Thank you for your interest in Burnside Home Boarding Ltd, and for considering us to care for your beloved dogs.

Here’s a little about who we are and how our journey began:

Burnside Home Boarding Ltd opened its doors in late June 2024.

Our inspiration came from our little Jack Russell x Corgi, Penny. At 16 years old, she was sadly put to sleep in February 2024 after a very sudden decline. Penny had been my everything for those 16 years—my shadow, my companion, my heart—and like many devoted dog owners, you’ll understand the deep loss that follows saying goodbye.

I knew even years before that there would never be another dog like Penny, and I had already made the decision that I wouldn’t have another of my own. But with her passing, I found myself with so much love, knowledge, and experience that I still wanted to share—and home boarding, which had always been a passing idea, began to feel like a calling.

As I explored the idea further, I realised there was a real shortage of high-quality, personal home boarding options locally. I wanted to offer something different—somewhere dogs would be loved and cared for as if they were our own. Not part of a franchise, but a small, family-run service managed by myself and my ever-supportive husband.

While I had only a little business experience, I had years of hands-on experience with dogs and a deep understanding of what owners need to feel reassured. I knew the anxiety of leaving your dog in someone else’s care—I’d been there myself—and I was determined to offer a service built on trust, compassion, and high standards.

After months of preparation—creating booking forms, writing our Terms & Conditions, completing relevant training and certifications—we were officially inspected and licensed by Northumberland County Council in June 2024. We’re proud to have been awarded a 4-star licence, valid for three years.

Our licence number is NAB/299.

We are fully insured, DBS-checked, trained in canine first aid, and hold both a Pet Sitting & Dog Walking Diploma and a certificate in Canine Communication. We are also a verified member of Professional Dog Businesses UK, which confirms we’ve been properly vetted and recognised as a legitimate, professional service.

All documentation—licence, insurance, DBS certificate, and training credentials—can be viewed during our meet and greet appointments.

Where are we located and what do we offer:

We are situated between Haltwhistle and Greenhead CA8 7 directly from the A69. We have no near or adjoining neighbours, nor do we have unannounced visitors.

Our gardens have been adapted to be secure for small to medium breed dogs, we have gated access which is lockable when a dog is with us and have plenty garden space for dogs to enjoy outdoors between walks. 

We accept same households with a maximum of two dogs, on occasions we will accept 2 dogs from 2 related families where dogs have spent lots of time together and are already integrated, although a trial stay would be required.

The dogs who board with us live in our own home with us, we have gates between each room so same household dogs can still have their own space should they wish during rest times.

We recently (Apr25) stopped dogs sleeping in our bedrooms due to some issues with scent marking on furniture and lower hanging curtains, so the gate along to the bedrooms will always be closed to dogs. Because we reside on one level, the dogs whom normally join their humans in bed, they have tended to settle in the kitchen where they can see along our property towards the bedrooms. So, nightimes, dogs will have free roam of kitchen, living room & conservatory.

We ask owners to take the sleeping arrangement into consideration before asking us to take a booking, excessive barking, howling or general anxiety from not being able to sleep with humans isn’t good for your dog or us, so please consider alternative boarders if this could be an issue.

We have beautiful countryside on our doorstep so the majority of our walks are from home, although we do often travel/transport short distances to walk in other locations. A short 1.5mile walk and we are on Hadrians wall and there is a lovely country park near us too.

Length of walks is dependant upon the boarding plan you stipulate for your dog, some dogs like 2-3 short walks, others 2 longer walks, elderly dogs may just require a short walk and garden time, either way, for licensing requirements two 20min walks are required and if for health reasons a dog cannot be walked, alternative enrichment will be agreed. We will work and adhere to whatever schedule you wish. All dogs will receive enrichment, canine enrichment includes any safe, dog-appropriate activity that gives your pet a richer, fuller life, we are happy to contribute to this during their stay.

Whilst our gardens give a dog who is normally on lead all the time, freedom to free roam and run, we can also offer an additional chargeable service of booking an enrichment filled secure dog field some 14mile/18minutes away from us. If you wish us to book this additional extra then please stipulate this during booking and we’ll happily arrange this. The charge for this is £15 (Field charge £12 (50mins in field), plus our small £3 charge).

Younger dogs (or older if the case may be), we are happy to continue any training you may have started, just advise us of your dogs needs during a meet and greet.

We carry out daily welfare checks to boarding dogs, including checking paws, coat, ear, eyes, teeth, along with ensuring your dog is eating, drinking and doing business as he/she should be.

We understand how important your dog’s health and wellbeing is to you, so we have covered every policy and procedure relating to our service, these are required by licensing and we encourage all new clients to read these thoroughly (will be emailed to all new clients & existing should they wish to re-familiarise).

We have the following in situ at Burnside Home Boarding Ltd:

• CCTV on our premises
• Smoke Alarms
• Carbon Monoxide Alarms
• Temperature gauges
• Lockable gated entrance, anti-dig fence line, secured hedgeline and some stone wall boundaries
• First Aid equipment, Fire extinguishers and fire blankets
• Fans/Heaters for hot or cold weather (Heaters used in supervised areas only)
• Spare blankets, towels, harnesses, collars, leads, bowls,  Isolation hold area incase of infectious disease
• Paddling pool for hot weather
• Enrichment toys - Kongs, Treat Balls, Lick Mats, Tug Toys, Squeaky Toys, Ball, Ball Thrower, Chew Toys
• Licence ID tag for boarding dog collars