About Us!

Established in 2004, Chrissy's Castle of Critters is an exclusive animal boarding facility located in beautiful upstate New York that mainly caters to pets belonging to individuals in the corporate and entertainment industries. Our boarding philosophy is simple: Maintain a fun, clean, and safe environment for our animal guests with as little cage time as possible. Dogs that are boarded in doggie day care atmospheres have a much more enjoyable experience than those boarded in cages at traditional kennels.

Our enrollment process for boarding or day care takes time. We do nothing in haste. And owners who truly care about their animals will appreciate the time and cautious steps we take before enrolling new dogs into any of our programs. Imagine a new dog that has never been at our facility before being thrown into a crowd of 25-30 dogs. They will be frightened, confused, and the results will probably not be good if it's done too quickly. So for the safety of all of our guests, we do not start brand new dogs during any of our busiest times, which usually includes President's Week, Spring Break, the months of July & August, and the last 2 weeks in December. If you are truly committed to having your dog receive the smoothest, least stressful start to our facility, we suggest that you begin the enrollment process as far in advance as possible prior to your vacation. We first do an interview, then try to do a doggie day care session or an overnight visit during our slower times before the dog is boarded for a longer stay during busy times. This allows the dog to become accustomed to our staff, our facility, and a smaller group of dogs first, as well as having a shorter visit to start out. Dogs aren't as frightened, they adjust quicker, and begin to enjoy their stay much sooner. Years of caring for animals has proven that this gradual process works much better than trying to hurry the enrollment process just to board volumes of dogs. We are a quality facility, not a quantity one.

Our staff is made up of dedicated, hard-working animal lovers who truly enjoy what they do. We make every effort to see that each guest feels comfortable and happy during their stay by playing with them, petting them, exercising them, and just generally paying attention to their needs when they have to be away from their owners. Although some other facilities may offer features like private rooms and plush couches or beautiful suites, the dog is still alone in a room when all he/she really wants is to be with people or play with toys and other dogs. We are not a kennel, and the type of boarding we do is unique for Putnam County, NY. Our dogs are rarely confined to cages during their stay. Instead, it is a fun, "doggie day care" type of atmosphere where the dogs are running around in large areas, playing with toys, playing with other dogs, and having lots of hands-on, human contact rather than sitting in a cage for two weeks. By keeping our dogs busy and playing with them as well as allowing them to interact with other dogs, the results we achieve are happy dogs because they are having a good time, and, in a way, they are also on vacation, just like their human families. By the end of each day, our guests are tired and sleep very well. Our dogs do not bark all day long because they have no reason to - they are playing and having fun, not bored and miserable and are not being frightened by dogs around them who are constantly barking.

We do not take aggressive dogs in any of our programs and all dogs must meet our complete list of requirements before we will schedule an interview (see our "Policies and Requirements" section for more info on what is needed). All interviews, pick ups, and drop offs are done on a strict appointment only basis - for the safety of all animals and staff, we do not allow any unscheduled visits. Every animal staying at our facility must meet the strictest of health requirements, and there are no exceptions to these guidelines which require the submission of proof of vaccinations before the dog even enters our facility. Our goal is to provide a fun, happy, healthy, and most important - SAFE environment for all animals we care for. We are an active member of The International Association of Canine Professionals and are fully insured & bonded.