I had always thought that boarding dogs would be an easy & straightforward fix. I've never had a full grown puppy when I was a child, but I had always wanted one to take care of. I was jealous of all of my friends who had dogs and cats, and I would go over and play with their animals whenever I get a chance. My parents, however, hated pets. They did not want to have to put up with the mess, you see, and in addition they didn't trust me to take care of them.

When I turned 18 and got myself a dog, I wasn't really prepared for how much went into taking care of one. You see, I had never cared for an animal before. I quickly picked up on what was involved, however, and soon I was doing a bang up job of raising my pet. Everything went alright until I had to find boarding for dogs. That is when the trouble started.

There are many types of San Diego dog kennels around, and I had no idea what to look for when boarding dogs. I was running out of time however, and about to depart on a vacation. There is a place for boarding dogs down the street, and they seemed pretty clean and well run. I went in there and talked to the people who worked there, and they all seemed friendly. I couldn't actually go back to see the dogs, and this should have clued me in, but at the time I was oblivious. I wish I hadn't been ñ it took a long time for my dog to trust me again.

If you ever have to board a dog, even if it is only for a day or two, exercise extreme caution. Boarding dogs at the wrong place can be a disaster waiting to happen. You see, dog kennels run the gamut from very good to awfully bad. State-control and licensing is not very tight, and the dog boarding places can get away with basically anything when the doors are locked. I don't know what happened to my puppy, but I do know that he was shivering for a week after I got him back from the kennel. Whatever it was traumatized him badly, and it took him a long time to recover from it. You have a responsibility to take care of your pet, and that means not leaving it in a dangerous situation. Don't make the same mistake I did!