I love having my dog but I have to admit it is always a challenge finding someone to look after him when we travel. Our island doesn't seem to have anyone who looks after pets, except for occasional dog-walking services. Yesterday, we headed into Victoria to check out three places that said on their websites that they offered non-kennelled care for dogs. When we arrived at one place I could quickly tell that it wouldn't suit our little sheltie. There were about 60 dogs of all sizes racing around the yard and inside the heated shelter. All that our poor little guy wanted to do was escape from the smells and noise of all these other dogs. At the next place, there were only about a dozen dogs and they were all small varieties but they were all staying at one small house. The yard looked like a moonscape and the house smelled of "dog". Once again our little guy tried to avoid the onslaught as the other dogs raced around the yard and house. Luckily, the third place we visited only has a maximum of 4 dogs at a time and the dogs all live in the homeowner's house which was clean and had a nice fenced backyard. Of course, this place was the most expensive ($30/day) but at least we'll feel that our guy is being well cared for and hopefully won't be too stressed out while we are away.