| Dogs & Cats
Why
settle for a crowded quantity controlled kennel when you can leave your pets at
Four Foot Lodge
Pet Holiday Centre in the peace and tranquility of the rolling hills and
babbling brooks of Westbank Road in the Motueka Valley?!
Leave them in experienced and qualified hands, where they can socialise and
have fun with other pets
where appropriate, and receive loving attention from Krista and her staff.
Why would you condemn your pets to a prison sentence whilst you are on holiday
yourself and the last
thing you want to do is worry about your pet's well-being?! At Four Foot Lodge
we try to create a holiday atmosphere for the animals as well.
Four Foot Lodge primarily caters for well-behaved and sociable dogs and cats,
but we also accept horses, goats, sheep, pigs, cows, small caged animals and
birds.
Pet owners sometimes ask us if their pet is allowed to have visitors.
This is fine during opening hours, but we want to emphasize that it's better to
keep it to a minimum,
because it disturbs the dogs, just when they are settling in.
It can be very upsetting to them when people they know come to see them and
leave again without them.
Dogs
Four Foot Lodge was established in 1976, originally being an
SPCA centre for the Tasman/ Nelson
District. Since we have taken over,
changes have already been and are still being made, to improve the quality of
housing and care for pets.
At
Four Foot Lodge every dog has its own lodge.
We do not put dogs in the same housing if they don't know one another,
only if they belong to the same
family and the owners have asked us for shared accommodation.
Otherwise
they only 'meet' under
supervision in the spacious gardens (see Exercise
below), where they can socialise in small groups with
selected playmates.
 
Two
of the improvements to come to the best quality care, have already been
realised:
The Arthur Lodge, a big 'family room' for dogs that normally live together 24/7 and the
Crusader Lodge, a cosy 'little dogs room' for up to four dogs with heating options.
Both accommodations have a spacious garden where the dogs can play all day.
For dogs that come alone there is a choice between four sizes of lodges. You can find the sizes on the page Prices. Downsizing to a lower number of dogs means more space per dog in the lodges and more playtime
in our large tree-covered gardens. It also gives staff more time for individual care and attention.
Cats
Our revamped cattery provides indoor and
semi-outdoor accommodation. We have single housing for cats that come alone,
and bigger housing for cats that can share accommodation. In one part of the
housing we have cat doors between the in- and outdoor accommodation.
The indoor housing is cosy and comfortable and there is ample space for your
cat's favourite bed or box, with a ground floor and a sleeping loft. The roofed
semi-outdoor runs have high ceilings. They all have climbing material and
off the floor shelves. There is natural light, with sun as well as shade.
In colder periods of the year heating
options are available at an extra charge. All cats have a lively
farm view, with people walking by and farm animals
like our free range chooks, ducks and doves to look at.
When the amount of cats allows
us, we can give the
cats even more space, like on the left picture below.
And
our policy is that all cats that like cuddles, get cuddled every day!
 |
 |
Hygiene
By daily scrubbing and disinfecting
the housing, it is obvious that the hygiene of Four Foot Lodge is of a high
standard. All 'doggy-doo' gets removed from the
gardens after the dogs have been playing there.
The bedding gets aired during the day and can be washed for you before you pick
up your pet. Pets that stay longer, get their bedding washed weekly.
The
feed bowls and cat litter trays are cleaned daily.
And your
dog can even be bathed and groomed before he or she goes home, looking clean
and tidy, smelling nice and fresh. A professional full groom with stripping,
clipping and scissoring is possible at request.
Look at the page Grooming for more information
about this service.
Feeding
Four Foot Lodge provides a high quality dog food with the
main meal in the morning. This is to prevent unforeseen gastric problems and we
find that the pets keep their runs cleaner, which is preferred by them
and us! We
provide a treat in the evening in the form of a bone or toy filled with yummy
treats.
This keeps them occupied and
helps them settle down and relax for a good nights sleep.
We feed 'A la
Carte Gold' Balanced & Tasty, a
natural balanced meal with real beaf meat, 100% natural, healthy and nutritious.
If you would like to give your
dogs this quality food at home as well, you can purchase it at Four
Foot Lodge. We sell it exclusively for this area.
Look
here
for more information and on the page Prices
for the reasonable costs of this food.
As a Vet Nurse, Krista can also cater for
animals that are on a special diet or need medication, injections or extra
care. Of course it is possible to bring your own food.
 |
 |
Exercise
Included in the basic price per day is a free social play for
all dogs, of a minimum of
two hours twice
a day.
Two hours
is the absolute minimum, because very often it is (much) longer, depending on
the
number of
dogs that are staying at Four Foot Lodge at that time.
Our spacious gardens have safe, high fencing and the
trees provide shade during warm and sunny weather.
We interact with the dogs
when they are out and always try to give them one or more playmates to
socialise with.
Dog Walk
:
For
a minimal fee we can take your dog out in our large fenced fields, or
for fun bushwalks near the river
across
the road. There they can enjoy a little more freedom, playing and running with,
if possible one or more other sociable dogs, some sniffing time and possibly
even a nice swim for dogs that are allowed to do that
and can be trusted
off the lead.
|
