What to Expect at Your Dog's Meet and Greet Before Boarding

If you've never boarded a dog before, dropping them off somewhere new for a few nights can feel like a leap. Noah's Pet Motel in Pottstown asks every new dog to come in for a meet and greet before their first booked stay. It isn't a formality tacked onto the paperwork. It's the step that lets staff meet your dog in person, and lets you see exactly where they'll sleep, eat and play before you commit to a reservation.

Why the Visit Comes First

A passed meet-and-greet evaluation is one of the requirements for boarding a dog at Noah's, alongside a signed agreement, a rabies certificate and up-to-date vaccine records. The evaluation isn't about grading your dog against some standard. It's a chance for staff to see how your dog behaves around new people and other dogs in the building, so the right kind of activity and the right pace can be planned for the first stay. A dog who gets overwhelmed in a group gets handled differently than one who wants to play with everyone in the yard, and the only real way to tell which is which is to watch it happen in person, once, before the actual booking.

Who You'll Meet

Noah's has been boarding dogs and cats in Pottstown since 1989, and it's under new ownership as of July 2025. Geena, the current owner and general manager, isn't new to the building. She cared for Noah's guests for 10 years before taking over, on top of studying animal science and training as a veterinary technician. The whole staff is certified in canine and feline CPR and first aid through Pet Emergency Education LLC, a certification the team completed on 3/9/19 and one you'll see framed on the wall during your tour. Meeting the people your dog will actually be with is as much a part of the visit as seeing the building.

What Happens When You Arrive

Tours are booked one family at a time, during quieter hours, so your dog isn't walking into a packed lobby on their first visit. Staff walk you through the building: the indoor suites and covered outdoor suites where dogs sleep, the large fenced grass play yard, the heated indoor play area, and the quiet cuddle parlor with its couch and TV, the spot dogs go for a slower afternoon instead of group play. You'll also see the air conditioning and heat that keep the buildings comfortable through Pennsylvania summers and winters, the monitored fire and smoke system, and the backup generators that keep the whole property running if the power goes out.

• Your dog, on a leash or in a carrier
• Any vaccine records you already have on hand
• A short list of foods, medications or habits staff should know about
• Your questions about activities, feeding or the cuddle parlor

Tour Hours and Booking

Meet and greets run Monday through Thursday, 10 to 11:30 in the morning and 4 to 5:30 in the afternoon, plus Saturday from 10am to noon. Noah's doesn't run tours on Friday or Sunday, and only one family is shown around at a time, so it's worth calling ahead rather than dropping in. Call (610) 323-2206 to set a time, and mention if your dog has never been boarded before so staff can plan the visit around that.

What the Stay Itself Looks Like

Canine boarding at Noah's runs $47 a day for any size dog, plus an activity, which is where the tour actually comes in handy. Activities include Individual Play, Personal Play on a one-on-one basis, Couch Potato Time for dogs who'd rather relax than run, and Group Play for the social ones, and the meet and greet is the right time to ask which fits your dog best. There's no extra fee for twice-daily feedings, cot rentals, or bringing a bed from home. Dogs get a treat at lunchtime and again at bedtime as part of the daily routine, and the suites have TVs playing dog-themed movies around the clock. It's also worth asking about the 5% first-board coupon and the military discount while you're there, since both are easy to miss if nobody mentions them.

What Comes After the Tour

Once your dog has passed the evaluation, the last steps before a real stay are paperwork rather than anything your dog needs to do: a signed boarding agreement, needed just once, a rabies certificate, and current vaccine documentation, sent in at least 48 hours before the reservation. If you're not sure your vet's vaccine schedule lines up with the timing Noah's needs, it's worth reading up on before you book. That timing trips up more first-time boarders than anything else about the whole process.