What's a "snow day"?

“What’s a snow day?  Who has one of those?”

Our staff is often shocked when we’re asked by people (customers, friends, family, etc.), “Well, what do you guys do when you have a blizzard or a hurricane?  Do you still have to work?”.  Many of our employees are surprised when people ask us that question.  Well, what do you think?  We have live animals here.  If we’re not there to feed them or take them outside who is going to? 

In the 20 years since we have opened our doors we have never missed a day due to bad weather.  We’re thinking about adopting the U.S. post office’s slogan of “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds”.  I guess we would have to change that just a little.  I think our motto of, “Dog’s come first” is pretty good on its own; what do you think?

During Hurricane Sandy many of our staff lost power.  We ourselves at Preferred Pet Care Inc. lost power.  Did we close our doors?  No, we did just the opposite.  Many of our customers were in the same predicament of us with losing power.  Some customers left their homes to stay at friends or relatives or to stay in a hotel.  Unfortunately some of them couldn’t bring along their furry friends.  So even with no power we had our doors opened for both boarding and daycare.  We had overnight boarding guests and we had pups for daycare too.  We operated on a slightly altered schedule, however overall it was business as usual.

Every winter when it snows we still have staff members here taking care of the pups.  Not only are we here feeding, cleaning, and playing with the pups but we’re also here shoveling to make sure the pups have a lush green yard to play in. 

The dedication our employees show is outstanding.  This past weekend with winter storm Jonas both our Saturday & Sunday weekend crew were here providing the same fantastic care that we always do.  What’s a little snow?  (Alright maybe a lot of snow depending on who you ask).  The snow would not deter our employees from coming in and taking care of our overnight guests.  Many people had a “snow day” today due to the aftermath of the storm, but here at Preferred Pet Care Inc. we wonder, “What’s a snow day?.”  Just another day at Preferred Pet Care Inc., business as usual, and that’s all thanks to our outstanding employees (Thanks everyone!).  

Are you just like your dog?

Are you just like your dog?

Pet Products News International December 2015 Issue:

Study Finds People Choose Dogs That Act Like Them

We’ve all heard the old cliché that people look like their dogs, but would you be surprised to find out that people and their dogs tend to socialize, eat and learn new skills in very similar ways, too?

            According to the Natural Balance Canine Personality Study—a survey of 1,015 U.S. dog owners conducted by Burbank, Calif-based Natural Balance Pet Foods in conjunction with Learndipity Data Insights—Americans love dogs who often are just like them.

            Sixty-six percent of extroverted people have extroverted dogs—and there’s a 65 percent chance that an introverted dog will have an introverted human owner.  If you’re a choosy eater, your dog is three times more likely to be one as well.  If you identify as a lifelong learner, then there’s a 72 percent chance your dog will be good at learning new tricks. 

            Dogs display complex emotions, just like we do.

            Dogs’ personalities are highly nuanced, and they experience many emotions that are all too familiar to us humans.  If you’re hurt or late coming home, 90 percent of dog owners believe your dog is worried about you.  Seventy-nine percent say dogs can feel embarrassment, while 93 percent are certain they’ve seen their dog smile. 

            Dogs strongly influence the emotions of their human owners.

            According to 79 percent of dog owners, their dogs consciously and actively attempt to comfort them.  Fifty-five percent report that their dog looks at them with loving eyes that communicate deep emotion; 52 percent say their dog is able to accurately sense when they are sad.  

Holidays-Boarding Stays

Even though the holidays just came to a close it is never too early to book your dog’s boarding stay with us.  A good rule of thumb is that anytime schools are out that we are busy and may potentially be booked.  Some holidays/times to keep in mind are as follows: New Years, Martin Luther King Jr Day, Presidents Day (*may schools have winter break over this time), Spring Break/Easter, Memorial Day, 4^th of July, the months of July & August, Labor Day, Teacher’s convention (typically the first weekend in November), Thanksgiving, and Christmas season (typically from December 22^nd thru to January 2^nd).  Our best suggestion is to reserve your pup’s boarding reservation at least 4-6 weeks before your planned vacation.  If you’re unsure if you may need to cancel or change the boarding dates we highly recommend purchasing boarding insurance.  The boarding insurance is an additional fee, however it does allow you to cancel up until 6pm the day before the scheduled arrival date. 

This past year 2015 we booked up for the Christmas season before the end of November.  If you call and we are booked for the time frame you are looking for always ask about a waiting list.  We did have some people cancel their plans and therefore allowed for some of our customers on the waiting list to have a spot open up for them.  However please keep in mind we do only have a so many rooms that we can book.  Unfortunately once we are full we can’t just make new rooms to accommodate everyone.  We hate turning of customers away, and we wish we could accommodate everyone.  But unfortunately it’s not always possible. 

Additionally we do have a limit for how many individual dogs we can take, so that means if your dog is not with the other dogs (if they are not in our playgroup: if they don’t get along with the other dogs, or if you would prefer them not to be introduced) they are considered to be an individual dog.  Each “individual” dog receives at least ten minutes every hour of individual staff attention.  We will NOT compromise on the quality of care therefore we have a limit for how many individual dogs we can accommodate.  

Preferred Pet Care Inc takes care of our overnight guests 365 days a year (366 this year thank you Leap Year).  We are only closed six days out of the year: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, 4^th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.  Even though our front office is CLOSED on those holidays there is still staff who is away from their family and friends working taking care of all our pups here.