dog blog for glencadia.com dog camp reviews: January 2011

Below the same text as in the email I sent to everyone, followed by the extra info in case your interested. If you already read this as an email, skip to the end.

2011 CHANGES

Glencadia is making a few policy and website modifications to 1) comply with some changes in dog laws; 2) to fix recurring problems for our customers; 3) upgrade and enhance the utility of the website; 4) streamline and clarify billing and charges. Other changes too at the end of the message.

Notice: no price increase. Discounts and credits for returning customers. I have a new email address glencadia@gmail.com but old email will work too.

If you need to know more, go to the blog. Like us on Facebook. New page. Forgot your password? Unsubscribe here.

Quick new policy: If you pay by credit card, you can and must do it when you make your reservation. However, if you pay by check or cash, then you pay at the end of your stay. You do not need to pay anything to make a reservation. You can click and pay if you prefer. Up to you. Thanks.

Now the changes.. and please let me know if you encounter any problems with the system (fingers crossed).

NEW DOG COLLAR POLICY

Starting in 2011, all dogs coming to camp have to wear a new special custom Glencadia collar that will have an individual tag with your dog's name, license and rabies info. You will keep your regular collar at home and put your Glencadia collar on before we pick up your dog. When you get home, you take the Glencadia collar off and save it for next time.

We will comply with all regulations and you will not lose your collar or tags again. You will have a back up collar with all your legal information in case your dog loses his or her collar or tag.

Do this:

Log in ---
Go to DOG PROFILE ---
Update rabies and local license (New York City for more people) ---
Click store link ----
Buy collar for $10

It may take a few weeks to get you your collar. Thank you for your patience as we get this promising new system up and running.

If you know the rabies info for your dog, you can get a NYC license here.

First 100 people to order collars before March 1, 2011 get 25 dollars off their next boarding. Put in code FIRST100 to get your $25 credit when you reserve.

You need to buy the collar one time for $10. This price includes custom Glencadia collar, individualized tag, and shipping. You can keep this collar forever and update the tag for free forever. This is one time fee for anyone thinking of sending their dog to Glencadia at any time in the future.

You can wait until you make a reservation to buy the collar, but I would encourage you to do it right now. Encourage, beg, plead, bribe...

NEW WEBSITE

In addition to process dog license and vaccine info in a different way to comply with rules and regulations more efficiently, the website includes many changes and improvements. Most of these will either be obvious when you go to the site and make a reservation.

Clarity in billing: No more confusion about the price. What you see is what you get. Payment info should be correct and change as you modify your reservation. You will clearly see what you have to pay before you book. Bugs taken out!

Vaccine info stored and automatically monitored for expiration date. You only have to enter vaccine info one time. If something is out of date, the system will know when you make a reservation. Otherwise, you can click and reserve. Your vaccine and license information will be saved in your account if you ever need it for any other purpose.

Discounts for frequent boarders. After you send your dog to Glencadia 10 times, you qualify for a Silver membership: 5% off on all future dog boarding. After 20 trips to camp, you and your dog qualify for 10% off from then on. Reservations from the past apply to discounts, so log in and make sure it's all right. System will automatically credit your reservation after you qualify. Credit will apply soon after your dog's departure. Cancelled, no show reservations do not count.

Click and pay. No more need for email invoices. Credit card through Paypal. No Paypal account necessary. You can also buy your collar and whatever else we get in the store online by credit card.

Glencadia shop. Not much to buy yet. The collar package, my book... or you can hold out for a good book.

Policies and conditions, slightly revised and clarified.

Address book. If you have more than one frequent pick up or drop off address you can put multiple addresses in the system and pick the relevant spot from the list.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) in a searchable database. Feel free to add more questions to the database.

Live updates on dog route on pick up and drop off night. When I, Will, drives, you will be able to go to twitter.com/glencadia and follow me as I drive. No need to call and ask where I am.

MORE

Pond dredged. We used to have a muddy shallow pond for dogs to swim in. Now we have a deep, open beautiful pond to swim in.

New Employee:

Naomi joins the team here and I (Will) couldn't be happier. Some of you have met Naomi and her daughter Brooklyn dropping off and picking up dogs in the city. Brooklyn is also a great addition around here, as she loves dogs more than my son ever will I think. Naomi is also the groomer and vet assistant around here, looking up medicines provided by customers online and making sure all dogs get their dosages on time. She is great with dogs and already knows them all. It's really a great thing she's here.

Problems with the Town:

Some rumors are going around so I might as well talk story, as they say in Hawaii. To make a very long story very short, the town of Stuyvesant, where I live up here in Columbia County, kind of ganged up on me and tried to close the dog camp down. They still would love to get me, but it's not going to happen. I think my position is pretty good now. I might have a zoning appeals hearing one day, though, and at that point I would actually appreciate some letters of support from customers.

Actually, when I finally get a hearing, I would like people to come and speak, if you would, or at least write something up about the camp for the board.

Some people assume that since I have a lot of dogs, there must be a lot of barking. But I am 15 to 20 times further away from my nearest neighbor than the average house is to the next one in the little hamlet here. Since sound decays at the inverse square of distance and there is an average of more than one dog per house in the hamlet, I would need 1,500 dogs to achieve the same level of sound produced by the average residence.

Also, I have letters of support from every single neighbor in the area, that is 100% of the people who live near me. I have operating in this town since 2005 and was approved to operate by the planning board unanimously in 2009 without condition.

If the charge of dog barking is impossible and all the neighbors don't mind my business, how could I have a problem with the town government? How? Because government actions in this town generally serve no public interest.

Not only did the town challenge the laws of physics, my constitutional rights were violated. I suspect the whole campaign is politically motivated.

Here is my political blog. You can see why these guys might not like me.

It's been a year of trouble that cost me 20,000 dollars and involved some harassment and guys scoping out my house all the time. Still, I like my constitutional rights and don't appreciate anyone trying to restrict those.

They don't see it like that.

And I could go on for a year with all the ups and downs and details... and I might on the political blog one day, maybe when I finally have an appeal hearing.

Thanks for reading.

Happy new year everyone.