Goin on vacation without my dog..

[KathiCville]

If you decide to check out the 'kennel' route, you have time yet before your trip to explore options and maybe find one that will work well for Yukon. Start asking around for recommendations now among your fellow dog-owned humans, you might well find one or more appealing possibilities.

I travel on business occasionally and actually prefer to take my sidekick Sam to the kennel, in part because I feel better knowing she won't have long periods of being totally alone at the house. Also, I like knowing that if she falls ill for any reason, the kennel knows how to recognize it, deal with it, contact her doctor, etc.

Key for my peace of mind was finding the 'right' place----meaning a place that came highly recommended, where the staff is really friendly, the standards are high, and where I knew Sam would be comfortable. Sure, she doesn't have nearly as much room to run around as she does at home, but she gets three solo play sessions a day with staff members, and her run is plenty big enough for me to bring along her bed and a bunch of toys from home. I like the fact, too, that the place is diligent about requiring all boarding dogs to be up to date on their shots.

Before I went away on a 'real' trip for the first time, I took Sam to the kennel overnight. Dropped her off just before closing, picked her up the next morning as soon as the place opened. Tough? You bet! Like yours, she was a rescue dog, and it was obvious by her droopy, sad body language when I handed her over that she thought I was giving her away. I burst into tears before I even made it out the door! But the strategy worked/helped: After two or three short stays, Sam quickly caught on to the fact that she was NOT being given away, and that "mom" always shows up to take her home.

After about a half dozen stays at the kennel, she actually started wagging her tail with excitement when we pull into the kennel parking lot, because she likes the staff, knows she'll be well taken care of, and knows that I'll be back at some point to get her. In fact, saying goodbye is now *much* harder on me than it is on her, LOL! ["Don't hurry back on my account, Mom!" ]......I'm hoping they'll install webcams at some point so I can check in on my baby from afar!

Whatever you decide, good luck!