So, you are a dog owner and hopefully you love your pet. What do you do when you need to go out on a vacation. Where do you live your beloved pet(s)? We had been trying different things for a long time before finally finding a solution.
We have tried sending her to a kennel. But she came back full of flees and had lost her appetite totally. For a very long time, we used to leave her with our Vet’s assistant. He used to love her, but that didn’t work out when we had to go away on Diwali.
Well, that was when we chanced upon Kennel One.
Of course, if we are driving somewhere, then we always take our pet Trinity along (her picture below).
Kennel One is one of the best facilities in Gurgaon. They have a large amount of open space where your pet dogs are actually let free. They are not kept locked in or on a leash (unless your particular pet is a trouble maker – even then the enclosures for such pets are fairly spacious).
The owner (Shailendra) is a dog-lover himself. He actually put the place together to keep his own pets to begin with. Then his friends started to ask him for favors, and so a business was born. However, we have to say that it is still not run like a professional business (which is good and bad at the same time).
For example, they offer pick up and drop off facilities (for a charge of course), but sometimes their timings can be totally off. But they are good most of the times. We have left Trinity at Kennel One a number of times, and have been satisfied mostly (there was one time, when we were unhappy, and I will talk about that a little later).
The price that we pay (not sure if everyone is charged the same) Rs. 250 per day. This includes both food and lodging. The food provided seems good (as per my wife). However, extras such as giving baths, a vet visit, etc. are charged extra.
The facility is located a little further down the highway from Hero Honda Chowk in Gurgaon. But the way to get there is pretty potholed and you better not go there in your Honda Civic (maybe if you have a CRV, you will be fine). This problem is usually overcome by the Kennel One guys offering to come and meet you on the main road for pick up and drop offs. They are also courteous enough to come and meet you on the main road so that you can follow them to their facility (as you may not find it on your own easily).
So, all in all, its been satisfactory to leave Trinity there. All, except the last time. We had to leave for 10 days, and left her there. When we got back, we got a very thin and ragged Trinity. Her coat was in bad shape as well. It took about 10 days at home and she was back in good shape. We don’t know what happened, and both of us are pretty busy, and so didn’t get a chance to follow it up. Maybe it was chance, and we will have to see what happens next time.
The only other complaint I have with Kennel One is the way they charge money. First of all, they don’t offer discounts on long term lodgings (such as 10 days we left here there the last time). Second is the way they calculate the money. For example, if I drop her off today, and pick her up tomorrow, they will charge Rs. 500 (for two days). I find that very odd, and wrong actually.
But, its a one of a kind facility in Gurgaon, so right now, its the best. Their website is at http://www.kennel1.net.
I did some more R&D to find out if anyone else has had good/bad experiences at Kennel1. There is surprisingly little stuff available online (there’s loads of SEO oriented material which in no doubt has been generated by whichever online marketing company Kennel1 employs). There is very little ‘real’ user feedback available.
So, I would say that you should do your due diligence before leaving your pets there. Especially, given our last experience there.
Also, I did discover this article http://www.gurgaonscoop.com/story/2007/7/25/94220/9524, but once again, this is the ONLY place where I could find feedback. And all of this feedback is negative (which is also suspicious) because, we DID have some good experiences in the past.
I would appreciate for anyone to leave their experiences here. Thanks.
Hey,
This is useful information. We normally leave our dog at Jeevashram, which is in Delhi, near Rajokri off NH8. It’s an NGO run by a really nice vet called Dr. Sharma. We’ve always had a really good experience with them although the distance is a downside.
We are looking to leave our dogs (2) at a place for about 6 months due to an offical posting abroad. Can anyone provide suggestions on a good and safe plcae to leave them.
Thanks!