Updated Dec 2023 – THIS IS A LIVING DOCUMENT AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTIFICATION. It is the responsibility of each owner to carefully read and accept these Terms of Service and by ticking the box you have accepted and agreed and will abide by them. This document combines all our policies in their entire.
Your booking form, once completed forms part of the Terms of Service as stated which is a condition of entry. Your booking form is a contract between you the owner/s and The DogHouse Inn and therefore a legal binding document.
CONDITION OF ENTRY: CURRENT C5 VACCINATION
1. ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS
The DogHouse Inn agrees to provide services to you subject to the following Terms of Service & Conditions within this agreement. This is a legal contract that is between the owner who owns the pet/s and us (being The DogHouse Inn), the proprietors of The DogHouse Inn. In addition, when using our services, you will also be bound by any guidelines or rules applicable to all our services on offer. At times without notice we may also offer other services that are governed by different Terms of Service which are not stated here. Prices are subject to change without notification. By reading and signing our booking form you acknowledge and accept that by using our services you agree by the terms of this Agreement. You understand that you are entering into a legal binding contract between yourself/vies and The DogHouse Inn and by signing you relinquish all rights and therefore the animal will be used as security in favour of the Operator which shall continue to exist while monies are owing to the Operator relating to this agreement.
MOTTO: Home Away From Home.
Here at The DogHouse Inn, we pride ourselves on providing your pet with the highest level of care.
2. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICE
Subject to the terms of this Agreement, we agree to provide boarding kennels and daycare through the following (where available):
It is mandatory for ALL DOGS coming into the kennels to have a current C5 vaccination. Proof of this must be sent to us prior to arrival. Failure to produce this document will result in your booking being terminated. A surcharge will be applied if on the day of arrival you do not have a hard copy of original and we have to contact your Vet for Verification.
(a) Shared Accommodation per family
(b) Boarding Kennels – Long & Short stay
(c) Doggy Daycare
(d) Home Care
(e) Hydrobath & Nails ONLY
(f) Medication – All medication should be clearly label with both Owner/s & Dog’s Name on the outside and on the actually container. Prescription of dosage to be given to dog and all directions from the vet must be clearly marked. If we are unsure of the directions, we will get in touch with the vet without notifying you. Any costs will be charged to the owner of the dog.
(g) Costs are charged for other services eg pick up & delivery from home/kennel, transport to Vets & returns and all / any road trips
3. YOUR REGISTRATION/BOOKING OBLIGATIONS
The information you provide to us about yourself, and your dog is correct, true, accurate, is current and complete as prompted by the registration / booking in its written form. You agree that you will promptly advise us of any changes to the information you provide to us. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, or we have reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is misleading, and then we reserve the right to cancel, suspend or terminate your registration / booking and refuse any and all current or future services we have on offer without giving a reason.
We have the right to contact the authorities if we feel that any criminal or offense has occurred without any Indemnity, liability or penalty incurred from such actions.
By agreeing / signing or placing a tick from our website on our boarding / daycare forms, you are stating that you have disclosed to us any and all behavioural issues relating to your dog, in particular any dangerous temperament / behaviour your dog may have to both animal and human, and you expressly agree to advise us promptly should this circumstance become untrue, incomplete or inaccurate. You indemnify us for any loss we suffer as a result of your failure to make the relevant disclosure to us either by failure to disclose such information which may be relevant to the well-being of both us, our staff and your pet/s or other pets in our facilities. You indemnify us and hold us blameless for any loss or harm suffered by you or your dog/s as a result of us acting in accordance with our rights under this section.
You warrant to us:
(a) you are the lawful owner of the pet/s in question;
(b) your pet/s has been vaccinated minimum (C5) 14 days prior to entry and current within the last 12 months. This doesn’t apply if your dog is getting his/her booster shot yearly. There is no within holding on dog’s who are getting there booster shots and vaccine is still current.
(c) TICK & FLEA treatment has been administered (including bedding you bring with you); max. 5 days prior to entry. If we find fleas or ticks on your pet, we reserve the right to administer treatment which the fee will be added to you, the client’s bill. We check daily on pets and bedding for any fleas & ticks. Washing is washed here regular to avoid breeding.
(d) Worming of dog/s has been done no less than 5 days prior to arriving at kennels.
(e) Should you require us to attend your premises to provide our services, you guarantee:
(i) The property is safe and secure for both your pet and us while and during our confinement;
(ii) you have adequate home, contents and public liability insurance to cover you and us for any damage, loss or injury caused whatsoever in the provision of services provided by us other than by reason of our negligent acts or omissions.
(f) All rates are based on shared accommodation and all fees are subject to change without notice.
(g) You expressly authorize us to seek any veterinarian assistance for your pet, at you (owner’s) costs, should we in our sole discretion deem necessary. Your bill will be paid by us at time of seeing the vets and you agree to reimburse us for all costs out laid.
(h) All medication must be clearly label with both owners and dog’s name along with the prescribed medication and dosage. We prefer this to be in the medication’s original container/format.
(i) If you request us not to call a vet in the case of an emergency needed for your pet, a written, signed, and dated letter must accompany your booking form and be on file, where it is clearly stated that in the case of an emergency a vet is NOT to be called as your request. Owners understands that should your pet die, you will not hold us, our staff, families, or I any liability or negligence.
(j) We reserve the right to deny admission to any pet that appears to be in ill health with symptoms of signs of illness.
(k) For safety reasons all dogs must enter these facilities with collars and leads on or in a crate.
(l) You have not, nor have you given permission or used your pet/s to hunt live animals or used for any criminal intent with said animals. Should we, The DogHouse Inn discover that you have breached any of the above, your contract with us will be terminated hence forth. You will be required to remove your dog/s immediately, pay compensation to all parties, pay all legal fees, veterinary costs both in the immediate and ongoing occurrence due to the involvement of your dog/s.
(m) If you have requested us to pick up / delivery your pet to and from your home, is it your sole responsibility to make sure your dog/s are able to be transported in a safe and secure manner. All damages to staff, vehicles, or property while in transit will be compensated by the owner/s of the dog/s that the damage was caused by. The owner/s agree that all damages that their dog/s did will be fully compensated quickly without fuss. We are not dog carriers.
(n) If a boarding animal is not picked up by the owner with 14 days after the booked period ends, then it will be assumed that the owner has disowned /abandon the dog/s and therefore becomes the property of The DogHouse Inn and we will take all necessary action to rehome the animal and any amounts owing to The DogHouse Inn will be recovered as a small claims through the local courts.
(o) It is you, the owner who is responsible for picking up your dog/s from the boarding kennels. If you are unable to collect/drop off and have someone else collecting/drop off on your behalf, you will need to call us immediately, with details of that person. We would prefer this put in a text or email to us so that all staff can be advised and placed in your file. No dog/s will be released until we have verification of said person who has the authority to take control of any dog/s. We will need this information before any person other than the owner can collect. The person collecting will need to supply a valid driver’s license before The DogHouse Inn will release any dog/s into another person’s care and must be the person who the owner has notified us will be collecting your dog/s.
(p) All items such as bedding, blankets etc must be clearly marked with the dog’s name and family surname. We will not accept any liability for loss of items. It is you, the owner’s responsibly to make sure that items are clearly marked and that staff have documented any items being left behind. The DogHouse Inn is not liable for any damage, loss or destruction to any items the owners bring in.
(q) Any dog that is deemed dangerous, aggressive or cannot be handled without fear of harm to The DogHouse employees/Business Owners will not be allow to stay on the premises and will be asked to be collected immediately. If for some reason the owner is unable to collect the dog immediately and cannot provide a suitable person to collect their dog, The DogHouse Inn will call the Western Downs Regional Council to come and collect the dog and the owner can collect from the pound. Any fees owing either by the DogHouse Inn or Western Downs Regional Council is the responsibility of the owner of the dog/s to be paid in full.
(r) The use of all PRONG collars and the likes are prohibited from use in these kennels. No dog will come or leave with these instruments on their person.
(s) Staff and owners of The DogHouse Inn have the right to refuse any dog/s wishing to come into the boarding kennels out of hours without abuse or ramifications.
WE DO NOT DO GROOMING. If you want a groomer to attend to your dog while you are away you must arrange this prior with us and arrange for your own groomer to attend your dog/s while they are at the kennels. All cost relating to grooming are at the owner’s expense, including any travel cost and products used by the groomer.
NOTE: If you have white or light coloured dogs, or long coats, their coats may not be the same colour / length at pick up. WHY??? This is due to your dog being outside on the grass and dirt and their coat may not be the same as when you dropped them off. This is because we do not lock dogs up during the day. Dogs run around happy outside in the open yards, they aren’t too worried about the state of their coats. Yes. They are outside in the yards. If you want their coats to be exactly as you have them at home where they are inside most of the time, this is not the kennel for you and we strongly suggest finding other alternatives. Otherwise you clearly understand and accept all responsibility and will not come back at us for neglect or incompetent service.
4. OPENING HOURS
We are open during the following hours:
Monday – Friday: 7am – 10.30am & 3.30pm – 5.30pm
Saturday Morning ONLY: 8am – 10.30am
Sunday Afternoon ONLY: 3.30 pm – 5.30pm.
CLOSED: Christmas Day & Boxing Day & Observed Day
New Years Day / Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday – AM ONLY
DEPARTURES: ALL MORNING departures – All dogs leaving in the morning must depart by 8.30am. From 8.30am to 10.30am a fee will be charged. Please make sure you choose the correct time you wish to depart in the morning on your booking form and you arrive in those times. Failure to arrive on time and not notify us will be charged a late fee. ie. If you put 8am pick up and you arrive at 8.34am you will be charged the morning fee.
NO Out of Hours pick up and drop offs unless it is for EMERGENCY USE ONLY, and we ask clients to understand that we need family time & time off along with time to do things around our farm.
5. RATES, PAYMENT OF FEES & REFUNDS
Our Rates are based on shared accommodation and charged on a per day basis. We prefer transactions to be done in cash, eftpos or via direct debt. If paying by the later you must submit your bank remittance receipt to us prior to coming into the kennels, using either our booking number or invoice number as reference. Failure to provide your remittance payment may result in you being charged more than what you would be required. If you pick up early, there is no refund on days not used. We have kept kennels available for your dog/s and it is up to you if you use those days or not. Booking form requested for morning departure, there is no charge if picked up before 10am.
NOTE PLEASE: WE DO NOT DO GROOMING. THIS SERVICE IS NOT PART OF THE KENNELS HERE.
ALL Payment for PEAK Periods. At time of booking and accepting the quote sent to you, you are required to pay 50% deposit immediately to confirm and keep your place available for the period you required. The system allows 3 days in which to receive your deposit before being deleted without notice. The min deposit for any PEAK booking is $100 or 50%, whichever is the greater amount and is stated in your email. You have 3 days in which to respond to our quote before the system will automatically delete your booking. The remaining balance of your Peak Booking must be paid by or on the day of arrival. NO Refund will be given of deposit once booking has been confirmed & less than 25 days to time of arrival. If you pick up early there is no refund on days not used. We have kept kennels available for your dog/s and it is up to you if you use those days or not.
How to calculate how much the deposit is? Peak Periods are: Easter (4 days), Christmas, all school & public holidays as well as observed days. Your quote will give you the total cost of your booking. ie. If the total amount is $105 the min deposit is $100. If the total amount is $300, 50% is due so the amount is $150 for your deposit and secure your booking. NO Refund will be given of deposit once booking has been confirmed & from 25 days or less to time of arrival.
Cancellation fee of $100 (Peak) is charged and will be taken out of your original deposit before being refunded if you cancel more than 25 days out from time of arrival. If insufficient funds you will be billed for the amount owing. Less than 25 days and there is NO REFUND on your deposit. Less than 24hours you will pay the remaining balancing of your invoice. Why? We have refused others coming into the kennel so that you can have your booking and therefore we can not fill this space. It is expected that this money will be paid immediately without fuss. Fail to do so will ensure your account be sent to the debt collect and may affect your credit rating.
(Off Peak) We ask that $38 deposit be paid to secure your booking at time of confirmation for all Off Peak Bookings. Like all bookings this is due 3 days from the time you receive your quote from us. Failure to confirm and pay the $38 will result in your booking being cancelled. VIP: please submit your bank remittance as proof of payment for ALL bookings and this is also your Cancellation fee which is NON REFUNDABLE.
Any charges occurring while your dog/s stay here will be charged at time of departure and must be paid for in full before leaving with your dog. Failure to pay for services will be forwarded to a debt collector.
Where the client has supplied The DogHouse Inn with their credit card details, your signature (either written or verbal) will be taken as authority to withdraw from your credit card any amounts owing to The DogHouse Inn. Your credit rating maybe affected if account becomes delinquent.
Animals that require long term boarding (6 months) will require signing a “change of ownership” form to cater for any animal abandonment issues and furthering to their wellbeing. This is a Western Downs Council requirement. We may ask for your credit card details so that your bill can be ongoing paid via weekly instalments.
The OWNER acknowledges that 24hrs notice (during office hours) is to be given if picking up their dog/s early to ensure that departure bath and other procedures can be completed. The DogHouse Inn takes NO responsibility should the bath or other procedures not be completed due to lack of notice.
DOG TRAINING (NOT AVAILABLE)
6. PRIVACY POLICY
Information provided to us through the registration / booking process and certain other information about you is subject to our Privacy Policy. You acknowledge and accept that by registering for any of our Services you consent to the collection and use of this information at our sole discretion. As we take privacy very seriously, we knowledge that your privacy will be kept safe and not sold, lent or shared with any other party. Confidentiality is very important to us so feel free to discuss any concerns you may have in this area.
7. CONSENT TO USE OF DIGITAL AND ELECTRONIC MATERIAL
You acknowledge and accept that during the use of the Service, we may take photographs and/or make audio or other media recordings in which you and your dog may appear. You consent to us (and any person authorized by us) to copy or reproduce such material (whether by photo, film or other digital, electronic or printed media) as we may in our sole discretion determine, for the purpose of marketing and promoting the Service we offer without acknowledgment or compensation to you and without entitlement by you to any remuneration now or in the future. You understand and agree that you have no further rights to the material, including moral rights and the copyright and that all material becomes the sole ownership of The DogHouse Inn. In exchange we agree not to use the material in a manner that may be deemed adverse or defamatory to you, your family or your pet. We further agree that your personal details including your name, address, phone numbers, will not be used in the featured material without your express consent given.
NOTE: Should you wish NO MEDIA format be posted on any social media or be used in any marketing or promotional media, please advise us asap in written form with a letter stating owner’s name, date and dog’s name and breed. Otherwise we take upon ourselves that any and or formats of media is the right for us to use as we see fit, which you knowingly understand and accept.
8. OWNER’S CONDUCT
You acknowledge and accept that by registering for our Services you agree to be bound by Our Rules by The DogHouse Inn. If you are unsure of any rules please ask and we will be happy to explain them to you.
You agree that whilst using the Service you will not:
(a) act in a way that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libellous, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
(b) allow your dog to harm us or our clients in any way; and
(c) unreasonably interfere with or disrupt the Service or disregards any of our reasonable requirements, procedures, policies or regulations.
(d) show respect, courtesy, politeness and be up front and honest with all staff members and any person on the grounds of The DogHouse Inn.
(e) You will not defame, use or suggest any manner of harm, harass, torture, defamatory, vulgar or other negative manner on any social media platform. You understand that legal action will be taken against you if it is seen that you are deliberately bad mouthing The DogHouse Inn or our Employees or our place of Business.
(f) You have a long coated dog and you are only paying for boarding, that is what you receive. WE DO NOT DO GROOMING. Grooming is very costly and time consuming. If you wish to organiser a groomer to come to the kennels this is up to you and at your own expense. You must let us know before arrival and what arrangements have been made.
Note: Dogs run around the yard and while we endeavour to make sure NO burs, prickles or other such things are in the yard, sometimes things do it get into your dog’s coats. ie. Mud. If you dog is extremely dirty by rain we do give them a bath if possible.
We reserve the right (but not the obligation), at our sole discretion to refuse, or remove any person including you &/ or dog/s from a Service that violates this Agreement or is otherwise objectionable to our rules and policies which have been put into place in mind with Workplace, Health, and Safety. If after reading you agree with our policies and you have evaluated them keeping in mind both yourself and your dog/s situations, you feel that our services are not for you please let us know and do not submit a booking form. You acknowledge and bear all risks associated with, the use of our Service/s, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of the Service. You acknowledge and understand that in assessing whether our services are for you and your dog (some services may not be for all dogs), we fully understand if you wish to terminate our service.
10. OUR PROMISE TO YOU: DUTY OF CARE
The Doghouse Inn will take the utmost care of your pet/s whilst boarding & or daycare with us. We ensure the safety of your animals, and we strive to provide low stress, high security & safety and an enjoyable boarding / daycare experience whilst in our care. We provide a clean, secure accommodation, ensuring as far as possible the health, well-being, safety and care is taken while your pet/s are in our care.
OUR RESPONSIBILITY
You acknowledge, consent, and agree that we may disclose your personal and other information if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to:
(a) comply with legal process.
(b) enforce this Agreement
(c) respond to claims made by you or another
(d) respond to your requests for customer service; or
(e) protect the rights, property or personal safety of our officers, agents, employees and clients and animals.
Without written consent or at the very least a phone call to state that consent is given by you the owner – NO dog/s will exchange hands or be removed from our property without the sole permission of the owner. Proof of Identification of person to pick up must be shown in the form of driver’s licence and the name of the person to collect given at time of arrival or via phone call by the owner of the dog’s in question. All dog/s from time of arrival remain the property of The DogHouse Inn until such time as the said owner collects. We reserve the right to refuse anyone who claims they are here to collect said dog/s without being first contacted by the owners.
11. INDEMNITY
Subject to any applicable law, you agree to indemnify us and hold us and our families, friends, clients, property and employees harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable legal fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of the Services, your violation of this Agreement, or your violation of any rights of another.
You hereby indemnify and agree to reimburse us for any services rendered including, food, worming, grooming, traveling, damage to our property (vehicle or kennel property), veterinary costs and medical expenses or any other debt incurred:
(a) on your behalf;
(b) on behalf of your pet; or
(c) as a result of injury or damage caused to us or a third party by your pet. DISCONTINUANCE OR MODIFICATION TO SERVICES
The DogHouse Inn reserves the right to change our rules and policies according to Government rules and regulations at any time and/or to modify or discontinue any of the Services we have on offer without prior notice. We will however take all reasonable steps to provide such notice to you if this occurs in the case you request them.
Should we discontinue or unable to provide a Service, through no fault of the owners, we agree to promptly provide you with a full refund of any monies paid by you to us. You acknowledge and accept that any refund granted by us under this clause is limited to monies paid by you only and doesn’t extend to any third party employed by you as a result of our service being discontinued.
12. TERMINATION
You agree that we may, under certain circumstances and without prior notice give immediate termination of your registration booking for a Service you have requested. This action is not taken lightly and all efforts are taken before this action is implemented. Any money changed hands will not be refunded.
Reasons for terminate of Service, but not be limited to:
(a) breaches or violations of the this Agreement or other rules and policies or guidelines set out by us, Government or Local Council;
(b) requests by law enforcement or other government agencies;
(c) a written request by you;
(d) discontinuance of a service or a change of type
(e) unexpected issues or problems;
(f) failure to pay all or any outstanding fees owed by you which directly is connected to the service given by us.
(g) non-payment of any outstanding fees will result in our service not being available to you in the future.
(h) your dog/s are found have a contagious virus, not vaccinated, or been in the vicinity or area where Parvo has been found.
(i) your dog/s is acting / is showing signs of aggression, dangerous to either the employees or other dogs within the surrounding kennels.
Subject to the terms of this Agreement set out above, you agree that all terminations with due cause will be made at our sole discretion and that we will not be liable to you or any third-party expenses which may incur due to said termination of services.
13. VIP: We reserve the right to refuse to take or keep or handle any animal that is considered to present a danger to any person or other animal either during transport, at the kennels, in or outside their surroundings or at the owner’s home and this shall be at the sole discretion of our staff. Owner’s are to remove the animal with all due hast in these circumstances. Failure to do such will be cause for local council to be called and for the dog/s to be removed at owner’s expenses. There is no refund if our services are terminated due to dangerous dog/s. The determination of whether your dog/s is a danger to others is at the sole discretion of The DogHouse Inn.
14. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
You expressly acknowledge and accept that:
(a) Your use of the Service is at your sole risk. The Service is provided on an “as is” “where is” and “as available” basis. (Feel free to ask around about our service)
(b) We make no warranty / guarantee that Services will meet your expectations or requirements.
(c) No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by you from us or through any of the Services we provide will create any warranty not stated in this Agreement.
15. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
Subject to applicable law, you expressly acknowledge and accept that we will not be liable to you for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or exemplary damages, resulting from the use or inability to use the services we provide. Any cost procured by the owner due to our services will be the sole responsibility of the owner and no reimbursement will be given by us.
16. INDEMNITY
Although we take the utmost care when boarding your dog/s, we cannot accept responsibility for injury, death, loss, illness, or damage of any kind that may occur to an animal staying with us at The DogHouse Inn. Dogs are unpredictable and therefore we can only be diligent and work to strive to do our best for the health and wellbeing of the dogs staying with us. You acknowledge and accept that, We (meaning The DogHouse Inn) disclaim all responsibility for your pet/s or property why they are boarding here.
Should you require us to provide you with “home care” services for your pet, we expressly disclaim any responsibility for your pet or property where a third party (e.g. your friend, family or contractor, thief or stranger) enters your property when we are not there. We acknowledge that all due care will be taken while we are undertaking the care of your pet/s at home, however animals are unpredictable, accidents can happen, undue circumstance can occur. Therefore, it is your responsibility as owner to guarantee that your fences and gates are secure and that your pets cannot escape.
17. CONTACTING US
In person: 391 Horswoods Road, Chances Plains Qld 4413
Post: The DogHouse Inn, PO Box 727, Chinchilla Qld 4413
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.thedoghouseinn.com.au
Bookings: [email protected]
Ph: Mobile: 0429 098 686
ABN: 50 475 908 508
18. GENERAL INFORMATION
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and us and governs the use and provision of the Services we provide and cancels any prior agreements between you and us with respect to the Services. By ticking in the ballot box on each booking form you agree to all our term and conditions and accept all our terms and services in full. If this isn’t the case please do not proceed with your booking.
The first time each year you arrive you will be asked to sign in hard copy our Terms of Service.
All our services, including this agreement above are governed by both State and Local laws in Queensland and are subject to change according to when State or Local laws change.
It is our obligation by law to follow the regulations and policies set out by Queensland Government and Western Downs Regional Council.
This agreement is in accordance with the requirements of the Domestic Animals Act 1994 and the Code of Practice for the operation of Boarding Establishments.
This boarding kennel is in agreement in accordance with the Animal Management (Cats and Dogs) Act 2009.