My pets keep me from buying more points.

[tvwalsh]

I have a collie, a calico cat and a love bird. If I did not have pets, or had a better plan for leaving them when I go to WDW, I would buy enough points to stay at OKW in a two bedroom for at least 26 nights.

Any thoughts? How do you leave your pets for so long?

 

[tammymacb]

I'm lucky. My 20 YO stepdaughter is in college and a vet tech at our local animal hospital. She stays at my house every time we go out of town.

It's a great deal for everyone. We pay her, she gets a big house with a pool walking distance for her job. I know the dogs are home with someone they know and who loves them. I get huge peace of mind.

IMO, I will NEVER board my dogs. I just have a couple wierd ( retired greyhounds ) girls who's temperment would never permit it. I'll always need a housesitter.

I've told Bonnie she can never move away..

 

[edk35]

Funny that someone posted this. I was just figuring up this weekend what it would cost to board our dog this summer for our 13 night trip. IT will cost almost 525 bucks. She is a big dog....so we pay 25.50 a day, plus we pay an extra 7 bucks a day for her to hang out with the 'DAY CARE' dogs each day. that means she is playing outside a lot and isn't in her kennel near as much. Then we add the bath on at the end before pick up. Now we have an awesome place to take ours. It is like a pet resort....which is btw....their name...."Happy Tails Pet Resort". LOL They have cameras so we can go on line and see her, they pipe in music for them inside. IT is nice....but we do pay a lot for her when we go on these trips. This will be our longest stay so I will worry about her anyway. I am not one for leaving her at home with a pet sitter just because she is used to LOT OF ACITIVITY in our household with 3 kids and their friends being over and such. It is like Las Vegas at times here.....so if she were home all alone with someone popping in to take care of her...I think she would be very depressed. At the kennel she has a huge indoor/outdoor run with a bed that is elevated off the floor. We will feel she is well taken care of and she doesn't seem to mind being there. Just a personal choice for us...but is pricey.

 

[eva]

I'm pretty lucky too. I have two grown DD's that take turns with my cat. They don't always stay in the house, but they know they are welcome to. They do come by all the time anyway to use my laundry room and workout room. So it really doesn't take much to add in the duties for our cat, Rascal. I buy them some nice gifts and it all works out.

But I'm wondering, if you have enough money to buy points for an entire month and pay for all the maintenance, wouldn't you have enough to pay for a house sitter or a great kennel? The bird may be a bit different. But maybe a friend could help there.

 

[Fitswimmer]

I have a pet sitter that I really like who comes in every day to feed, clean litter and visit with my cats. It costs me $15 for the 3 cats, and they get to stay in their own house.

 

[tomandrobin]

We no longer have pets. But when we did, we had made arrangements with either family or a nieghbor to care for the dog/cat.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I have a collie, a calico cat and a love bird. If I did not have pets, or had a better plan for leaving them when I go to WDW, I would buy enough points to stay at OKW in a two bedroom for at least 26 nights.

Any thoughts? How do you leave your pets for so long?

We bought our only dog in 2000 as a puppy. During those years, we could never leave her in a kennel, because after one time, she came home an emtional wreck. Took her 3 days to get reoriented again. Just in the last two years, I met a wonderful person who's mom also lives with them, and she heard of my story, and offerred to watch my Heidi. Well they have fallen in love with her!! And its only because of them that we could even entertain Disney! I feel your concerns. Keep looking for that special person!

 

[JenSop]

I can't speak at all for extremely long trips, but when we're out of town, my mom usually watches the cats. BUT, this year, we're taking my parents to WDW with us, so I'm working on trying to find a cat sitter. I teach voice lessons, so I have two potential, very responsible students, who are checking the dates to see if they can do it. But I know already that I will be super stressed. Our two kitty boys are getting older, and the one has lots of heart problems. He has to take medicine twice a day to keep him alive and to help him maintain a good quality of life.

So I don't know how people leave for such extended periods of time. We'll only be gone ten days! And I know I'll be worried and making phone calls to check in on them the whole time!

 

[drag n' fly]

Can I ever relate to this. We have been fortunate enough to find exceptional pet care people....at a cost. We have to take our greenwing macaw, african grey parrot and 2 cockatiels to a speciality bird sitter 25 a day, then we take our dog to an outstanding kennel for 28 a day and I then pay the kid up the street 10 every other day to check on a pay attention to my 2 siamese kitties every other day. We factor this in when planning and add it to our budget. Knowing they are well taken care of provides us peace of mind so it is worth the expense.

 

[LIFERBABE]

We have the opposite problem.

We have so many points we cant get a pet!

I just feel like we are gone so much and emotionally it would be hard for the boys and the dog. We definitely would not go so much if we had pets or for so long.

I always say if we could find a family that would be willing to share a pet that would be the best solution. When we did have a dog years ago, he was always a wreck if we left him for more than a few days.

A pet is like family, I always said we would do better having another child because they could stay with us at DVC

 

[edk35]

We have the opposite problem.

We have so many points we cant get a pet!

I just feel like we are gone so much and emotionally it would be hard for the boys and the dog. We definitely would not go so much if we had pets or for so long.

I always say if we could find a family that would be willing to share a pet that would be the best solution. When we did have a dog years ago, he was always a wreck if we left him for more than a few days.

A pet is like family, I always said we would do better having another child because they could stay with us at DVC

 

[wildernessDad]

I'd sit your pets down and have a talk with them. Tell them that they must allow you to buy more points.

 

[AJA55]

We have a cat that is VERY emotional. And never is far from the house. Boarding is out of the question. We’ve been fortunate to find a great house/cat sitter. She comes in to give Motor Mouth some loving twice a day. They like each other. She also picks up the mail, paper, takes out the garbage, open and shuts the drapes, waters the plants……….We found her through our vet. You might try that. Oh…and yes it does cost a bit…but we budget for this service.

 

[tn4mickey]

We've moved 4 times in the past 6 years to different parts of the country. The first time it was hard to decide what to do about our cats (without family and friends to ask) when we traveled. I finally started using a pet sitting service and it really makes things so much easier. We've been fortunate to have good care for the cats each time. I'm careful to choose a business that is bonded and insured. They have always been able to deal with health issues (we had one cat that needed medication every day). Even if we eventually end up living close to family again I'll still use a service, that way I don't feel like I'm an inconvenience to anyone.

 

[Debbie Jean]

Actually I board my sweet little furbaby, Happy, a 5 yo Tibetan Spaniel, at the vet and she loves it! When I start to get her bag ready for "doggie camp" she gets all excited, barking, jumping around and racing for the car. The staff adores her so she gets lots of attention and as an "only dog" I think she really likes being around all the other animals. Happy has some health issues , including seizures, and I'm much more comfortable leaving her with people who can keep an eye on her and bring the doctor in if necessary.

I pay $40/night so it's pricey , but she's happy and I know in good hands, so it's worth it to me.

 

[jekjones1558]

tvwalsh,
You are wise to think about this BEFORE buying more points. We have a DDog who is 13 years old. He has never stayed anywhere except home or Grandma's house. Once when we took Grandma and Grandpa to WDW with us (see photo below), my brother took care of the dog. He was hoarse for 3 weeks, so obviously had barked a LOT while we were gone. Now Dad is gone and Mom is not able to take care of the dog, so we have a problem. We would gladly pay to have someone come in, but the dog cries and paces all over the house. Our only alternative is my girlfriend (whom the dog likes), but even then he becomes extremely distressed if left alone, and we can't expect my girlfriend to be a prisoner in our home while we are gone. So, for now, we aren't going to WDW together. And lots of our friends are getting free rooms from us. In hindsight we should not have purchased 1150 points--at least not while having this dog.

 

[edk35]

Actually I board my sweet little furbaby, Happy, a 5 yo Tibetan Spaniel, at the vet and she loves it! When I start to get her bag ready for "doggie camp" she gets all excited, barking, jumping around and racing for the car. The staff adores her so she gets lots of attention and as an "only dog" I think she really likes being around all the other animals. Happy has some health issues , including seizures, and I'm much more comfortable leaving her with people who can keep an eye on her and bring the doctor in if necessary.

I pay $40/night so it's pricey , but she's happy and I know in good hands, so it's worth it to me.

I feel the same way.....our place is like that. Lady gets so excited she runs right in, around the desk and acts like she just arrived at Disney. LOL

 

[eporter66]

My dad has stayed with my dog in the past. Recently we had a place called "The Pet Lodge" open up in my area. Although they do boarding, their main source of revenue seems to be doggie daycare, and we take our dog Austin once a week, and he comes home spent and usually sleeps for a day and a half. The dogs have a big room and outdoor area where they can play all day (check out the camera to view pets) http://www.petlodges.com/index.htm

Our last trip we boarded Austin here, and we can go out and watch him on the webcam. He is exhausted after a week, and although I would still prefer him to be at home with my dad, at least he is not in a cage for 23 hours a day. They are out most of the day. Thankfully, my dad loves Austin and is more than willing to watch him for us, I just did not want to bother him this time.

 

[PinkTink63]

We have four indoor cats. They do have a huge cat enclosure that connects to the laundry room, so they can come and go. We have a large feeding dish and a drinkwell for them. We always pay a neighbor kid or our nephew to come over and make sure they have food, water and most of all, clean the litter boxes!
We will actually be gone for three weeks this year and that's the longest we have ever left them. They will be really lonesome and we are going to miss them too!

 

[PinkTink63]

tvwalsh,
You are wise to think about this BEFORE buying more points. We have a DDog who is 13 years old. He has never stayed anywhere except home or Grandma's house. Once when we took Grandma and Grandpa to WDW with us (see photo below), my brother took care of the dog. He was hoarse for 3 weeks, so obviously had barked a LOT while we were gone. Now Dad is gone and Mom is not able to take care of the dog, so we have a problem. We would gladly pay to have someone come in, but the dog cries and paces all over the house. Our only alternative is my girlfriend (whom the dog likes), but even then he becomes extremely distressed if left alone, and we can't expect my girlfriend to be a prisoner in our home while we are gone. So, for now, we aren't going to WDW together. And lots of our friends are getting free rooms from us. In hindsight we should not have purchased 1150 points--at least not while having this dog.

WOW! You have a lot of points! We all know who to contact if we need some extra points!