Aloha mai kakou!
Mahalo for my near total absence from the blog. I started a highly-demanding job last year. I also started an integrative nutrition health coaching certification, and most importantly, I went on my first mainland vacation since I got Nalu in 2020. Which brings us to the topic of today’s post: I separated from Nalu baberz for the first time in three years. And I couldn’t have done it without the suggestion of using rover.com
Firstly, I had never separated from Nalu since he was 11 weeks old except for allowing a friend to watch him overnight in our apartment one time. So just like flying him here to Hawai’i, I was a nervous fking wreck about booking my first 2-week vacation away from the island. Finding adequate care for my baby while we were gone that I trusted could literally make or break this trip. Originally in my mind I thought I would bring Nalu with me if I ever traveled to the mainland. But that was a) before I met my amazing boyfriend whose family owned a houseboat; and b) before my grandma had a stroke. Visiting grandma was one of my top reasons for needing to take this trip. Puppies and fall risks don’t exactly go hand-in-paw. And no dogs were allowed on the houseboat.
All that being said, in order to take this trip my only option was to find some sort of dog sitter.
First, I inquired with all the dog mamas and papas from the dog park about what they did when they took trips away from the island. They either had a neighbor they trusted, a pre-established dog sitter, or used board-and-care facilities. I inquired with no joke, every board-and-care facility on yelp in O’ahu, and only one of them had space: Ali’i Animal Hospital in Kaka’ako. They were immediately responsive to my yelp inquiry, and actually very responsive as I initiated the process of choosing them for board-and-care. … that is, until I realized that the only kennels they had available were double kennels for large dogs or to be shared among two dogs from the same dog family. And these bad boys cost $168 a night as of August 2023. I would need care for 14 days; so that would have cost me $2,352. ::record scratch:: that’s well over how much I pay per month to rent my entire apartment as a hooman. I could take a vacation to Bora Bora for that kind of money.
So… Ali’i Animal Hospital and pet resort was out. If they had single kennels available I might have gone for it. If you wish to use them for a future pet care need, I recommend that you book several months in advance to guarantee they have a single-sized kennel. Also just FYI how their care format works: they let the dogs play together all day, then at a certain point in the evening all the dogs are placed in their individual kennels until morning. They will clip your dog’s nails upon request and brush teeth every other day, I believe. You also need to do a visit ahead of time and get a vet check-up ahead of time; and those things cost additional fees.
With Ali’i being out of the running, I called my cousin who regularly takes trips to Vegas to visit grandma; and asked her what she does with her dog when she visits. My assumption was that she asked her brother to watch her pit, but to my surprise, she responded that she used Rover, and told me exactly which sitter she used.
I sign myself up for Rover, contact this sitter, and unfortunately she only takes neutered male dogs. Nalu is still intact (hint hint all you Griff mamas and papas out there looking for a stud. Contact us on IG @puppyandparadise808). This is how I rapidly realized Rover has filters you can (and should) check off to find a dog sitter that works for you.
I input the filters we needed (intact male, no cats in the household), and immediately Rover will populate a list of sitters who fit the bill. Next, you message them, set up a meet-and-greet puppy play date at their house, attend said meet-and-greet, and if it’s a mutually good fit, you book immediately.
You will also pay immediately; but the Rover sitter will not get paid until 2 days after your booking is complete.
Our first attempt at a sitter was this lovely woman named *May (name has been changed to protect anonymity). She seemed super sweet, had her own golden retriever, lived on base in Kaneohe, had a fenced yard, and took the dogs on two-mile walk every day. With a sitter found, I was beyond relieved that it was that easy to book a dog sitter! until… May had to cancel due to a sudden unexpected family emergency.
Now that I knew what to expect, I launch into the sitter search process again. And this time, we find Alex.
I like to believe everything happens for a reason. I am now a #RoverDieHard because my experience with Alex went SO DANG WELL. Nalu is a quirky boy, and it turned out her dog had the exact same quirks. Not only did she take the dogs for walks at least once a day, but they got to play in her fenced yard. She sent me photos and updates, and went above and beyond my expectations.
Nalu made puppy friends, always had other dogs to play and snooze with, and if you are on the fence about choosing Rover for the first time ever, I’m here to tell you: do it! Not only do I appreciate that Nalu was always around other dogs, but he wasn’t put in a kennel and expected to just lay around in isolation from 8pm to 8am. I also feel safer about leaving my dog with a family, especially after what happened with the Maui fires. If an unexpected emergency occurs, I would rather know that the humans can grab my pup get to safety. I can’t even begin to fathom how a board-and-care facility would respond in the event of a serious disaster if it had a bunch of dogs locked up in individual kennels. I now truly believe that your dog will be safer with a Rover dog sitter than in a board-and-care facility.
Mahalo for the read! Yes, choose Rover. And stay tuned for my next post about how I prepared Nalu to stay with his Rover sitter, and the unexpected quirks he manifested that I can now prepare for next time he does a Rover Puppycation.
puppy & paradise 