A kennel cannot act on good intentions. In an emergency its staff need written permission they can show a veterinary practice, a limit they can work within, and a clear answer to who pays, all decided by you before the stay rather than improvised over a phone line you may not answer.
What the Written Authorization Must Contain
Write the authorization as one signed document containing the same set everywhere it appears: the named veterinary practice, authorization for emergency treatment, a spending limit you set, your contact order plus a named alternate if you are unreachable, and who settles the bill.
Name the practice your dog normally attends, and add the after-hours emergency practice it refers to if that is a different address. Authorization for emergency treatment should say plainly that the kennel may take your dog in and agree to urgent treatment on your behalf. A spending limit gives that permission a boundary you choose in advance, so treatment is not delayed while staff wonder how far they may go.
Your contact order should list the sequence in which to call you: your mobile first, then any travel number or second phone, then the named alternate. That alternate must be a real person who knows they are named, knows your dog, and can make decisions if you cannot be reached. The final item, who settles the bill, should state whether the practice bills you directly, whether the kennel or alternate pays and you reimburse them, or whether a card is held on file at the practice for this stay.
Getting the Same Wording to Everyone
Give the kennel a copy, give the veterinary practice a copy for your dog's file, and keep your own copy with the named alternate's copy matching it word for word. Mismatched versions create the very hesitation the document exists to prevent, especially if one copy carries an older spending limit or an old phone number.
Talk it through before drop-off. Confirm the kennel knows where the practice is, how long the drive takes, and that genuine emergencies should be treated first and reported to you as soon as the situation allows. Ask the practice to note the authorization on your dog's record so a call from the kennel does not start with proving who may decide.
Sign and date the authorization for this stay. Fresh dates matter because limits, contacts, and alternates change, and a document from a previous trip may name a person who has moved or a number that no longer works.
Keeping Access Matched to the Stay
The kennel needs your dog's records for the stay itself: feeding, health notes, the authorization, and the contacts. It does not need open-ended access after you collect your dog and come home. Matching access to the exact stay dates protects the record and makes the handover cleaner for the next booking, when you issue a fresh authorization with current details.
Check the document again whenever anything changes between stays: a new practice, a new alternate, a different spending limit, or a new instruction about settling costs. Update every copy at the same time, and retire every old version by replacing it everywhere rather than editing only the copy you keep at home.
Review the authorization once more at drop-off with the staff member receiving your dog, pointing out the practice, the limit, and the alternate by name so the handover is spoken as well as written. When the visit ends, that temporary window closes, and KinsLe's Care Pass record shows exactly what staff could view while your dog was boarded.