Trevor Turner, B. Vet. Med., MRCVS

First published in July/August 2004 Edition

Since Commercial accommodation standards vary both for us and our pets. Minimum standards for our pets, at least if they are dogs and cats, are controlled by the Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963 since boarding kennels for dogs and cats have to be licensed by the Local Authority.

Minimum standards for us may not be quite so clearly defined but nevertheless are in place via legislation, particularly that involved with Health and Safety. These, however, impose minimum standards and just as accommodation for us can range from the meagre doss-house to five-star luxury, so more and more kennel accommodation is gradually becoming available that is far above the standards required by the current, albeit somewhat elderly, legislation enacted in 1963.

Presumably there is a market for this luxurious accommodation but is it really necessary as far as the welfare of the consumers, our pets, is concerned?

A couple of years ago Kennel & Cattery Management ran a piece on just such accommodation under the title of ‘Top Class Animal Hotel.’ This generated a lot of interest and comment and, I have to say, not a little criticism. Having read, and re-read both the original article and some of the comments it generated, it seems to me that the old adage of it is not what you say but how you say it may well be invoked. Therefore I am departing from my usual practice and will use anonymous quotes from the original piece and comments received, leaving the authors to comment if they wish.

It was explained in the piece that the original idea of “Opening boarding kennels began as the result of the experience of a couple who used to breed and show Afghan hounds, who after visiting over 27 kennels became so depressed over standards that they nearly cancelled their holiday.”

This was also my experience in those far off days, only two years after the Boarding Establishments Act came into being when I expanded my veterinary practice to include a separate, 30-mile-distant, boarding kennels. It is mentioned in the piece that this animal hotel has “37 members of staff to look after over 300 animals.” Unfortunately we are not told how many dogs and cats the kennels are licensed to accommodate. There is, however, mention of “rabbits, birds and even larger animals such as horses.” We are not informed whether those 37 people are full or part time, voluntary, work experience or employees. This is important because one correspondent with kennels licensed for 26 dogs and 13 cats points out that they have a total of five staff and “this probably gives us a higher ratio of staff to animals with the advantage that the small numbers with proprietors working the majority of the hours means an intimate knowledge of the animals plus continued continuity of care.”

I would concur with this comment having had the same experience during the growth of my own kennels from the early days of total owner participation until it grew to be finally licensed for over 300 animals. The difficulties of ensuring continuity of care and staff /animal bonding grew as the kennels grew.