Holiday Specials!

All retail items* 20% off
This includes toys, treats, logo wear (a few vintage hats), vitamins and more!
* Dog Food not included

Extra Day Care Space Available Weekdays until December 23rd
Email or Call for an appointment.

DogGirl Style, a new beaded jewelry line (for Humans) made especially for you by DogGirl is now available in the office! All pieces are one of a kind, and custom pieces are available. Email DogGirl for more info.

Policy Changes for 2004

In our constant effort to keep things running smoothly we are making a few changes for 2004. You already know about prepaid day care, and 50% deposits for Thanksgiving and Christmas reservations. The most significant change is an increase in prices for boarding dogs from $25 to $30/night, with additional dogs being given a 30% discount ($21).

Rate Increase
The main reason behind the increase is the demand far outweighing the supply, and the increase in the quality staff required (nearly 20 now) to take care of all the pups we've seen lately.

To help soften the blow, we thought you might like to see how we stand up in comparison to the rates of other kennels. Below is a link to an Excel spreadsheet showing some of our competitors and the cost of a comparable stay. Keep in mind that most kennels charge per day, with a cut off pickup time of noon. This means that if you drop off Monday morning and pickup Tuesday after work, you are actually charged for two days, not one night.

Also, playtime almost anywhere in town is charged by the quarter or half hour (most times with only humans), so even though our playtime is ALL DAY, for comparison we figured that anywhere else, you would sign up for an average of two play times per day. Most other kennels also charge for administering medication and bringing your own food.

We think you'll find we're more than worth our weight in gold! Print out the straight poop via this Excel file: Kennel Comparison

Day Care
To clarify how prepaid day care will work - we will require prepayment of all reserved day care. If we cancel day care on a day due to the weather, that money in your account will transfer over to future reservations. If you need to cancel, all we ask is that you call the day before (by closing time), and again that money will stay in your account for a future stay. However, if you are reserved for day care and don't show up on your scheduled day, the amount equal to that day's reservation will be charged to your account.

Holiday Deposits
When you prepay your deposit for Thanksgiving and Christmas 2004, that amount is truly non-refundable. If you cancel either of these reservations prior to seven days before the holiday, that money can be used for future reservations. If you cancel the reservation and there is less than 7 days before that holiday, your account will be charged and that money will be forfeited.

Cancellation Policy
Day care - please cancel no later than 6 pm, the day before your reservation.

Boarding - Regular reservations - 24 hours notice required to avoid cancellation fee.

Most Holidays - 72 hours notice required.

Thanksgiving and Christmas - 7 days notice required to get credit for deposit of half down.

Cancellation fee is $50 or half the stay, whichever is less.

As usual, we welcome your feedback and will continually strive to improve the lives of dogs and their owners everywhere!

Who's Having the Most Holiday Fun?
Doing something fun and exciting this holiday while you board with us? Going on a honeymoon, meeting up with some long lost relatives or visiting an exotic place? Tell us about it! We want to live vicariously through our travelers and share your story with others. Send your fun plans to DogGirl.

Training News

Shari Elkins, DogBoy's head trainer has a few new classes starting up soon. Shari is focusing more on training these days (scaling back in the kennel), and therefore will have more time for private lessons and classes in the coming months.

Leash Walking, December 14th
Adult Level 1 Class - January 11th

for details on these and other classes, visit the Training Page of our website.

Rebecca Gage is now training DogBoy's class curriculum and offering private lessons as well through Doggy Day Out in Pflugerville. Rebecca is one of our lead kennel technicians and is having great success in training. Congratulations, Rebecca!

Sandra England, another star of Team DogBoy, is designing a curriculum to teach here in the spring for those who want to train their dogs with all positive methods to be "working dogs." Sandra will be a pioneer in this area, and we applaud her efforts to reinvent the way these valuable service dogs are trained. She has done it successfully with her own dogs, so we know she'll succeed. More details to come in future newsletters. You go, girl!

photo by ambertemkin.com

Holiday Pictures of Your Hound

Amber Temkin from Amber Temkin Photography will be on hand December 13th to take pictures of your pet while they play with us. It's a package deal that includes day care (unless your pup is already boarding), the photo shoot, 5 portrait quality images of your dog to preview via email or mail, and a 5x7 custom print or $25 towards a print order.

Amber will also return on December 27th if you are already boarding for Christmas and want to have her do the photo shoot then. The cost is $50 while boarding, or $62 including day care. Please email or call to get your pup's name on the list!

Doggie Massage Now Available!
One of our clients, Kristi McGrath, a licensed physical therapist, also happens to be trained in canine physical therapy, specifically myofascial release methods and is now offering massage at DogBoy's by appointment. If your pup is here for day care or boarding during the days Kristi is available (currently Saturday, Sunday and Monday), you can call Kristi to work hands on with your pooch while they're here. Canine massage has shown to improve mobility, behavior and overall health. Look for an informative article by Kristi in our next newsletter. Half hour mini-sessions are $35, and full hour-long sessions are $60. For more info, or to schedule an appointment, contact Kristi directly at
512-658-2654, or email her.

Holiday Pet Safety

'Tis the season for friends and family, eggnog and other treats, and good times! During this busy time it can be a challenge to juggle everything that needs to be done -- including caring for your four-legged friends. Here are a few tips to help keep your furry friends safe for the holidays:

No Chocolate, Please

Although Fido and Fluffy may be attracted to the smell and taste of chocolate, in sufficient quantities, chocolate can make her very sick. The result? Vomiting, diarrhea, and a lovely holiday spent at the emergency vet clinic.

Be sure to store chocolate well away from pets. Open counters or ledges are not good places -- some dogs may 'counter-surf', and cats easily reach counters (what's worse, they can knock chocolate off the countertop and straight into the path of enthusiastic dogs!).

Tinsel's Pretty, But...

Although it's a popular decoration for trees, it can pose a danger if your pet swallows it. It's possible for it to cause an intestinal blockage -- and again, no one (least of all your pet!) wants to spend the holidays undergoing surgery!

What's That? Who's There?

Holidays are often filled with friends and family going in and out of the house. If your pet is excitable or tends to get stressed with noise and crowds, consider placing her safely in a crate or a room that's "out-of- bounds" to guests. Give her blankets, food, water, toys .... and check in with her regularly to make sure she's okay. This will help to ensure your pet stays safely with her family, rather than slipping out the door.

Mmm mmm! Extension cords!

With all the pretty lights during the holiday season, you probably have a variety of extension cords running every which way. Some pets have a real 'taste' for extension cords -- keep an eye on them to prevent chewing, or they could be in for a real 'shock'! Where possible, tie cords out of the way. Some hardware stores also sell a plastic tubing into which you insert cords to keep your gnawing little pet from hurting herself.

Happy Holidays to you and your family -- both two-legged and four-legged!

Visit the Pet Friendly Canada accommodations directory
-- for traveling pets and their people! http://www.petfriendly.ca/
(c) Copyright 2003, PetFriendly Canada

Howliday Factoid:

25% of dogs and cats in the U.S. are overweight

50% of those pet owners (who have overweight pets) don’t admit their pet has a weight problem....

Holiday Hours

Wednesday, December 24
CLOSE EARLY at 3:00 pm

Thursday, December 25
CLOSED to customers

Friday, December 26th
OPEN LATE at 9:00 am

Wednesday, December 31st
CLOSE EARLY at 3:00 pm

Thursday, January 1st
CLOSED to customers

Friday, January 2nd
OPEN LATE at 9:00 am

We will not be having day care from Wednesday, December 24th through Friday, January 2nd.

Cool Dog Links

We've found some super cool places to visit on the web, and thought we'd share them with you!

Spotless Paw - No more muddy paws in the house!! Now you can clean off your dog's muddy feet with this six-fingered invention that holds up to 6 times its weight in mud. Machine washable, and affordable!

Once Upon A Dog - An organic and healthy dog biscuit site with a heartwarming story for dessert.

Cosmic Knits - for the Prissy mom with the lap dog, I know, but the pictures alone are worth a visit. Now if I only had a little dog!!!

Fetching Tags - Not just your run of the mill tag - these little guys have funny sayings on the other side that will keep you and your guests entertained! View the choices for a good laugh or get a tag on that tagless dog to save his life!

DogStuff.com - This site is the online home of Austin's only Source Menagerie - a great dog lovers store with gifts, cards, art, wearables, home decore and more.

Tartan Hound - If only the best will do...check out this site's collars and leads, some in cashmere - Ooh, La La!

DogBoy's Welcomes New Staff

I know you're seeing more new faces than ever these days. We'll work on getting some name tags, so you can match the faces with the names. In the mean time, let us introduce a couple more staffers:

Leon Boyd came to DogBoy's with the help of Amy, our Office Manager. A quiet kind of guy, Leon moved to Austin from Early, TX many moons ago, and has a super sweet Ridgeback named Damian, and a black cat named Mynka. When he's not working mornings at DogBoy's, Leon spends much of his time working his tail off at UPS.

Cézanne McLoughlin is a Southwestern University grad who found her love of dogs after getting her brindle Boxer, Remus. Sweet and petite, Cezanne loves reading books about dog behavior and nutrition, and has a real knack for lovin' on dogs.

Mark Mikol came to DogBoy's via apprenticing with Lee Mannix, our former aggression specialist. Mark hopes to work his way through the kennel ranks and eventually focus on becoming one of our trainers. A former computer engineer for Whole Foods Market, Mark is also the foster dad to a sweet mutt named Will, who was recently rescued after being dragged behind a pickup truck. Thanks to Mark and the many loving souls at the South Congress Vet Clinic & Spindletop Rescue, Will is on the road to recovery and surprisingly not showing any signs of trauma from the accident.

Ricci Barnes is our youngest new addition. Ricci is a junior at Pflugerville High School, and is very active in their band. She spends her afternoons keeping the phones answered, the files made, and the office in tip top shape. Ricci's family has a laid-back Aussie and a dominant Dachshund who keep them on their toes.

Please welcome the new pack members, and rest assured that they're treating your dogs just like their own!

Cocoa the little Miracle
Cool Customer Story of the Month

Cocoa Marquis isn't just your run of the mill Chocolate Lab. Cocoa is the product of a miracle. Here's her story in her mother's own words:

Cocoa was found on Feb. 24, in El Paso, Texas. It was a cold night, and sleet was falling. A friend of mine's brother drove an 18-wheel semi-truck and was travelling between El Paso and San Antonio, on a freeway. The car in front of him hit something and he saw it. He also saw that something was flung from this animal's mouth. The car didn't stop, but he did. What he found was a mommy lab. She was killed. However, in the snowy ditch, he found a little ball of fur that was squirming and wiggly. He found contact information on the mommy dog's collar and contacted the owner. They didn't want the puppy, fearing she would be traumatized and worthless. He wrapped the puppy in his shirt tail and put her in his truck cab and drove to Austin, where his sister lived.

I first met Cocoa on Feb. 26th. At 4 1/2 pounds, she fit easily in the palm of my hand. Her eyes were violet, and she looked like a little bear. I was living at my parents' house at the time, and my younger brother had his hunting dog, a yellow lab, living there. My parents were adamant that another dog was not to be had. I had already fallen in love with Cocoa, and was determined to keep her. I snuck her into the house, and for several days, she remained hidden from my parents' view. Eventually, though, my mother caught me outside with her playing. She hadn't seen Cocoa until this time. Once she did, she was smitten, too. In fact, during this time my mother was suffering some neurological damage that caused her to stutter. We noticed that when she was petting Cocoa, she spoke without hesitation. Well, that sealed the deal. My mother caved and agreed: Cocoa needed me.

Truth be told, it was I who really needed her. I was recovering my the trauma of being sexually assalted and hadn't touched anything, or any one, for severeal months. A therapist I was seeing suggested I get a pet, so I'd have something to bond with and for which to care. Along came Cocoa. In so many ways, she saved my life. She certainly gave me a reason to wake up every day, and she loved me so very much! We were inseparable. Within a few weeks, she had learned to "sit" and "stay" and was even beginning to fetch. She has always been an easy, perfect dog.

We found out about 2 years ago that she had cancer. The vet told me she expected Cocoa would have about 6 months to live. We removed the tumors, but didn't treat the cancer itself. Instead, we focused on diet and exercise. Every day is a gift now. Although one of the tumors has returned, and her hip bone has been eaten away, she manages to give squirrels and cats a run for their money. At 12 years old, she is still quite active, and very happy.

Have a cool story to tell about how you got your dog? Send it to us!