Suburban Animal Hospital Pet Boarding Kennel

Cat Boarding Facilities

At Suburban Animal Hospital in Arlington, Virginia, we board animals 365 days a year. Boarding facility for cats is located on the very quiet second floor. No dogs allowed. I located the cat boarding and cat treatment area in front of the doctor's offices which provide the doctor the luxury of observing our feline residents every time the doctor leaves or returns to their desk. The feline housing is called a cat condo which is a larger then normal size cage, complete with a sleeping deck in each room. Each room in the condo has an open portal allowing our friend to literally have a two-room suite. The multi-room configuration may not be provided for injured animals or during busy boarding times. The cat condo also has a plexiglass backing allowing our feline friends to have an outside window view or a view into another room, and this reduces boredom.

Dog Boarding Facilities

The boarding facility for our dogs is downstairs, with access to a protected walking yard. Each dog is individually walked on a leash allowing the kennel technician to observe bowel elimination, urination and general health directly. Walking on a leash allows a one-person-to-one-dog interaction, allowing better observation of your dog. The leash also provides another level of security by keeping each individual boarding dog separated from the other. Remember, the dog society is based on the pack (the family) with the strongest, most aggressive dogs at the top. In a short term, continually changing situations of a boarding kennel a dog’s natural order becomes uncertain, which leads to inter-dog aggression and / or anxiety. The dog is a domesticated animal, and the canine recognizes the human instinctively as the leader or true alpha. The human - dog walking teams tend to reduce anxiety and aggression. I recognize that many dogs do very well in dog parks and at puppy play kennels; however, I also deal frequently with medical injuries from dog fights sustained at each place. The dogs are walked early morning, midmorning, early afternoon, late afternoon and evening. One wall of the canine boarding area is made of impact-resistant glass allowing direct view of our dogs in residence directly from the main treatment room.

Our boarding is limited to active medical clients of Suburban Animal Hospital, defined as a pet being examined by one of our doctors within the previous 11 months. All vaccinations must be up to date, all pets arriving dirty or with fleas will require a bath and flea treatment. The veterinarian caring for any sick boarder will notify the owner of any animal immediately. The owner will be given an assessment of treatment and diagnostics required and will be given an appropriate quote for such treatment. Minor diarrhea and poor appetite from separation anxiety are usually treated with mild medications or food change and at no additional charge. If we cannot contact the owner through the emergency, home or work phone numbers, we will initiate treatment to prevent suffering or sustain life. However, euthanasia without consent of owner will never be performed. The client will be expected to pay for all medical treatment. We reserve the right to refuse any pet that is overly aggressive.