The Paw-ticulars!
General Requirements
Note: the following are summaries. Complete requirements can be found in the Agreements section of your client portal.
Vaccinations
Several of the infectious diseases that pose the greatest risk for animals in pet care facilities are preventable through vaccination. Although each pet may have individual needs, having minimum vaccine requirements for all participating animals provides benefits to every animal at the facility.
All vaccinations must be completed at least two (2) weeks prior to your pet’s participation at our facility. This gives the body time to react to the vaccine and develop immunity.
In addition to vaccinations, we require all pets participating with us to be on a preventative program for fleas, ticks, and heart worms, and to provide a negative fecal parasite test. These parasites carry a number of illnesses and can cause severe maladies in their own right.
Dogs
- Rabies
- Distemper / Parvo Combo
- Bordetella (every 6 months)
- Flea, Tick, & Heartworm Prevention
- Negative Fecal Parasite Test
Cats
- FVRCP
- Rabies
- Flea & Tick Prevention
Adopted Pets
Providing a home for a pet that has none, is a noble endeavor, and we encourage and applaud our clients who adopt pets. Some of the best pets we’ve had were adoptees!
As much as we love adopted pets, they often come without much information regarding their health history. Because of these unknowns, we require an adopted pet to be in their new home for a minimum of 30 days prior to participating at BARK (in addition to the vaccine requirements above). This helps to ensure that any health concerns will have been noticed, and the pet will not unknowingly expose our other guests to illness.
Spay & Neuter Policy
At BARK, we encourage all of our clients to spay or neuter their pets. Too often, unplanned pet pregnancies lead to puppies or kittens that the owner is not prepared or able to keep. While all owners have the best of intentions on finding homes for these little ones, the unfortunate reality is that many of these babies do not find a home. The best way to prevent puppies and kittens from winding up in the shelter is to spay and neuter!
- Daycare - All pets over the age of nine months must be spayed/neutered in order to participate in daycare. (Exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis, and with a signed letter from your veterinarian.)
- Lodging - Intact pets are welcome to lodge with us!
- Grooming - Intact pets are welcome to be pampered in any of our grooming services!
Temperament
Safety – of our team members and of all the pets in our care – is our top priority here at BARK. For this reason, we are very serious about identifying the best options for a pet’s participation with us. Every pet that comes for a service at our facility will undergo an evaluation to determine the best options for them to participate with us. Our evaluations are intended to identify how a pet can participate with us. However, in some situations we cannot allow a pet to participate at our facility.
- Human Aggressive - Pets that are aggressive or have a history of aggression toward humans are not permitted at BARK. Our team must be able to handle the pet safely for them to participate in any of our services.
- Animal Aggressive - Pets that are aggressive or have a history of aggression toward animals are not permitted in any of our social services (daycare). Our evaluation will determine whether this pet is eligible for our non-social services (lodging, grooming).
- Animal Reactive - Pets that have a moderate negative temperament toward other pets will not be permitted in our social services (daycare), and usually are eligible for our non-social services (lodging, grooming). Our evaluation will confirm which services they are eligible to join.
We wish that we could accept every pet that wants to come play with us. Unfortunately, that is not the wise thing to do. We must be selective for the safety of our team members and the pets in our care.
If you’re not sure about your pet’s temperament, bring them in for an evaluation! We’d love to meet them and help you determine which of our services are a good fit.
