Best Friends Pet Hotel

Best Friends associates are selected for their love of animals, personality, and, depending on the job classification, for their relevant experience in animal care, human hospitality, grooming, customer service, etc. Once selected, they are provided with a world-class training program developed by leading animal experts in grooming, training, and veterinary medicine. All associates must complete an intensive certification program to ensure they are prepared to offer the best possible pet care. Each position has specific requirements and corresponding qualifications. If you are interested in learning more about employment opportunities with Best Friends, visit the Careers section of our web site. Best Friends associates are selected for their love of animals, personality, and, depending on the job classification, for their relevant experience in animal care, human hospitality, grooming, customer service, etc. Once selected, they are provided with a world-class training program developed by leading animal experts in grooming, training, and veterinary medicine. All associates must complete an intensive certification program to ensure they are prepared to offer the best possible pet care. Each position has specific requirements and corresponding qualifications. If you are interested in learning more about employment opportunities with Best Friends, visit the Careers section of our web site.

Best Friends currently has locations in 18 states. While we do plan to continue to expand our operations, the schedule for new pet resorts depends upon a variety of factors - from locating appropriate real estate to obtaining planning and zoning approvals to managing the construction process. As plans for additional resorts are finalized, we will announce them on this website as well as to local press in the community.

Best Friends is a strong supporter of pet rescue and adoption programs and many of our facilities work with local shelters and rescue groups. We are always delighted to put pet lovers in touch with these organizations. If we don't have a location near you, you might also try visiting Petfinder, which provides links to shelters around the U.S. at https://www.petfinder.com .

Raising children and puppies together can be a wonderful experience - if you take the time to do a bit of advance planning. Like humans, dogs are individuals with their own distinct personalities. Although some breeds are considered more “child-friendly” than others, you should conduct plenty of research before deciding on the type of dog you want. Visit http://ww17.barkbytes.com and https://www.akc.org to read about different breed personalities. There are also several books written specifically on this subject that you can consult. When you've decided on a type of dog, be sure to discuss your concerns with your breeders. Plan to begin training your new dog right away. A professional trainer can help you with advice on how to ensure that your new pet learns to behave well with other family members. Your local Best Friends can help you find a qualified dog trainer.

Deciding which type of dog is best for your family takes homework and planning, and the more you know before you buy, the better decision you will make. This applies to all aspects of getting your dog -- from selecting the breed to deciding where to obtain the puppy. We strongly recommend that you spend plenty of time investigating before making a final decision. Remember, pets are for life. To help you find the right breed to fit your personality and lifestyle, visit https://www.akc.org . If you're considering pet adoption or rescue, your local Best Friends may be able to put you in touch with reputable shelters and rescue groups near you. If we don't have a location near you, visit https://www.petfinder.com which provides links to shelters around the country.

Training classes are available at many of our Best Friends locations. Best Friends Canine College offers a wide variety of group, private or while-boarded obedience training programs for pooches of all ages. Most of our centers offer multiple class levels - from beginning to advanced. Please go to the web page of the location you would like to use and find out if they offer Canine College. You should then call the facility directly for class schedules and rates.

Through a partnership with Honest Paws CBD Pet Products, select Best Friends Pet Hotels nationwide are making available their natural dog products for sale for pet parents. CBD is a beneficial cannabinoid, found in the hemp plant. Like humans, it works with the endocannabinoid system to maintain homeostasis or a balanced state in your body. Select Best Friends locations are selling Honest Paws CBD Bites, Soft Chews and CBD Oil for all dog sizes and in different formulas for calmness, mobility, relief, and general wellness. Sourced from one farm in Colorado, CBD Bites active ingredients include organic full-spectrum hemp containing naturally occurring CBD and with no GMOs, corn or soy. Soft Chews carried at Best Friends are formulated for Calm or for Mobility for joint stiffness.

Yes, we’re currently offering the best in preventative and wellness service clinics – monthly, through our partnership with Vetco – at many of our convenient Best Friends Pet Hotel locations nationwide. Visit https://bestfriendspetcare.com/veterinary-care to learn more and to make an appointment.

All Associates are fully trained in proper animal handling techniques, using advanced training methods based on guidelines set forth in the Certified Kennel Operator course of the American Boarding Kennel Association. In addition, each location has a specific emergency management plan and a property evacuation plan. Fire Drills and emergency drills are run regularly at each center to ensure a state of high readiness exists at all times.

Our centers are monitored with emergency response systems for heating, cooling, smoke, fire and security 24-hours a day. We do not have staff members on site overnight, except at our Walt Disney World location. Our team members are on site in the early morning to feed, walk, check on and do activities with the pets every day, (regardless of published customer-facing Center hours) and do not leave until after all of the pets have been fed, and let out for their evening activities. For the dogs to have a restful, relaxing stay, it's critical that they are not disturbed overnight, and the presence of a staff member keeps the dogs awake and the dogs feeling more stressed as they are very sensitive to even the slightest noise. Each of our pet care centers has a relationship set-up with a highly reputable, local veterinary for emergency care. In the event of an true emergency, the Center will bring your pet to the closest high quality vet that we have a relationship with, otherwise we will do our best to bring your pet to your own vet on file with us if the matter is not urgent.

Every Best Friends facility has 24-hour, on-call veterinary support. We maintain relationships with several veterinary hospitals near each center so that we are always assured of emergency veterinary care whenever it is required.

Most of our pet care centers are fully air-conditioned for summer comfort and heated in the winter. About two-thirds of our properties also have outdoor exercise runs and play yards for outdoor activity, weather permitting.

Pets with significant medical needs are better off under a veterinarian's care than in our pet boarding centers, despite the qualifications of our well-trained staffs. We do not accept diabetic pets for boarding but will refer you to a highly qualified veterinarian who can board and administer treatments to your pet.

Our planned premium meal program at each of our pet care centers consist of precisely portioned feedings of nutritious Freely® kibble, a high quality, premium nutrition dog food. However, if your pet requires a special diet, we encourage you to bring their food when boarding. Our trained associates will follow your instructions to make sure your pet follows his regular diet. By pre-bagging each meal in a separate bag labeled with your pet's name, your pet will receive the exact amount of food that you feed him or her at home.

Your pets may have one or two toys to play with in their suite during their stay. If you bring toys from home, be sure to mark them with permanent ink with your last name. Your pets' toys will stay with them in their suites and we do our best to return all toys. Occasionally, a toy may be lost during a playtime or cleaning. If you prefer not to bring toys from home, you can purchase toys in our retail center for your pets stay. We request that you not bring in any of your pet's bedding for their boarding visit. We provide comfortable and sanitary lambswool bedding for all our pet guests. Pets can be highly possessive of their personal bedding, and may become agitated when our staff removes the bedding for sanitizing, which, for the health of all our pet guests, we must do each day. Also, we don't want blankets or other fabrics to get caught up or wrapped around the pet, which might cause them harm. Our bedding is hypoallergenic, safe and comfortable.

Best Friends has a mix of indoor/outdoor & indoor-only pet care centers. All Best Friends centers are highly sanitary and safe. Dogs in our care will eliminate in the exercise run of their two-room suite, in our playrooms, or outdoors (if the center is indoor/outdoor). These areas are well suited for this purpose, and are regularly sanitized. Our highly trained staff continuously monitors all elimination and consumption behavior, which is noted on each pet's chart.

Best Friends has both indoor and outdoor facilities. Please visit https://bestfriendspetcare.com/locations for the center you plan to board your pets at to find out specific details.

Best Friends offers playtime services for your pet. One of our trained associates will play, run, pet, brush, and cater to the needs of your pet in our large play areas. Reach out to your local Center to inquire about their special activities, playtime options and rates. Some centers also offer outdoor nature walks as part of their playtime program. Visit our pet care center nearest you at https://bestfriendspetcare.com/locations to see their specific playtime program.

We realize that plans do change, and wish to accommodate all of our customer's needs. So, a full refund of the deposit is provided upon 72 hours advance cancellation of the scheduled arrival date.

All Best Friends Pet Care locations require advance deposits for boarding reservations. Cancellations must be made 72 hours prior to arrival date (in advance) in order to receive a full refund of the deposit. Since so many of our customers rely on us to provide advance, verified reservations before they can finalize their family vacation or business travel plans, we must ensure that every reservation we accept is “real”, and highly likely to occur. It would be unfortunate to have to upset a family's vacation plans because of lack of available space, and then come to find that we could have accommodated them all along, because of late cancellations. This responsibility to our customers drives our deposit policy.

If your pets are boarded together in the same suite, we can offer you 20% off the rate of the second and, if applicable, third pet.

Yes, we can accommodate your wishes and board your pets together in the same suite, as space allows (typically we allow up to 3 dogs under 30 lb. each to board together in the same suite - this allows adequate space for each pet and promotes both comfort and safety). Up to three cats can be boarded together in one condo. Contact the location you plan to board your dogs and/or cats at for specific details

Our boarding rates vary depending on locations. Please visit our website and click on the location where you plan on boarding your pet. (https://bestfriendspetcare.com/locations) This will give you a complete list of the boarding rates for the size of your pet. Call that location to review any questions you may have, and to reserve a suite or grooming appointment.

Boarding can be indefinite, as long as we are pre-paid for each 30 days. There is a 10% discount for every 30-day stay, but these visits must be prepaid and we must have a credit card on file so that we can charge the boarding expense every 30 days.

Our primary concern is the welfare of our guests. For this reason, our minimum boarding age for dogs is 4 months. It is generally recommended that puppies get their first round of “adult” shots at 12 weeks (including rabies), and the second round at 16 weeks. Additionally, in any kennel environment, a young pup could possibly be exposed to air-borne viruses it could not fight off. Our recommendation is to board puppies at your veterinarian's office until they have reached our minimum age requirement.

Yes, we take reservations online for boarding, reservation requests for grooming, and the ability to reserve a spot in Doggy Day Camp. Please go to https://reservations.bestfriendspetcare.com .

We have a responsibility to ensure the health and safety of all the animals in our care, and so we require that every guest be vaccinated against certain serious, contagious diseases. Dog guests must have current vaccinations for Rabies, DHLPP and Bordetella; cat guests must be vaccinated against Rabies and FVRCP. We recommend updating your pet's vaccines a week or two in advance of your visit to ensure maximum protection for your own pet as well as others. For boarding and Doggy Day Camp, we also require a negative fecal test annually. For Doggy Day Camp, dogs need to be spayed or neutered. The Walk Disney World location has different vaccination and fecal test requirements. Please visit the following page to view the full set of requirements: https://www.bestfriendspetcare.com/vaccines

Yes, absolutely. Once you make your appointment and call upon arrival, a member of our staff will come out to greet you and take your pet into the hotel or your vehicle.

When your pet stays at Best Friends for Daycare, he is boarded in one of our spacious and comfortable Doggy Suites. We also give your pet a playtime session and treat. Daycare is offered by all Best Friends Pet Resorts. Doggy Day Camp is a popular, daytime group socialization session for dogs offered during weekdays at many of our pet care centers. Dogs spend the day in exercise and play with other dogs under the supervision of a specially trained counselor. To be eligible, dogs must be non-aggressive, at least 6 months old, and have been spayed or neutered. Dogs must be evaluated by a counselor to determine eligibility.

Doggy Day Camp is a popular, daytime group socialization class for dogs that meet certain criteria. The program is available at all of our pet care centers. Please check our listing of locations for service offerings in your area (https://bestfriendspetcare.com/locations) Selection criteria include spay or neutering, ability to interact with other dogs in a social setting without overt aggressiveness, absence of health concerns, which might limit physical activity or require one on one focused attention by an animal care technician, and the parent's ability to enroll the pet in a regular schedule of classes (not necessarily each day, but regularly enough to allow the pet to gain status within the pack, and to become comfortable in the surroundings. We also offer Puppy Play Group – our Doggy Day Camp for PUPPIES.

When your pet stays at Best Friends for Daycare, your pet is boarded in one of our spacious suites. We also give your pet a playtime session and treat. Please visit our website and click on the center you are interested in for rates: https://bestfriendspetcare.com/locations

No. In fact, we have a policy against the use of these devices in our grooming salons. Our Grooming Associates are trained to hand-dry pets after they have been bathed. The process involves brushing out the coat to remove shedding hair, while blowing it dry with equipment similar to, although larger than, the hair dryer you might use at home. When the pet's coat is almost completely dry, he is put into a holding compartment to rest. A high volume of ambient, room-temperature air is circulated in that compartment. We NEVER add heat to the circulating air. In addition, we are continually evaluating and upgrading the equipment at each of our facilities to ensure that all Best Friends salons are in compliance with our strict corporate standards. The health, safety and comfort of all of the pets in our care is of primary importance to us. We have established our grooming policies, selected the equipment we use, and trained our staff with those requirements in mind.

Grooming rates vary depending on the breed of your pet and the type of services you choose. Please click on the location of your choice to obtain the telephone number of the center (https://bestfriendspetcare.com/locations). Making a call directly to the center and discussing your pet's needs with a member of our professional grooming staff is the best way to obtain a quote.

Best Friends grooms all breeds of dogs and cats. We have trained groomers who specialize in breed-specific cuts. Please call the center directly for rates and to schedule an appointment.

From time to time, Best Friends offers special coupons that are good for specific services and time periods. When you use a Best Friends service, you are entered into our central database, and become eligible for these coupons and notification of special promotions and events. If you are not a customer, we encourage you to visit our website and sign up for our newsletter / mailing list to receive promotional offers from your local Best Friends Pet Hotel.

We will take pets as long as they are in good, physical condition - and can walk easily, play and are human-friendly. We take puppies as long as they have their required vaccines. If a pet is unable to walk or move, or seems ill, we may recommend a medical boarding location like a veterinary office. While we are trained to administer many types of medications, if you have any questions or concerns, it's best to reach out directly to the specifical Center you are interested in to discuss any specific questions or concerns.

We continue to provide the highest level of safety measures for protection against COVID-19, including curbside drop-off and pickup, gloves and face masks on all employees, and routine cleaning and sanitization with pet-friendly, non-toxic disinfectants for counters, suites, toys, bowls, grooming equipment, and playtime equipment.