Pets With Health Issues FAQs

It depends.  A boarding stay is different than a hospital or medically supervised stay.

The staff at Walkers can accommodate many health related issues during a boarding stay:

• Administration of meds at appropriate times (for example: pills and insulin injections)
• Close monitoring of food / water intake
• Basic physical therapy (for example: leg extensions)
• Additional care specific to a pet’s needs (for example: cleaning hot spots regularly)
• Limiting jumping / physical exertion

The staff at Walkers may not be able to accommodate the needs of pets in the following situations where a medically supervised stay may be more appropriate:

• If your pet cannot eat, drink or walk on their own
• If your pet requires excessive monitoring (eg. shaken every hour to make sure they don’t lapse into a coma)
• If your pet requires medical procedures (eg. IV fluids)
• If your veterinarian does not think a boarding stay would be appropriate for your pet.

If you have questions or concerns, please discuss them with us and your vet prior to your stay.

Sorry, we can’t accept any pet that may have a contagious condition.

If possible, please bring in medications in the original packaging with the instructions from the veterinarian / pharmacist, NOT in baggies, pill wrap, bread balls, etc. This allows us double check that the correct doses are being given.  BRING EXTRA MEDS in case your stay lasts longer than you expect.

We have special procedures to make sure the right medications are given to the right pet, on time, every time.  Allow extra time when checking in because we take time to document instructions to make sure we get it right.  We care for many pets, and even if your pet’s medication has not changed, we will review it with you just to be sure.  Sometimes veterinarians change the frequency or the amount of medication between stays, and we want to verify it.

Any time we take responsibility for giving your pet a Medication or a Supplement we document your wishes and institute special procedures to make sure your pet receives them. There is an additional fee for this.  It’s really not for the labor but for taking the responsibility that the right pet gets the right medication or supplement.

Our veterinarian will only examine a pet during their stay if you request it. We recommend that you be present for an exam so you can interact directly with the veterinarian while the exam is taking place, however, we understand this may not be practical in all situations so we can schedule veterinarian exams during your pet’s boarding or daycare stay.

There are several reasons for this.

• Pets coming to stay at Walkers should already be healthy, so the time and the cost of an additional examination shouldn’t be needed.
• We encourage the Doctor – Patient relationship so if there is a medical concern with your pet during their stay we contact you and your veterinarian first because you would be aware of any prior conditions.
• If our veterinarian has not seen your pet before, he will conduct a complete exam to help him make the best possible diagnosis.

 We wish we could, but pets, like people, can exhibit health issues no matter if they are home or away.  Your pet’s health is very important to us, that’s why we take so many precautions to improve the likelihood of a healthy and happy stay.

• We ask  many questions concerning your pet’s medical history – we know the form is long, but regular updates help us give your pet the best possible care.
• We enforce strict vaccination requirements and fecal exams for all guests staying with us.
• We follow a cleaning routine which involves sanitizing and disinfecting our suites, laundering the bedding and washing and sanitizing all of our stainless steel food and water bowls.
• We have a unique air-handling system in the boarding area with a heat-exchange unit, so fresh air is brought in, rather than re-circulating the air as they do in airplanes.
• The surfaces of the inside and outside areas are non-porous to facilitate natural and chemical disinfecting.
• Our staff gets to know your pets and monitors their behavior to identify and treat any issues that may occur.  For example, we isolate pets if we detect symptoms of anything that may be contagious.

 Owners can feel helpless if their family member (their pet) has a problem while they are away so we at Walkers try our best act the way you would if you were here with them.   If a medical issue arises during your pet’s stay, we will contact you or your emergency contacts at the numbers you provide, not to alarm you, but make you aware of what is going on.  We want feedback from you and your veterinarian to discuss the best course of action. We will also try to keep you informed of the ongoing status of your pet and you are always welcomed to call in your self to check on your pet.