I should have heeded my own advice: during peak holiday times you need to book your dog into your favourite kennel wayyyy in advance.  My dog’s favourite place to hang out when I’m out of town is the Rex Dog Hotel (see earlier blog about the Rex). There’s a reason all the good boarding facilities book up early, it’s simply just that…  they’re good.   In the case of the Rex I feel no guilt or concern leaving Kaya in their care as I know she’s being well taken care of. She gets one-on-one pampered care in a clean, comfortable, spa-like setting (think upscale hotel for dogs), where I can rest assured she’ll be treated like a queen. And if there’s any cause for concern, they’ll give me a call. For instance, as an old dog (she’s 15 years old this month), she’s got lots of little lumps and bumps and specifically, a small growth on one of her eyelids. On one of her stays there, Barry (the owner of the Rex) was concerned when the growth started to get red and bleed a bit. He called me and asked me if he could take her into my Vet to get it looked at. He was then able to get a salve for it and by the time I returned from my trip to pick her up, the sore spot was healing nicely.  That’s the kind of care you want to have for your dog in your absence and that’s why you need to book long in advance of holidays. I’m on the Rex’s waiting list for the upcoming Christmas holidays… keep your fingers crossed for me that there will be a cancellation, otherwise I’ll be changing my own travelling plans. And next year, I’ll be booking early. Really early.

Here’s a series of photos of Kaya at a recent stay at the Rex. With a built-in clock that tells her it’s getting close to dinner time, she’s on the red-alert for signs that food is on its way.

In this first photo, I can tell she’s thinking about it:

Not one to sit around waiting when she might help speed things along, here she’s casually strolling out to the kitchen area:

And in this third photo, she’s checking up on the kitchen staff to see if she might help with the preparation: