An animal boarding house where you can bring your sick old pet when you have to work or want to go on holiday for a week. Dierenpension Farm De Bries is the first of its kind with this concept and will open its doors in Coevorden tomorrow.
“There are shelters for old and sick animals. The animals are then taken there to die, but this is very different,” says the proud owner Monique de Boer. “This is a small-scale location with medical care and the business is at home, so I’m always nearby.”
From animal assistant to own business
De Boer is an experienced veterinary assistant and has worked for years at a veterinary practice. She then opened her own pet store at home, where she also provided assistance as a veterinary assistant. In this way she built up an entire customer base in the Coevorden area with animals that she cared for at home or administered medication when the ‘owners’ had to work or wanted to go away for a week.
There she noted that there is no animal shelter for this target group. “Not only are people getting older these days, but so are pets,” she explains.
According to De Boer, normal animal shelters can be very stressful for the seniors. “The saying about ‘young dogs’ is there for a reason,” laughs De Boer. “Because as a ten-year-old bulldog with twenty young labradors you have to go out on a playground, he will get exhausted. That is on top of the fact that older dogs experience extra stress because they are away from home and need medication.”
Another approach
That is why she takes a different approach in her animal boarding house. The venue has been kept small on purpose. There are fifteen kennels for dogs. These are luxuriously equipped with dog benches, baskets and fleece blankets. De Boer says: “I want to keep it small and clear, so that I have enough time for the animals. This way I can give the animals the care and attention they need.”
There are also two playing fields for the dogs and a special short walking route around the property. The days start at half past six with a walk in the morning and end with a walk late in the evening. “But only for the animals that can handle that,” she adds quickly.
According to the owner, this is different from normal guest houses, there is no time to find out for each animal whether or not it is possible to walk. We also work during office hours. “But the older animals can’t wait that long with their needs,” she explains. “I also love to start the day like this.”
A cat loft will be added later in the summer, with special cat rooms for old and sick cats. There is still a lot of work going on right now.
Adventure
In 2021 she decided to take on the adventure with the purchase of Boerderij de Bries. “It has been exciting for a long time, because there was no permit for an animal shelter at this location,” says De Boer. “In the worst case, we would have had no business, but we would have had a very nice house to live in. Fortunately, it went well and we can start tomorrow.”
Fleece blankets requested
De Boer indicates that the four-legged friends love fleece blankets. And even though she has closets full, “they get washed a lot and the dogs like to chew them, so we can never have enough of them in the house.”
De Boer: “Should people have any washable pillows or fleece blankets that they can’t use? Please bring them to us.”