A boarding intake checklist that prevents the 2am phone call

Most boarding problems are not dramatic. A dog that won't eat because its food was changed. A cat whose thyroid tablet was given once a day instead of twice. A nurse at 2am trying to reach an owner who is on a plane, with no backup number on file. Almost all of them can be prevented by ten careful minutes at intake.

This is the checklist we suggest to clinics that board. Print it, adapt it, and use it for every stay, not only the complicated ones.

Why intake matters

The person who takes the booking, the person at drop-off and the person feeding the pet on day three are often three different people. Intake is how information survives that handover. If it isn't written down in a place every shift can see, it is lost.

When they book

• Vaccination status. Your vets decide which vaccines a boarder needs. Many clinics ask for core vaccines and kennel cough for dogs, and core vaccines for cats. Check before the stay, not at the door, so there is time to vaccinate.
• Parasite control. Ask when the pet was last treated for fleas, ticks and worms. In the warmer months ticks spread quickly between kennels.
• Health and age. Any illness, surgery or new medication in the last few weeks? Is the pet elderly, pregnant or very young?
• Behaviour. How does the pet react to strangers, other animals and being handled? Any history of biting or escaping?
• Dates and times. Confirm drop-off and pick-up times and your opening hours, especially around Eid and public holidays.

In Vetlyn, create the stay when they book: choose the pet, dates and kennel, and tick Needs vaccines or Needs deworming if something is due. Those flags show on the stay page, so whoever does the check-in sees them.

At drop-off

1. Weigh the pet and do a quick look-over: eyes, ears, skin, coat, any wounds or lumps. Record it. If the owner later asks about a scratch, you'll know whether it was there on arrival.
2. Confirm contact details. A main phone number, a second person who can make decisions if the owner can't be reached, and the pet's usual vet if it isn't you.
3. List belongings. Bed, lead, bowls, toys, food, medication. Label them with the pet's name.
4. Sign the boarding agreement. It should cover vaccinations, feeding and medication, emergency care, belongings, fees and what happens if a pet isn't collected.
5. Check in on the kennel board so everyone sees the pet is in.

Vetlyn includes a Boarding agreement form template that covers these points, and owners can sign it on a tablet with a finger. Belongings, behaviour and the emergency contact go in the stay's Notes.

Feeding and medication

Encourage owners to bring the pet's usual food. A sudden change of diet is a common cause of stomach upsets during a stay, and stress makes it worse. Then write instructions someone else could follow without asking:

• Food: what, how much and when. “1 cup dry food at 8am and 6pm, no treats”, not “normal food”.
• Medication: name, strength, dose, times and how to give it. Count tablets in and out.
• Anything the pet must not have: allergies, foods that upset it, other animals it must be kept apart from.

In Vetlyn, tick Own food if the owner brought it, fill in Feeding instructions and Medication instructions, and set how often feeding and vitals should be logged. Add scheduled medication doses on the stay page, so each shift sees what is due next.

If something goes wrong

Agree the emergency plan at drop-off, while the owner is calm and in front of you:

• Who you will call first, and who next if they don't answer.
• That your vets may examine and treat the pet if it becomes unwell, and roughly how much the owner is happy for you to spend before you must reach them.
• What the owner wants if something serious happens and nobody can be reached.

It is an uncomfortable conversation, but having it on paper protects the pet, the owner and your team.

During the stay

Log every meal, every dose and anything unusual, with the time and who did it. In Vetlyn, the care log on each stay records feedings (including how much was eaten), medication given and vitals such as temperature, heart rate, breathing, weight, gums and hydration. Medication and food taken from your inventory come off stock as you log them.

Watch appetite and toilet habits closely in the first two days, and keep an eye on heat. Flat-faced breeds such as Persians, pugs and bulldogs struggle in hot weather, and a power cut can turn a comfortable kennel into a hot one quickly.

At pick-up

• Weigh the pet again and tell the owner how the stay went, including meals missed or anything you noticed.
• Hand back every item on the belongings list, plus remaining medication.
• Mention anything that needs a follow-up visit, and book it there and then.
• Check out on the board and bill the stay: nights times the daily rate, plus any priced food and medication you logged.

Good boarding feels effortless to the owner because the effort happened at intake.