Family safety7 min read
What your boarder wishes you’d bring (and what to skip)
From the boarder’s side of the counter: a few small habits make a stay calmer for everyone — the pet, the staff, and the owner getting an updated text on day three.
The Driyu team
Pet safety editorial
Quick answer: Bring vaccine proof, current medications in original packaging, daily-portioned food, a worn t-shirt for comfort, a reachable phone number, an emergency contact, and a one-page summary of routine and quirks. Skip the personality essay, multiple toys, and the full medical history binder — the boarder uses a small subset of what owners typically bring.
Boarding facilities run on routines. They process dozens of pets through a typical week. The owner’s job is to make their pet’s file usable in 60 seconds at check-in — not to provide a complete medical record. A clean handoff makes the whole stay smoother.
What actually helps
- Current rabies certificate — signed paper original. Many states require it on file for boarding.
- Other required vaccines — bordetella, DHPP/FVRCP, possibly canine influenza. Check the facility’s requirements before drop-off.
- Daily-portioned food in labeled bags or one labeled container with feeding instructions. Bring 1-2 extra days of food.
- Medications in original packaging with clear dosing and timing instructions. Pre-counted if your pet needs more than 5 days of pills.
- One comfort item — a worn t-shirt or familiar blanket. One favorite toy. Resist the temptation to send the whole toy bin.
- A reachable phone number — the one you will actually answer during the trip.
- An emergency contact — a local person who can authorize urgent care if you cannot be reached.
- Your vet’s phone — saved on the file.
- A one-page summary — routine, feeding schedule, walks, key behavioral notes.
- Any quirks — resource guarding, separation anxiety patterns, fear of thunder, escape risk.
What to skip
- The full medical history binder.
- Personality essays.
- Twenty photos — one current photo is enough.
- An entire bag of dry food unless it is a long stay.
- A pile of toys — one or two max.
- Detailed pet insurance policies.
- Your microchip registry login credentials.
The one-page summary template
A boarder-friendly summary looks like this:
- Pet name, breed, age, weight.
- Owner name and reachable phone.
- Emergency contact name and phone.
- Vet name and phone.
- Food brand, amount per meal, meals per day.
- Medications: drug, dose, time, route.
- Behavior notes (3-5 sentences max).
- Quirks (resource guarding, escape risk, etc.).
- Any allergies.
For anxious or first-time boarding pets
- Trial-run a single overnight before a long trip.
- Talk to your vet about anti-anxiety medication if appropriate.
- Bring more familiar smells — multiple worn items.
- Confirm the facility handles the anxiety level you describe.
- Some boarders allow drop-off visits to acclimate the pet to the space before the actual stay.
The thing most owners forget
Updating their own contact info in the boarder’s system between visits. New phone number, new emergency contact, address change — if the facility’s record is six months stale, the boarder is calling a number that does not ring you. Update at check-in every visit.
Where Driyu fits, honestly
A Driyu profile holds the one-page summary — medications, food, contacts, quirks — ready to pull up on your phone at check-in. The boarder writes it into their own system; you keep yours current. For the broader records-handoff context, see records your vet, groomer, and boarder actually use and preparing your pet’s info for facility care.
