Boarding Release Form

Our vaccine standards protect the health of your pet, as well as the other pets in our care. We ask that dogs have current Rabies, DHP, and Bordetella vaccines prior to boarding; and cats are current on Rabies and FVRCP vaccines.

If your pet’s most recent vaccinations were not given at our hospital, please bring documentation with you to your check-in appointment, or ask one of our client care representatives’s to call for vaccine records. If any of your pet’s vaccinations are past due, they can be updated during your pet’s stay; however, most vaccines are not immediately effective and your pet may still be at risk.

In the event that a pet bites or in any other way injures one of our staff members, most human medical facilities have policies that require the pet be reported to the Virginia Health Department. In order to protect your pet from the harsher quarantines reserved for pets with a lapse in rabies protection or an unverifiable vaccine status, we require that your pet is current on his or her rabies vaccine.

We maintain a flea-free facility to ensure your pet’s comfort and to prevent the spread of parasites from one animal to another.

If your pet has evidence of fleas or ticks upon arrival, an appropriate treatment and preventative will be applied at an additional expense. This is to prevent flea infestation in our facility as well as ensuring your pet does not go home with fleas.

Your pet may require bathing services at some point during this visit. Required services can range from a simple spot bath for muddy paws, to a partial sanitary bath, or even a full cleansing. Services will be performed at the discretion of our boarding staff and additional charges may apply.

Pets that are not spayed or neutered may require special boarding accommodations for all or part of a boarding visit. This may include additional housekeeping for repeated urine marking or isolated boarding for pets in heat. Additional charges may apply.

Pets that are aggressive often require special handling and additional team members to safely provide care during their stay. In certain circumstances, this may result in an additional per day fee for all or part of the pet’s stay.

We reserve the right to decline, at any time, to board any pet due to aggression if we feel that doing so would be too stressful for the pet or unsafe for our staff.

We recommend that you bring your pet’s own food from home because a sudden change in diet can cause dietary upset. However, we do have a variety of quality foods available to meet the nutritional needs of your pet. We offer Science Diet Sensitive Stomach at no additional charge. Additional brands and prescription diets are also available for purchase.

If your pet will not eat the food provided, we will try canned food or special food or a high calorie supplement to ensure good nutrition. Additional charges may apply.

If your pet will be receiving medication (OTC or prescription) or supplements during their stay, products must be in the original packaging or a veterinary-labeled container with instructions for administration. There is no additional charge for administering oral medications, topical medications, and eye or ear medications. Fees for medications that need to be filled or refilled during the time your pet is boarding will be added to your invoice.

Your pet will stay in our comfortable accommodations with clean, plush bedding to relax on. If you would rather they have their own bedding from home or any other comfort items, you are more than welcome to bring them. However, personal items may be left at your own risk.

We are not responsible for loss or damage to personal items. If you do leave any personal bedding or items with your pet, we ask that you allow us to identify each item with permanent marker so that it may be laundered each day. We cannot allow your pet to have unsupervised access to any toy, chew, rawhide, treat, or personal item that may pose a possible health or safety risk. Personal items may not be immediately available at your pet’s check-out appointment.

For safety reasons, pet are not placed in kennels wearing a collar and all dogs are walked using two noslip leashes. Please bring your pet’s leash, collar, or carrier to your scheduled check-out appointment. If your pet requires a specialized harness or leash for health or behavioral reasons, please discuss this with the LVT at your check-in appointment so that we can make appropriate accommodations.

If we are not, in the event of an emergency, it may be necessary to contact your regular veterinarian for medical information.

What is the name and contact information of your current (most recent) veterinary office?

Although we cannot guarantee the health of any animal, we will always provide appropriate care to your pet if needed. Your pet will not be seen by a veterinarian unless you request it or a member of our staff notices a problem and brings it to the attention of the veterinarian.

Sometimes it is not possible to leave a problem untreated until you return. If we are unable to reach either you or your emergency contact at the numbers provided, we will always act in the best interest of your pet’s health and comfort. In this instance, your pet will be treated as conservatively as possible. Examples of conditions requiring treatment are (but are not limited to) possible ear or skin infections, urinary difficulties, diarrhea, vomiting, not eating, not defecating, and coughing.

In the event that we cannot reach you, an emergency contact of your choosing can act on your behalf. When you appoint an emergency contact, you are authorizing us to discuss your pet’s present health and past medical records. You are authorizing your emergency contact to make decisions for your pet’s medical care and to consent or decline diagnostics and treatment. This authorization is effective only during the duration of this boarding visit and expires when your pet checks out.

Please make sure that that the person you appoint as your emergency contact is aware of this responsibility, and that you trust their judgment. You are responsible for the cost of any care your emergency contact authorizes for your pet.

We recommend you appoint an emergency contact even if you have pre-authorized any and all services.

Our High-Risk Boarding program provides personalized care for pets that have special healthcare needs or that require extra TLC. High-Risk boarders have a health assessment daily, additional monitoring, and a customized care plan to meet their individual health and comfort needs. There is an additional per day fee for high risk boarding.

We recommend high-risk boarding for our super-senior pets (15+) and for any pet with a diagnosed medical condition such as (but not limited to) epilepsy, renal failure, liver disease, neoplasia, laryngeal paralysis, collapsing trachea, a history of bloat, megacolon, or megaesaphagus.

High risk boarding is not for patients who are ill. If a patient is determined to be in need of medical care at the time of check-in, the patient may be admitted for hospitalization, not boarding, or may be referred to a 24 hour care facility.

At the veterinarian’s discretion, a pet may be required to board as high risk so that we can adequately provide a safe boarding experience. Pets that require injectable medications, isolated boarding with observation, or specialized treatments may be required to board as high risk.

Your pet will receive a free health assessment during your check-in appointment. While this assessment is not the same as a comprehensive physical examination with a veterinarian, our skilled licensed veterinary technicians are able to identify health concerns that may need to be addressed during your pet’s stay.