OK you animal lovers, we're looking for some feed back on this one. You've all read by now that we are going to Hawaii in a few months in celebration of Shar's birthday this past month. A part of the planning process any time we travel always includes the question "What will we do with our "kids"?". This trip is no different.
We began planning early this time....first by exploring all of the valley's best pet resorts. We've been through the interview process at Camp Bow Wow in Temecula and they've been accepted. Geez, it was like trying to get your baby into some prestigious preschool. We had to give referrals, bring in their vet records, be interviewed with our dogs, then the dogs had to stay and be evaluated for three hours. We liked that they are selective about which dogs they will let in because we feel secure that our "babies" won't be left with aggressive dogs and come home battered from a dog fight. We also like that they have a "Camper Cam" so that we can check in on them during our travels. BUT, their "Cabins" turned out to be nothing more than cages on a cement floor. The outdoor play area, while equipped with little dogie pools and ramps for them to climb on, has no grassy area what so ever. It's all sand and gravel. During their 3 hour evaluation, we watched on the Camper Cam from home. While Prinnie ventured out to check things out, Digby stayed huddled in the corner and watched the other dogs from afar. Their rates are right in line with other pet boarding places, but they only take dogs, which would leave our Peanutbutter home alone while we're gone.
Today, we bought a "nanny cam" because typically, when we go away, we leave "the kids" home with our awesome neighbor kids and their mom who coming in to feed, water and play with them several times a day. We know we're pitiful, but we bought the nanny cam because if we decide to go the route of leaving them home instead of boarding, we get to see our kids from Hawaii. The neighbors are truly the greatest and we would plan to pay them about what we would pay a boarding place. Our kids love them and are always happy to see them. But, they are a busy family with the kids in school, sports and social lives and we worry that having to look after our animals would be a huge imposition, especially now that we have our hyper active Prinnie.
So what do ya think? Camp Bow Wow or nanny cam?
We began planning early this time....first by exploring all of the valley's best pet resorts. We've been through the interview process at Camp Bow Wow in Temecula and they've been accepted. Geez, it was like trying to get your baby into some prestigious preschool. We had to give referrals, bring in their vet records, be interviewed with our dogs, then the dogs had to stay and be evaluated for three hours. We liked that they are selective about which dogs they will let in because we feel secure that our "babies" won't be left with aggressive dogs and come home battered from a dog fight. We also like that they have a "Camper Cam" so that we can check in on them during our travels. BUT, their "Cabins" turned out to be nothing more than cages on a cement floor. The outdoor play area, while equipped with little dogie pools and ramps for them to climb on, has no grassy area what so ever. It's all sand and gravel. During their 3 hour evaluation, we watched on the Camper Cam from home. While Prinnie ventured out to check things out, Digby stayed huddled in the corner and watched the other dogs from afar. Their rates are right in line with other pet boarding places, but they only take dogs, which would leave our Peanutbutter home alone while we're gone.
Today, we bought a "nanny cam" because typically, when we go away, we leave "the kids" home with our awesome neighbor kids and their mom who coming in to feed, water and play with them several times a day. We know we're pitiful, but we bought the nanny cam because if we decide to go the route of leaving them home instead of boarding, we get to see our kids from Hawaii. The neighbors are truly the greatest and we would plan to pay them about what we would pay a boarding place. Our kids love them and are always happy to see them. But, they are a busy family with the kids in school, sports and social lives and we worry that having to look after our animals would be a huge imposition, especially now that we have our hyper active Prinnie.
So what do ya think? Camp Bow Wow or nanny cam?
5 comments:
I say Nanny Cam, any time you can leave them in the comfort of their own home it is best. So impose on the neighbors, thats what you pay them for!
Kitty
Hi, my name is Hana the Dog. It is a difficult decision -- the nanny cam with the kids or the camp bow wow cam with the dogs! I would say it comes down to who you trust more. If you are leaning towards Camp Bow Wow, I say maybe you should board them first for a couple of trial days to see how they do. Or, make use of the Nanny Cam now to spy on your neighbors when they are at your house? Sorry, I am no help! I get to go to my grandparents when my parents go out of town.
Hello Hana:
Thank you so much for your feedback, and it is nice to meet you! You are a beautiful eski, and I know Prinnie will love reading your blogs!!
Hands down I vote for Camp Bow Wow. We have 3 Mini Schnauzers that are our babys. We do not board them anywhere but there. With the play all day, the cots with fluffy blankets.. (our babys like their own beds so we bring those instead) the campfire treats.. the socail interaction with the dogs makes it a great place for our pups. Plus we can watch them play on the cameras. I think that the dogs would love to have a vacation at Bow Wow.
You might want to try out GotoCamera's free webcam software. GotoCamera is EASY to set up and easy to use. All you need is a webcam (a USB webcam such as those made by Logitech, Creative, etc, or even the webcam integrated into your netbook / notebook) and a Windows PC, and you’re ready to start. Once your camera is set up, you can turn on recording schedules, configure motion detection, share your camera with family, and access it from any browser, including your iPhone, so that you can remotely monitor your camera's recordings. You can watch over your children any time you wish. This is perfect for people who can't afford a nanny to watch over their kids when they're away from home. At less than $4 a month, it makes complete sense to me. Give it a shot, try their 1 week free trial and let me know how it goes :)
Post a Comment