We are excited to announce that Paws In Time now has a new groomer, Christine Jackson. Christine comes to us with 7 years experience grooming a wide variety of dogs. Grooming hours will remain the same, Tuesday through Saturday 9am-6pm. Please remember to book your holiday grooming appointments as soon as possible. Feel free to stop by and meet the newest member of our crew, Christine!
Paws In Time’s client base has grown substantially in the past several months. Although Jo and I try to cover all the information when we give tours sometimes people have questions once they leave the building. Hopefully we can answer some of your questions in this column, but feel free to contact us if there is something we left out.
Can I split my full day into two half days?
Unfortunately we cannot split full days into half days. A full day of play is $27.00 A half day of play is $18.00. If we split a full day into two half days we would actually have to charge you $36.00. If you think there would be days when your dog would only play half days and other days would play full days it may be in your best interest to purchase a full and a half day package. The days never expire and the computer would then take the appropriate day off your account when your dog is here to play.
Do you offer daycare on Sundays?
Our daycare hours of operation are Monday through Saturday from 7:00 am until 6:00 pm. Only boarding dogs are offered play on Sundays.
Do I tip the groomer?
Although tips are customary in this situation they are not required. The majority of our clients do tip the groomer. At this time Julie, Asher, and Lyn are grooming on a limited basis.
Why do you require a Bordatella vaccine every 6 months when my vet says it’s only needed once a year?
The state of Illinois requires Bordatella vaccinations every 6 months for daycare/boarding facilities. Your vet is correct that normal dogs only need this once a year if they are not attending a daycare.
Do my dogs have to be in daycare if they are boarding?
Yes. Our client base has grown to the point where we cannot offer boarding without daycare any longer. If you choose to board your dog in a suite you will have the option of half day or full daycare while kennels will still require full daycare.
Why do I need to check my dog in for boarding by 2:00?
The afternoon gets very busy. Dogs are being picked up from daycare as well as boarding dogs getting put away to be fed. We want your dog to be as comfortable as possible while boarding with us. The 2:00 boarding time allows your dog to go back and play before being put away for the night. It allows your dog to burn off some energy before being tucked in for the night.
Can I pay my bill on-line?
No, but you can pay your bill over the phone. If you would like to keep your credit card on account with us let us know and we can charge your card with your authorization. We now accept Visa, Mastercard, and Discover for your convienence.
Do you board cats?
No. The cats you see in our lobby are cats that live here at our facility. We do not have plans at this time to board cats.
What is happening with the plans for expansion?
We have put all plans for expansion on hold at this time due to the current economic situation. We hope to expand in the future and will keep everyone up to date as to when that time is.
Paws in Time offers two options for your daycare needs, either full day or half day daycare. What is the difference between the two? Time. A half day of daycare consists of 5 hours of play–any 5 hours. This means you do not have to bring your dog in at a specific time, but the clock starts when you bring the dog in. If you come in at 10:00 you need to pick your dog up by 3:00. If you bring the dog in at noon you will need to come back by 5:00.
A full day of play consists of anytime over 5 hours of play. Once your dog is here he/she can stay and play the rest of the day. You don’t need to worry about the clock.
A fact that many of you may not be aware is that the computer keeps track of the time your dog spends here. We check your dog into the computer when you drop him/her off and we check your dog out when you come back to pick up. The computer starts the clock at check in and stops it at check out. It is at this time that the appropriate day (half or full) is taken off your account–all done by the computer. Therefore, it is very important that you watch the time if you are a half day customer as the computer will charge you for a full day if you are over your 5 hour time limit. Even if you are at 5 hours and 1 minute the computer will be charging for a full day of play.
Can you believe it is already October? The time is flying by. Please remember to book your holiday reservations now. We are currently on a waiting list for Thanksgiving and part of the Christmas break. Spring Break is filling quickly!
We have gotten back into the swing of things this fall with both kids and dogs going back to school. One would assume that means things have quieted down here at Paws In Time but we are as busy as ever! Please do not assume that because school is in session our boarding has slowed down. Our weekends are selling out almost every week and long holiday weekends fill up fast! As of September 15 the week of Thanksgiving is sold out of kennels and suites and only a few condos remain available. Please call as soon as possible to book your boarding.
This leads in to a new policy we have had to enact. Starting September 1 the office staff has had to institute a cancellation policy for boarding. If you cancel your boarding stay less than 24 hours in advance a $40.00 fee will be charged. Many weekends we have had wait lists for boarding and when a customer cancels the morning of boarding it can be difficult to then fill that kennel. Not only do we have an empty kennel but other customers that had wanted to board here with us have had to make other plans and can no longer take that kennel.
Fall brings bees. Please watch your dog carefully as many dogs think buzzing bees are just like floating Milk Bones! Bees can fly low to the ground and dogs may step on them. The kennel staff is diligent in ridding the play yard of these bees but somehow one or two dogs still manage a bee sting during the fall.
Please let us know if you think there is something we can be doing differently. Thanks to the many suggestions that we take credit cards Julie finally saw the light. If there is something we can do to make playdays better we would like to hear it. You can let us know in person or drop us a comment on the blog page.
There are some new policy changes to our boarding reservations that will take place as of September 1, 2008. We hope these changes make for smoother arrivals and departures.
All boarding dogs must check in between 7:00 am and 2:00 pm. A late arrival fee of $25.00 will be added after 2:00. We know that most of you are at work and this may seem inconvienent to you but it is much easier on the dogs. We do offer a shuttle if you need us to pick up or deliver your dog.
Your invoice must be paid at time of arrival. We now offer the convienence of using your Visa, MasterCard, or Discover in addition to cash and checks. We will take payment over the phone or in person. We will no longer be accepting payment on Sundays.
Vaccinations must be updated when your dog comes in for his/her boarding stay. We cannot stress enough how important it is for everyone to be up to date on all shots as well as flea and tic prevention. Bordatella is a vaccine that is required by the state of Illinois every six months. If your dog is boarding with us and is out of date on vaccinations we will transport him/her to the vet at your cost. Please make sure this is done before you check in.
Our front office hours are Monday through Friday from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. Please call during those times if you have questions about boarding or billing. Daycare is offered Monday through Saturday from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. We do not offer Sunday daycare.
Please respect our Sunday hours of operation. We are available for you to pick up your dog from 6:00-8:00 am, 11:00-1:00 pm and 6:00-8:00 pm. We do not open before then and we do not allow you to pick up dog after those times.
Welcome to our new Paws In Time blog. Hopefully this will be helpful to all of you as we have so much information we need to share.
Starting September 1 Paws in Time wil no longer accept unaltered dogs for boarding. All boarding dogs will now need to be daycare appropriate as we have chosen to discontinue the “no daycare” option for suite boarding. Due to our rapid growth we now need to use the small playroom as an additional play space. This means that we do not have the ability to provide private play space for non-daycare dogs.
This now means that all dogs will be required to be in daycare while boarding. Dogs in suites will still have the option of half day daycare as well as full day daycare. Therefore, if your dog is not socialized with other dogs we will be unable to provide boarding services.
Please remember that the holidays are approaching. We are more than half booked for Spring Break. If you need a reservation call us as soon as you can. Grooming appointments should be set at this time as we don’t have the ability to give your dog a bath on the day of pickup without a prior appointment. All vaccination records need to be up to date at the time of boarding. This includes having a Bordatella vaccination within the last 6 months. That is a state law.
There are new reservation policies that need to be addressed. Some of you may not know that we charge a $25.00 late fee for checking in after 2:00. This policy is not meant to make your life more inconvienent but rather to make it an easier transition for the boarding dog. Life here at Paws In Time gets rather hectic in the afternoons. Bringing a dog in for boarding late in the day is very stressful to your dog. We are hoping to alleviate as much stress as possible. Another new policy is that as of September 1, 2008 Paws In Time will be requiring a 24 hour cancellation notice for boarding reservations. You are asked to call the office by 10:00 am the day prior to boarding if you need to cancel. A cancellation fee of $40.00 will be charged if we do not hear from you by that time. Unfortunately, we can no longer credit your account for early pick up. We have long waiting lists and when you pick your dog up early it means we have a vacant kennel that could have otherwise been filled. Our last new policy is that we will soon begin requiring a 50% deposit on all boarding reservations with the remaining balance due at time of check in.
And now for the announcement you have all been waiting for!!!! Paws In Time will begin accepting Visa and Mastercard later this fall. Check back to the blog for more information. As soon as we know all the details we will let you know!
Check back soon for information on our new nail packages!!!