For more than 20 years, on occasion, I've had to board my Norwegian Elkhounds at an area boarding kennel to attend a wedding, a funeral, or the very rare vacation where my husband and I travel together and decide not to bring the dogs (i.e., something that is not also a dog show). I've boarded usually two or three dogs together as a multipet family in one of those larger suites that can accommodate them in comfort with a dedicated outdoor patio area. I found them secure, well tended to by caring staff, and none worse for the wear. My dogs are show dogs, and with the exception of one aging bitch, they have all be intact, no spayed females and no neutered males. I've never boarded a bitch in season for obvious reasons.lisaunleashed.com.lisa@lisaunleashed.comLisa Peterson writes about horses, hounds and history at

An upcoming family wedding prompted me to contact this establishment and request a suite for two of my dogs, for three days. I filled out the online form and hit send. One day later I got a call back to confirm the reservation and go over the dog's current information. One of the dogs was a repeat customer and his information was already in the system. My other dog was attending for her first time and we needed to fill in her specifics. The woman on the phone asked me her name, age, and if she was spayed.

"No, she not spayed, she's a show dog," I said.

"Oh. What about the male, is he neutered?" she asked.

"No, he's not neutered, he's also a show dog," I replied. "The two live together and I'd like to board them together. One has been to the facility many times since he was a young dog, he's 10 years old now. The last time he was there was about three years ago."

I was then informed that the boarding facility had instituted a new policy last year that they will no longer board any intact animals.

"But I've been a customer for more than 20 years," I countered.

"We can't take the risk that the female will go into season," she said.

"But she just was in season in March, she won't be in season again until September!"

The woman on the phone offered to check with the owner to see if I could board my dogs, but she didn't think so. She checked and called me back. My dogs were banned from the facility because they are intact, even though one of them had been a welcome guest in the past. The facility did have a previous policy of not allowing bitches in season, which makes sense, but no restrictions on intact males or intact females not in season.

I was then told that the kennel doesn't allow intact females or intact males because the males can smell the females, even when they are not in season, and it upsets the males. I explained that all my intact males and intact females have lived together in harmony at my home for 20 years when they are not in season, that no males are upset by smelling any females not in season. She then told me it didn't matter if they were in season or not, that all intact females upset male dogs.

At this point, I stopped trying to convince them otherwise since it was clear that the reality of what it's like to live with intact animals was not going to sway their new business policy in my favor. I told them I was disappointed that I was no longer allowed to be a happy customer of the facility.

So I did a quick check of some other boarding kennels in town. I called one that will take intact animals but charges a cleaning surcharge of $10 per day, per dog, even if there is no bitch in season or it's just a male. What is it about intact animals that us owners are constantly being punished with higher fees?

Just look at Connecticut dog licenses. I have to pay a more than 100 percent increase to license my intact animals, $8 versus $19 per dog. Why do I, as a responsible dog owner (who also picks up her dog's poop at Fairfield Hills during walks, unlike other dog owners, just sayin') have to pay for a personal choice to own intact show dogs? Using punitive fees to fix a problem created by irresponsible owners, most of whom do not license their intact dogs anyway, has never made sense to me.

I was disheartened to see that the boarding industry has joined the fray of punitive fees or an outright ban on intact animals. But happily, not everyone in the industry has jumped on the bandwagon. I went to Cassio Pet Resort & Training Center's website and was welcomed by a banner that said "Cassio boards all breeds, mixed breeds and non-altered dogs." What a relief, they treat all dogs as cherished pets in need of boarding services. I made my dogs' reservation immediately!

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