Tis the Season to make the long journey to visit family and friends for Christmas. This time of year my husband’s entire family heads south for the winter to San Antonio, Texas. (We make a pit stop at Rudy’s BBQ for some of the best brisket this side of the Mason Dixon) They live on a ranch with a lot of acreage, even still their Turkish Anatolians, Tilke and Kybear don’t exactly welcome my Pit Bulls for the holidays. So we have a standing reservation to kennel our pets at our local Vet’s office each year. One of my Pits is eleven and has a few health problems so I feel the best place to board her is with the people who can treat her right then and there if the situation calls for it.
I found it odd that some of the other family members say they don’t feel comfortable boarding their dogs. We manufacture kennels so naturally I was curious to find out why. It seems the view of boarding facilities is very outdated among those who had 1 bad experience several years ago and have never gone back. Those are the local customers you are missing out with. If you’re a Veterinarian who also has a small boarding area, make sure all of your customers know about it. If you have their email addresses, send an e-blast, promoting the benefits of leaving your animals with trained personnel and that space is limited so make your reservation quickly! Have a Holiday Boarding banner printed and put it right out there for locals to see. Look over your reservations from last year and call those customers to see if they need boarding this year for the holidays. I’m the worst about calling the day before we leave for San Antonio to book a spot. (Shout out to Marie at Avondale Haslet Animal Clinic for calling me this year to ask if I needed to book in advance!) In short, if you’re a Vet with kennels, make the most of those money makers, not just during the holidays, but all year round!