Frequently Asked Questions

See here for a list of vaccinations we require

The most important item to bring is proof of your pet's current vaccinations from your veterinarian. We do not accept check-off type health booklets. For everyone's health and safety, if we cannot confirm that your pet is current on all vaccinations, we will not allow your pet to enter our boarding facilities.

While you will be required to provide some of your contact information on a check-in card when you board your pet, you should also bring an itinerary with phone numbers. (a hotel phone number, cell phone or pager number is fine) We want to be able to reach you should we have a question concerning the care of your pet. We will be glad to call a family member or friend, but our preference is to be able to reach you directly.

Please, for the safety of your pet, bring your dog in on a leash and your cat in a carrier.

If this is the first time your friend has stayed with us, please allow at least 10 to 20 minutes for the check-in process. Please keep in mind that you may not be the only person checking in when you arrive.

You will be asked to fill out a check-in card that will require your contact information and signature. You will also need to bring your shot records.

No. While we understand that you may want to leave your pet’s personal bedding with them when you drop them off, we will not accept outside bedding for sanitary reasons and for the safety of your pet.

We provide bedding for all of our canine and feline guests. All canine accommodations include either raised platforms, hammocks or toddler beds. (NOTE: for your pet's safety, we will remove bedding items from their accommodations if they destroy them.)

We care for our canine and feline guests 365 days of the year. We are not on the premises 24 hours a day, but we do have a monitored security system, fire system and cameras throughout the facility.

Ellie's Pet Hotel is a family-owned and operated business. As much as we enjoy our work, we also feel it is important to spend time together as a family outside of work. We can do this only by setting limits on what we are able to do for our clients, and that means not keeping regular hours on Sundays and holidays. We are unable to accommodate special drop-off and pick-up times outside the hours of 9 A.M. and 5 P.M. Monday through Saturday, so please don’t ask. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

We realize that our hours may be inconvenient for some people and we will try and accommodate special requests between the hours of 9 A.M. and 5 P.M. Monday through Friday (additional charges may apply), but not on Sunday or Holidays. Unfortunately, any other special requests will no longer be accepted.

Like all businesses, boarding facilities must set hours of operation that allow them to best serve their clients. But as your pets are being cared for by a family who works seven days a week, we keep these hours to help us balance our "real life" with the work we love. By not having 9 to 5 hours we can run errands, attend doctor and veterinarian appointments or parent-teacher conferences, and meet other basic needs as it is convenient. If we hired someone to be here in our absence, we would have to raise the hotel rates. We know that your pet is happier being cared for each day by the same people; not a staff of constantly changing strangers.

As the paying client you are very important to us, but once your pet is checked in he or she becomes our priority. A large part of our work is done before and after "office hours." When pet care demands are high, during busy weekends and holidays it is not uncommon for us to be here 14 or more hours each day. Our entire staff of caregivers is devoted to pet care. This is our life, not just a job, and we love what we do. By setting limits, we can continue doing business for you indefinitely.

We recommend you bring an old shirt that you slept or worked in recently. That way your friend has a comfort item with your familiar scent on it. Pets visiting us for the first time may be nervous. Providing that piece of "you" helps them adjust better. Depending upon your pet's age and temperament, he will go through an adjustment period anywhere from a few hours to one or two days. Younger pets adjust rapidly and enjoy the social interaction. As you know, pets pick up on the moods of their people. If you are cheerful and upbeat instead of tense and reluctant when you say goodbye to your pet, he or she will adjust more quickly. We often hear returning clients make comments such as, "Fluffy was so excited to get here today." Please relax and know that your pet will soon adjust. We do all that we can to help guests relax and enjoy their stay.

Yes, we encourage you to bring toys and treats for your pet. You know what they like and we enjoy treating them! Please use some discretion in selecting toys that your pet will not chew into small pieces. Labeling your treat bags is appreciated.

No, we provide everything necessary to care for your pets in the form of a dry diet. You need to provide the food only if your dog or cat is on a veterinarian-prescribed diet or you don't want your pet to change brands during his stay.

If you decide to bring your own food there is no additional charge for one item only. If you need us to do more than one food there will be an additional .50 charge for each item for each feeding. Examples:

• Dry only: Free
• Can only Free
• Dry (ours OR yours ) and can. .50 per feeding
• Dry and can and additional item $1.00 per feeding. And so on for each item added.

Please note that sometimes stomach upset can occur from a change of diet. In rare cases, your pet may exhibit symptoms of upset stomach (diarrhea). This can be from excitement or the change in food or water; if they are not running a fever or showing other signs of illness they should be themselves within 48 hours. Sometimes withholding food for 24 hours will help. If your pet shows any signs of illness, please call your veterinarian and us.

No, we provide clean, stainless steel food and water bowls or buckets depending on your pet's size.

Yes, we will be happy to for no additional charge in most cases, if it is twice a day only and during normal business hours. For no charge administration, the medication must be oral and you must provide the encasement of the pill to make it palatable. There will be an additional .50 charge for each pill given if we must force feed the pill, do a shot or any other complex pill hiding for each time. There is also an additional .50 charge if the medicine is for eyes or ears each time we administer it.

Please feel free to discuss the fees with us if you have questions.

Thank you for your understanding.

Yes, we have heating systems for the winter and air conditioning for the summer. Your friend will stay very comfortable no matter what the outside temperature or weather is like.

Every pet has his or her own room for sleeping, eating and relaxing, and our canine guests will also be treated to time in the play yard by themselves, but not with any other canine guests. We would love to be able to let them play together, but to do that there must be someone with them at all times, and we are not currently able to accommodate that request. Dogs from the same family may play together, according to your requests.

Yes, all of our canine accommodations are very spacious. We encourage you to keep them together unless they fight over food or treats. If they do fight over food, we can arrange for them to be fed separately but still housed together (additional charges may apply). Please consider your dog's size and activity level when choosing an accommodation for them. Multiple pet discounts are given only in the indoor-outdoor runs, indoor-outdoor suites and pampered pet rooms.

Most definitely! We want them to be happy and will follow your directions to achieve that.

Yes, if they are of average size and get along fine, we would encourage you to choose to do so. We recommend that you choose to board your multiple cats in the suites, as they are more spacious and fun! NOTE: Multiple cat discounts are given only to those housed in the suites.

Unfortunately we cannot accommodate that request at this time. We know that dogs and cats can be best friends at home but they may act differently in this environment and we don't feel comfortable taking any risks with your pets.

We would never expect them to. That is why we give them at least two exercise times each day in the play areas.

We have an excellent veterinarian in very close proximity to our facility that has in the past been wonderful in accommodating our needs. There is also an emergency veterinary facility nearby that is open all night and on holidays. We treat every guest as we would our own children and will assure them the best attention available.

Dogs

Outdoor

$14.50 per day.

Indoor

$16.00 per dog per day.

Indoor and outdoor

$18.00 for one dog $17.00 for each dog after that kept in the same accommodation per day.

Indoor and outdoor suite

$21.00 for one dog $18.00 for each dog after that kept in the same accommodation per day.

Pampered pet suites

$23.00 for one dog $21.00 for each dog after that kept in the same accommodation per day.

Cats

Condos

$11.00 for the first cat and $10.50 for each additional cat kept together in the same suite

Luxury suites

$14.00 per day for the first cat $11.00 for each additional cat kept together in the same suite.

* Prices subject to change at any time. Please verify your charge at check in.

As of 2017 we now accept credit/debit for an additional 5% fee. We have incorporated the additional fee to keep our daily rates low and to give our clients the opportunity to save money.

Choose us and your problem is solved. (joking) Before boarding your pet, we strongly encourage pet owners to take the time to visit all of the facilities you areconsidering. Don't just visit the office area; ask to see the actual kennel area where the pets are boarded. Are the kennels and surrounding areas clean? Talk to the owners and staff of the kennel. Do they appear to be knowledgeable and kind? Be sure to ask what time would be best to visit, as each facility has different hours.

Most commercial facilities are kept to high standards of cleanliness. What you are really looking at are different types of facilities that offer different kinds of accommodations, policies, rates and care. You can see and read about them on the Internet, in brochures or photos, and you can certainly get references from your friends and other pet care professionals.

We guarantee that we will always be here from 9:00 to 10:00 am and 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, so you can always stop by then. Or, if you are driving by and we are open you are welcome to come in then.

If that is not convenient, you may see where your pet is going to stay when you bring them in for their vacation.

NOTE: We ask you to tour our facility only once as the more visitors we have and the more frequent the tours, the more stimulating and sometimes distressing it can be for our pet guests. We want to keep your pet's vacation as relaxing and stress-free as possible. Imagine how you would feel if every few minutes your hotel brought strangers in to tour your hotel room? Not very relaxing at all! Because our guest's welfare is our highest priority, we must limit the tours.

We will not give tours to anyone during holidays when we are completely booked, unless their pets are staying with us during that time. We hope you can respect our guests' needs.

Ellie's Pet Hotel has been in existence since the early 1990s. Prior to April of 2004, it was known as West Forest Kennels and Grooming.

All guests are visually checked upon arrival for general health, external parasites and skin and coat condition. Any existing condition that may affect the health or welfare of the pet or our other guests will be addressed, at the owner's expense, before the pet may enter the boarding areas. Also, requiring that all guests have current vaccinations helps us to keep everyone safe.

See here for a list of vaccinations we require

Obviously, critically ill pets or pets that are carrying any type of potentially contagious disease are not accepted for boarding.

See here for a list of vaccinations we require

Unfortunately, we no longer offer grooming services. However, most boarded pets stay clean and do not require a bath before coming home.

Unfortunately, we no longer offer grooming services.

No, I am sorry. We spend most of our time caring for and playing with our guests and are rarely by the computer. And since availability changes by the minute, we need you to make all appointments (or cancellations) by phone (435-723-1184) or in person. We also require a credit card when we make your reservation and we only accept that information over the phone or in person.

We would never expect them to. That is why we give them at least two exercise times each day in the play areas.

We are often full and must turn away potential clients. Therefore, it is our policy that you must cancel your reservations at least 72 hours in advance of the day/time of check in or you will forfeit the $50.00 deposit that you made when you reserved your accommodations. If your pet is currently staying at the hotel you also must cancel your reservations at least 72 hours in advance or or you will be charged for the full length of time you have reserved.