People almost always have a good time on family vacations. But, what about pets?
This year we brought Lucy with us on a one week beach vacation. Camping style! I was concerned about leaving her alone in our RV Motorhome for extended long hours while we played on the beach. So, I investigated two different dog-care options.
The first was Sea Paws Dog Resort in Gulf Shores, Alabama. I printed out an application form before I even left home. When we arrived, I was hesitant to leave Lucy there because we were not invited into the facility, and no explanations were given.
However, when we picked Lucy up. the owner told us she had a great time and that she played happily with the other dogs.
Lucy was in good spirits and appeared well taken care of.
We did not take Lucy back for another day because we were going to be spending the next part of the beach trip in Pensacola. So, I checked for doggy day cares in the Pensacola area. A few of the kennels had ‘play times’, but no real doggy daycare set-up. I eventually, decided to try out Rover.com. Rover.com offers dog walkers, boarders, and daycare. Each “employee”, free-lances out of their own home. On the website, I had to sift through a lot of potential sitters. I eventually settled on someone named Sarah who lives in Gulf Breeze, and I booked the stay through Rover.com.
When we went to drop Lucy off, Sarah met us at the garage door and led us to her backyard. We talked and then she brought out one of her two dogs to interact with Lucy. After the initial sniffing routine, Lucy growled at her dog for coming too close to me. Just a little growl, but none the less, my dog growled first. The owners dog moved away and everything seemed ok until our dog, Lucy, started to bark playfully at the owner’s dog. Then, the owners dog started to growl and charge our dog. So, Sarah put her dog in the house and said she would reintroduce the two dogs more slowly, and she sent us on our way.
Sarah texted later and said that her dog, Dixie, and our Lucy were in the back yard together and doing fine.
Three hours later, I texted Sarah to see how Lucy was doing. Sarah responded, “They are lying around because they’re hot.” Hmmmm…I just prayed that my furry, Labradoodle was not being kept outside in the heat!
When we knock on Sarah’s door later to pick up Lucy, we heard from inside the house, “Ya’ll are getting on my last nerve!” Then Sarah realized that someone had knocked on the door. At which time, she cracked the door open and told us to meet her around back.
Sarah had said on the front end that Lucy might get a little dirty. A little dirty…yes ok…playing with other dogs. Yes, I get that. She wasn’t physically dirty, she smelled bad. Really bad! Kind of musty, moldy, wet.
When we got Lucy in the car, I offered her some water. She drank almost an entire twelve ounce bottle without stopping! That makes me a little upset!
I am interested to know if anyone else has used Rover.com before, or works for Rover.com. I would love to get some opinions and a better insight into the company.
Thanks. -Laurie
330 SQFT 