Boarding someone elses dog. Need advise.

[Bammony]

So I'm going to be boarding a dog for someone. He is buying a dog kennel and will have the dog here for a few months. The dog is a Lab/Pitt cross. Please don't respond to this thread with how dangerous pitts are. I'm aware of all of that and that's not what my question is about. My question is about legal issues while boarding another persons dog. What do I need to have in the contract to cover my own butt if his puppy gets sick or injured or needs medical attention and i can't get a hold of him? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[patandchickens]

My very good horse-sitter, and cat-sitters I've used in the past, and most of the barns where I've boarded horses over the years, have you sign a paper that says basically: I am authorizing this person to contract for emergency veterinary work done on the animal if the person deems it necessary and can't get in touch with me with a single phone call; and I agree to pay any and all vet bills that result. But that if it's NOT an emergency, the sitter will wait til she can get in touch with me before having anything done.

With my horse-sitter I also have a clause that if the horse's expected chance of long-term pasture-soundness or chance of comfortable survival for at least 1 year is less than 50%, they have my permission for euthanasia instead. (Could substitute whatever the owner's individual wishes are, and I'm not sure how this would map to dogs instead of horses)

I'm not a lawyer, and I'm not saying whether this is technically necessary/sufficient, but short of GOING TO an actual lawyer in your state, it seems like a reasonable thing to have in a contract.

JME,

Pat

 

[EllyMae]

First thing that comes to my mind...I would want to have a copy of vaccination records up front, name and number of the vet he uses....That way you can state in the contract that if any emergencies come about, you have his permission to take the dog to his vet, AND he is responsible for all costs involved if anything like that happened.

 

[glowworm]

A search on google pulled up tons of contracts: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft%3A*%3AIE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7ADBF_en&q=boarding+dog+contract&btnG=Search

You can have the owner fill out a blank spot in the contract to what they "pre-authorize" to be spent on the animal if an medical emergency happens. That way if something does happen that needs to be quickly treated, you can show the vet that contract, and they can start treatment. Then the rest of the money needed (if more is needed) can be obtained by calling the owner, if that is an option.