Frequently Asked Questions

 Our Office is staffed daily 8-11am and 3-5pm. Pet care staff is on-site around the clock every day of the year, however, office staff and office hours are only available during the above times shown.  Due to the excessive number of daily requests for special hours, which has become unmanageable and disruptive to pet care operations and our family in residence, we are no longer able to offer service outside the posted office hours.  Our Office is staffed during the times posted.  Special arrangements can be made to pick up your pets outside normal hours but must be made in advance with off hours fee.

 Drop off times for grooming are 7:30am-9am. Pets 15 minutes late after 9am will be charged a late fee, pets dropped off 1 hour or more after 9am will be charged for appointment and rescheduled for another day.  All grooming guest are required to be pick up before 4:30pm. Grooming guests will received a text or call when their grooming service is complete.

Daycare drop off is between 7am-10am, pets dropping off for daycare after 10am will not receive group playtime in the morning or be turned away. Pick up is between 3pm-6pm any dog picked up after 6pm will be charged a $20 late fee for every 15 minutes late.

Our prices vary depending on the service. Please visit our pricing page or contact us for a quote.

Yes for boarding services only, we offer multi-pet discounts as well as active and retired military discounts. Only one discount can be used for billing purposes.

Tours are welcomed anytime during business hours daily from 8am-11am or 3pm - 5pm.  We encourage anyone new to pet boarding to take a tour of several facilities, and ask lots of questions to make sure your pet, and you, are comfortable with the facility, staff, and accommodations. We also suggest speaking with your friends, co-workers, and local veterinarians for recommendations on local pet boarding facilities.

In general though, you’ll know within a couple of minutes of visiting any facility if it’s a good choice for your pet or not. Your pet will also speak volumes when you pick them up after your trip, if they were comfortable, clean, and well cared for. Watch for their reactions and body language. 

 Chesapeake Pet Resort offers a private inside space for your dogs with an attached doggie door to their own personal fenced outdoor patio dog run, which is about 10-12 feet in length. The Indoor-Outdoor Runs allow dogs to go in and out all day long, morning to evening, weather permitting. This has been great for their morale, as they can see the other dogs, get fresh air and exercise, and limits “pouting” time while away from home. Chesapeake Pet Resort also includes four or five play yard times each day, with staff, which is unique to our operation.

Please take unannounced tours and ask lots of questions for any pet care facilities or “kennels” you are considering. Typical “kennels” offer indoor spaces or “suites” or crates, with the option to purchase outdoor play times, but pets must depend on others to be able to go outside. Unless you’re confident that a lot of staff is present and available, (not just when you come by for a pre-scheduled tour), you can’t be sure your pets are getting outside to eliminate, or even at all. Indoor-outdoor connected runs, or our Deluxe Cabins, are the best option if pet comfort is your choice. 

We provide clean bedding, toys, and everything your pet needs for comfort. You’re welcome to bring your pet’s own food, favorite toy, or small blanket if you’d like them to have something familiar from home. 

Absolutely! Many of our suites and cabins are designed for families to lodge together comfortably. However dogs and cats from the same family can not stay together, we have designated cat and dog areas. 

We are not Veterinarians, we are able however to administer medications as needed for your pet during their stay for a fee starting at $3.  Any medications from home are required to be pre-sorted and labeled at home in pill boxes or baggies for each pet.  If you need us to do this at check-in we do charge a fee starting at $5.  Providing medications for numerous pets on-site at any given time can be very time consuming and requires specialized Staff to ensure it is done properly to ensure that your pet actually receives and/or consumes any medications you send and at the correct time and dose.

Please see our Medication Policy for more info. 

Grooming and Lodging pet guest fees are due at check-out, for your current visit. We do also require payment at check-in for any pets being picked up by non-family members or friends that are just here to pick up your pets for you. Frequent daycare customers have customized payment schedules on a monthly or weekly basis. For longer visits with big invoices, many customers also put deposits down and send payments prior to the pet’s reservation to reduce some of the sticker shock on check-out day. Sort of like “doggie lay-away”! 

  Kathy and her family live on-site and has protocols in place providing that someone is available to watch over the pets at night, however, they are not available to assist customers after posted customer hours.  We also have additional staff on-site at various times, in addition to our professionally monitored automatic fire/carbon monoxide/burglary security system, and video surveillance both on-site and remote access viewing. We also contract with a licensed Security Company to monitor the pets and facility during night time hours and other times as needed. 

  Feel free to call or email us anytime to check on your pets! We are happy to respond and often try to follow-up any emails with photos of your pet, as time and staffing permit in this busy environment. Customers can call anytime or e-mail us at chessiepetsoffice@gmail.com. If calling after hours we will call you back as soon as we can, or during regular business hours. Remember though, we will be calling you if at any time during your pets visit with us we have cause for concern. We won’t bug you on your vacation, but if the need arises, we will contact you to let you know of our concerns. Please make sure you leave a valid local emergency contact name and phone number with us. 

 In order to continue to provide the "above and beyond" pet and customer care that customers have come to expect from us we do have established Customer Hours.  Pet care continues around the clock, however, our office is only staffed during the times posted. After-Hours Service is periodically available for a fee starting at $20 for every 15 minutes after closing that Staff is expected to wait for you, with prior arrangements.  Arriving After-Hours creates disruption to Staff and Pet Care schedules as well as our limited personal Family Time.  Chronic offenders of our hours will be requested to make alternative pet care arrangements in the future.  

 Pet care operations are around the clock every day of the year, including weekends and Holidays.  Due to the nature of our business many families assume we are like "7-11" with customer hours anytime they want.  In addition to our pet care responsibilities we also have families of our own that we like to spend time with whenever possible.  Our office is staffed during the times posted, however, we are not available on Major Holidays for pet pick-up or drop off.  Pets on-site are still being cared for with Pet Care Staff, however, we do not have Office Staff otherwise. 

Your pet’s health and safety are our top priority. Our trained staff monitors all guests closely and will contact you and a local veterinarian if needed. 

One of the benefits of being a reputable pet care facility in the area, is being able to ask questions and screen pets prior to their arrival, rather than just taking any pet that calls. We try to take fun and stable family pets that don’t bite … but all dogs or cats will bite or scratch. We take great efforts to ensure pet comfort and care while you are away, but all pets will likely miss their owners on some level, and may bite if they are nervous, at any time.

If your pet severely bites a staff member or anyone else, we are required by law to contact the Sheriff, Animal Control, and the St. Mary’s Environmental Health Department. Our first concern will be human safety, and then of course the care and safety of your pet. Animal Control will typically require a ten-day quarantine after the incident, which shouldn’t be a problem since we only accept pets with current vaccinations. Luckily, this is a very rare event, due primarily to efforts to only accept family pets with stable personalities, and very good, and comforting, staff with proper animal handling skills. For additional information, you can review the County Regulations in full, at St. Mary’s County Animal Control Regulations.