Thanks for choosing Central Animal Hospital for your pet’s boarding needs! Our goal is to provide a safe, comfortable environment for your pet so you can have peace of mind during your trip. Please read the requirements below carefully and call us if you have any questions. If you have additional questions about boarding your dog or cat, you may contact us at 901-274-1444.
Summary:
- Make sure your pet is fully vaccinated two weeks prior to drop-off to avoid additional fees.
- We do not board intact dogs (not spayed/neutered).
- Give your pet flea prevention at least 24 hours prior to arrival to avoid bringing home unwanted guests.
- Giving medication to your pet is serious business. There will be an additional fee for medications from other hospitals. All medications and supplements must be in original bottles and packaging.
- Boarding Hours: M-F: 7:30am-5:30pm. Sat: 9am-10am. Sun: 4pm-5pm.
Vaccines
To protect our guests from communicable diseases, we require that all dogs be vaccinated against:
- Rabies
- Bordetella, Bordetella is labeled for 1 year. We do not require a 6-month Bordetella.
- Distemper/Parvo [typically DHPP, DAPP, DHLPP vaccines, depending on which hospital administers the vaccine]
- Leptospirosis [typically Lepto, DHLPP, or DHPP/Lepto, depending on which hospital administers the vaccine]
We DO NOT require the Canine Influenza vaccine. Canine Flu has never been confirmed in West Tennessee and most of our guests are local. If canine flu is confirmed in West Tennessee, we will change this requirement.
Please keep in mind that vaccines are not 100% effective. Bordetella vaccine, for example, covers the four major strains of upper respiratory disease in dogs. There are over sixty strains of upper respiratory viruses. While vaccinations offer a high level of protection, they do not guarantee protection from everything.
We require that all cats be vaccinated against:
- Rabies
Verification of Vaccines and Additional Fees for Boarding
Tip: Avoid the “drop-off surprise” and have records of complete vaccines to us at least 24 hours in advance of boarding to avoid additional fees.
On busy weekends and holidays, we may have over 70 guests in our kennel! While Central patients are easy to verify, it takes a significant effort to verify vaccines for pets from other hospitals. To properly prepare and avoid time-consuming difficulties at check-in, we request that all vaccine records are provided at least 24 hours prior to arrival. There are three ways to do this:
- In-person copies
- Fax: 901-274-1469
- Email: staff@midtownvet.com
NOTE: If we do not have verification by 5 pm the day prior to arrival, you will be charged a verification fee of $30 and possibly additional fees for vaccines and boarding.
We will not board unvaccinated or overdue pets in our boarding facility. Therefore, if you arrive with a pet and it is not verifiably vaccinated, you will be charged to board in our medical facility. This is typically 50% more than standard boarding because our medical staff, not boarding staff, takes care of your pet.
We offer some incentives to choose a complete Wellness visit during your pet’s stay at Central if it is not verifiably vaccinated. This includes a doctor’s exam, a heartworm test (for dogs), an intestinal parasite test, and all required vaccines. The incentives only apply to the complete Wellness visits, not for “vaccines only.”
Intact Dogs
We understand that some pet owners do not want to spay or neuter their pets. However, we will not board intact pets in our boarding facility unless the pets are our patients and we have an agreement with the client that the pet will be spayed or neutered after one year. We will not board intact dogs that we do not see medically.
Fleas
All guests should be protected against fleas. Typically this means monthly flea prevention such as Revolution or Credelio for cats and Nexgard, Simparica, or Bravecto for dogs. Since we cannot verify flea prevention as we can vaccines, we encourage our clients to honestly tell us if they have given or applied flea prevention prior to boarding. If your pet is current on flea prevention, they will not be the site of flea reproduction, but preventions do not repel fleas, they kill fleas that get on the dogs and cats.
If you are not a current Central Animal Hospital client, we can administer non-prescription Capstar to kill fleas on your pet. This kills all fleas but lasts for less than 24 hours. If you would like prescription-strength 30-day flea prevention, you must pay for a doctor’s exam to establish a doctor/patient relationship. The doctor may then prescribe prescription medications for the next 12 months.
Medications
Since Central Animal Hospital is a medical facility, we are responsible for administering the correct medication to your pet while staying at our facility. Please read the following rules regarding medication administration:
- All medications, supplements, etc. must be in their original packaging and prescription bottles. We will not administer unlabeled medications from pill minders, Ziploc baggies, or other containers. This includes supplements and other over-the-counter drugs.
- We are not licensed to handle any CBD products. Please do not bring these to our facility.
- For new boarders with medications from other hospitals, there is a $25 annual record & medication review fee. The doctor must review the medical record and understand why the boarder is receiving the medication. If we do not have the medical records for the pet, we will not give the drug. We are responsible for every drug and supplement we have given to our boarders. If the doctor has a question, he/she will contact your veterinarian about the drug.
Food
We feed Purina EN [prescription gastrointestinal diet] to our canine boarders and Purina ProPlan Adult Chicken to our feline boarders. You may bring your own food from home if you wish.
Extra Things from Home
The general rule is: don’t. We know that you will miss your pet while you’re away and you want to make sure that they have everything they need. We provide bedding, food, and water, and outside time for them to relieve themselves and get some sun. Here are some things to consider when deciding on what to bring:
- Beds: The kennels are plenty big for the dogs to stand and walk around, but they aren’t big enough for large beds from home. The dogs also tend to get bored and use “chewing up the bed” for entertainment. We suggest leaving the beds at home. We provide blankets and elevated dog beds that are more like “hammocks” with a frame.
- Toys, hooves, rawhides, etc.: We take care of the dogs but we do not directly supervise them when they are in the runs. Therefore, we can’t put anything in the run that the dogs can choke on or eat (intestinal blockage). Leave the toys at home for when you get back.
- Treats: You are more than welcome to bring edible treats for your dog or cat. As long as the treatment can be chewed up and swallowed comfortably in relatively short order, our staff will happily give your pet treats during their stay.