Once again, millions of people are now off on holiday, but they can’t or don’t want to take their pets with them. If you love your pet, you will ensure that it is well looked after during this time. The experts of the Fressnapf chain of specialist shops provide tips on how and where you can accommodate pets in the holiday period in appropriate conditions:

The animal boarding house:
You take your pet to a temporary home with specialist care. There are small, family-run pet boarding houses that are only able to take on a very limited number of animals. And there are pet hotels with a large capacity for taking on animals and an extensive range of care services, most of them out in the countryside. At any rate, you should pay attention as to how clean the boarding house is and that the pets are kept in appropriate conditions. Be careful of boarding houses that do not demand any vaccination certificates or demand extortionate prices. Depending on the services and facilities offered by the boarding house, an appropriate price is between € 10 at the low end and a rather steep € 50 per day. Additional services such as care and activity programmes are often subject to extra charges.

A house sitter:
Your pet stays in its familiar surroundings during your absence. While you are away, the house sitter lives in your house or apartment and can therefore also look after your mail and tend to plants. Usually, costs of around € 40 to € 50 per day are charged for this. Only in exceptional cases, such as when the house sitter lives very close by, does he or she come to the house at agreed times to see to the dog. Get an impression of the person concerned early on and test whether the house sitter really can handle your dog so that you can go on holiday without any worries. Information on house sitters can be found for example at the German House Sitters’ Association (Verband Deutscher Haushüter-Agenturen e. V.; www.haushueter.org).

Neighbours, friends and relatives:
Depending on the pet and the amount of care it needs, this is the best way to look after your charge. Some people are also pleased to have a pet themselves for a limited period of time or to have company for their own pet. Care like this needs to be well prepared so that inexperienced people can familiarize themselves with your pet and look after it properly.

Who’s Travelling with You?
If you can take your pet on holiday with you, then you have found the best solution for yourself and your pet. But not all pets travel well and enjoy it. Dogs readily go along with what the family does whereas cats prefer to stay in their familiar surroundings. Travelling with small animals, such as rodents, is risky because they react sensitively to changes in temperature. Birds, too, do not tolerate heat and unfamiliar surroundings well.

Service Tip
Can’t find a holiday place? Until September 2006, the Deutscher Tierschutzbund e. V., the German Society for Animal Welfare, is running a campaign under the title ‘Nimmst du mein Tier, nehm’ ich dein Tier’ (‘If you take my pet, I’ll take yours’) in cooperation with local animal welfare organizations. The aim of the campaign is to arrange, where possible, exchanges of holiday places. Information on this can be found at www.tierschutzbund.de.

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Away for some time Away for some time: when the family goes on holiday, pets often have to stay at home. Whoever loves their animal will make sure that it is well cared for during this time. (Photos may only be reproduced with permission and in connection with editorial text. High-resolution photos can be requested from the Fressnapf press office.)