I just read the sad news about the lab puppy who is sick from a dog "day care", kennel. I sure hope that the baby is ok and recovers. I am writing however because I think some people are still not aware that there are alternatives to taking your dog to a kennel, day care or any care that requires you to take your dog outside of your pet's home. A pet sitter,, no,, I don't mean the kid next door. I mean a professional pet sitter. I did this for years until I moved to California. AND, IF you have MORE than one dog or also have a cat or whatever,, it is usually the same price and would be cheaper than taking your dog to be around a strange place and strange stressed out dogs. Go to petsit.com or just google pet sitter and you should come up with lots of sitters. Make sure they have been in business a long time,,, that this is the ONLY business that they have, that they are not a college kid doing it for spare money, make sure they are bonded and insured. If you do google,,, do not use anyone from the group called "Care." I think that is what they are called. They are a bunch of school kids and I would not trust them. Hire a professional. I used to stay overnight at many of my clients homes while they were gone. The dogs would sleep with me in their guest bedroom. But, for the most part, I went three times a day to take care of all of their pets. I based my fee on time,, not on number of pets. Anyway,, I realize I am sounding like a commercial,, so I'll close for now. Hope everyone is having a great summer! Marlene Bloom