Pet sitting & dog walking, Melbourne

Why don't Lonely Pets Club Offer Home Boarding?

Home boarding is a service where an animal is boarded in a carer's home. Lonely Pets Club were planning to introduce this service which is available interstate.

We then became aware that legislation made this very difficult, if not impossible, to offer legally in Victoria.

Each home must be registered with its local council as an animal Boarding Establishment and comply with the Code of Practice for the Operation of Boarding Establishments (Bureau of Animal Welfare).

This rule applies even to board just one dog in a home.

The Planning rules have relaxed a bit in the last few years. A year ago, a planning permit was required to be able to board even one dog in a residential zone. Now up to two dogs are allowed to be boarded in a home legally, without a planning permit, however each home does need to be a registered boarding establishment, as indicated above.

However dogs and in particular cats are territorial animals and we believe that if they can't be with their owners, they are happiest and safest being cared for in their own environment.

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