Service Review: Safe Harbor Pet Boarding & Daycare (Basehor, Kansas)

Roxy and Apollo visited a new home away from home last weekend. I planned the day trip to Abilene not knowing exactly when we would get home. Without having a large pet door installed at our house, I can’t leave them at home, trapped in the house, for twelve or eighteen hours.  Sometimes, if the weather’s nice and I know we won’t be gone for long (like over night or late into the night), I leave the back patio door cracked just enough so Apollo can nose his way out if he feels like it.  But Saturday’s forecast didn’t call for temperatures to climb much above freezing, so I went searching for an alternative.

The place I normally board the dogs doesn’t encourage pickup of pets on Sundays and doesn’t provide the normal bath their slightly inflated prices for boarding include if you pickup on a Sunday.  I drive by the Safe Harbor facility twice daily to pickup and drop off one of our vanpool riders.  She has mentioned several times how much she likes the place and that they board their dog there frequently.

I called and spoke to the owner and got all my questions answered.  Safe Harbor’s boarding rates were much less expensive than my usual boarder in Leavenworth.  And, since Safe Harbor allowed me to pickup the dogs on Sunday morning, I only needed to board two dogs for one night (instead of two dogs for two nights).  I had her fax me the forms to fill out.  I contacted our vet to get them to fax Roxy and Apollo’s records to Safe Harbor, only to discover that Roxy’s three year rabies shot had expired two days before.  I didn’t earn myself any favors with my husband when I asked him to take her up to the vet that very afternoon and get her re-vaccinated.

Bright and early on Saturday morning, we loaded up Roxy and Apollo and headed south to Basehor.  Safe Harbor opened at 7:30 a.m. and we arrived shortly thereafter.  Roxy and Apollo were eager to meet the owners and some new pet friends.  I arranged to have Apollo bathed and left the Rotties in good hands while we continued west for a couple of hours to Abilene.

Sunday morning, I wiled away the time reading two books (alternating between the non-fiction The Devil in the White City and the scifi space opera Honor Among Enemies).  I left Lansing shortly after 9:30 a.m. and headed south on K-7 to Basehor to retrieve Roxy and Apollo.  I paid the boarding and grooming fees and wrestled the Rotts back into the Bonneville.  Safe Harbor sent them home each with a bag of doggie treats and, in Apollo’s case, in squeaky clean splendidness.

I liked their location, their facility, their prices and their service.  Apollo and Roxy will definitely be spending more time at the Safe Harbor Pet Boarding and Daycare.

First Friday Fringe

This weekend and next are the final rounds of the 2010 Formula One season.  Terry will be watching one of the practices live at home today since Brazil is nearly in our time zone (only two hours ahead of us).  Next weekend will wrap up what has been another competitive driver and constructor championship with the last round in Abu Dhabi.   I’ll be content to watch them on the reply when I burn the GPs to DVD from the DVR sometime in the next few weeks.

Lunch time view South Plaza early Nov 2010

Since I no longer have any science fiction television to look forward to on Friday nights, I’ll continue reading Blackout by Connie Willis. I’m about half done with it and I have All Clear, the sequel, waiting to pick up as soon as I finish Blackout.  Only about twelve hundred pages total between the two and not as heavy as the tome I read in September by Brandon Sanderson:  The Way of Kings.

I’ve accumulated over two hundred points over the past couple of years by giving away books via BookMooch, yet because I read fantasy and occasionally science fiction, I’m not finding many books to mooch from others.  Yet I still need to divest myself of some more books (hardcovers mostly).   So I think I’ll branch out to another swap site, a division of one of my favorite reading and reviewing web sites, the GoodReads swap.   That’s my first project for Saturday morning, to prep and post about a half dozen hardcovers via GoodReads swap.

The second task for Saturday morning involves wrestling the Rotts into the car and heading to the vet for some pre-boarding shots.  In a couple of weeks, Terry and I will travel south to visit our kids in north Texas for Thanksgiving.  Roxy and Apollo will remain behind and make new friends at Deb’s Riverview Kennel.  On the way back, weather permitting, we might let them roam free at the Waggin’ Tails Dog Park for a half hour or so.

Once back home, I should probably make a few loaves of bread, for Terry and for my dad. Most likely I’ll make a Rustic Sourdough (dough in the bread machine, but shaped and baked in conventional oven) as well as Honey Wheat and White Sandwich loaves.  He’s traveling next week to Virginia for a mini-family reunion at his brother’s home.  My aunt from Ohio will also attend.  My dad and his brother were born on November 17 and 18 almost exactly four years apart and my aunt was born on November 29 so they’ll be having mutual birthday celebrations.  I hope to send a loaf or two with dad for them to enjoy.

In addition to their birthdays, I’ll swing by WalMart and pick up a gift card and birthday card for my daughter-in-law’s birthday, which is the 12th.  Terry’s birthday is on the 14th, but at least he’s not leaving town on me.  For a birthday present to him, we may go see Mannheim Steamroller in Topeka that weekend.

It’s a new moon tonight so I’ll probably get the telescope out tonight and tomorrow night for some viewing.  I might even venture out into the county looking for a nice dark spot away from all the light pollution of Lansing (and the prison that’s only two blocks north of my house with all it’s blazing orange halogen lights) and Kansas City.  I should probably dig out some light gloves though since the evening and night temperatures have been dropping down into the 30s most of this week.

Sunday morning I’ll be substituting for the accompanist at Southern Heights UMC during worship, which is also communion Sunday (being the first Sunday of the month) so I’ll be playing a bit more than a normal service.  But the choir took the weekend off and the special music doesn’t require an accompanist.  All in all, should be a fun hour well spent.

Sunday afternoon will be for relaxing, reading or watching movies.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.