the concrete floor next to the cot--- and there's precious little floor-space around that cot.
Between now and the summer, I'm hoping that Savannah gets to trust our friend C more and more. In a perfect world, we'd be able to just leave Savannah right here at home and let C take care of her and the cats when we travel. C has been as wonderful with our cats as our pet-sitting friend back in Clear Lake. We never worried about Gracie and the cats when that pet-sitter was there... he took care of "our gang" as if they were his own, and C has done the same thing for us here. I don't want to just drop Savannah off at a boarding kennel if we're not completely sure that we'll be coming back to a happy dog.
Doggie day-care. I don't even like the concept of day-care for kids.... if one is going to have children, then no one except the parents and family members should be taking care of those children. And with Savannah being so sensitive to people and sounds and places, I just couldn't bring her to that boarding kennel with a clear conscience and walk away for a week. If we did that, then all the successful progress Savannah has made since September will go right down the doggie-drain.
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