{
 "license": "CC BY 4.0",
 "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
 "attribution": "Source: Dogs Away (dogsaway.co)",
 "generatedAt": "2026-11-07T06:25:32.985Z",
 "city": {
  "slug": "boston-ma",
  "name": "Boston",
  "state": "Massachusetts",
  "st": "MA",
  "lat": 42.3601,
  "lng": -71.0589,
  "url": "https://dogsaway.co/boston-ma/",
  "boardingUrl": "https://dogsaway.co/dog-boarding/boston-ma/",
  "daycareUrl": "https://dogsaway.co/dog-daycare/boston-ma/",
  "markdownUrl": "https://dogsaway.co/boston-ma.md",
  "pulledAt": "2026-10-20",
  "censusAt": "2026-10-20",
  "indexable": true,
  "counts": {
   "facilities": 352,
   "boarding": 221,
   "daycare": 270,
   "catBoarding": 7,
   "dedicatedFacilities": 309,
   "vets": 18,
   "open24": 24,
   "pricedCount": 136,
   "boardingRateCount": 78
  },
  "boardingMedian": {
   "value": 70,
   "unit": "USD/night",
   "basis": "Median across 78 of 352 indexed Boston facilities with an overnight rate found on their own website. Crawl protocol: homepage plus linked pages matching rate keywords, 2026-10-20. First-dog standard rate; holiday and add-on pricing excluded.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  }
 },
 "metrics": [
  {
   "id": "boarding_median_price:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "boarding_median_price",
   "label": "Median published overnight boarding rate",
   "value": 70,
   "unit": "USD/night",
   "format": "currency",
   "n": 78,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "Median across 78 of 352 indexed Boston facilities with an overnight rate found on their own website. Crawl protocol: homepage plus linked pages matching rate keywords, 2026-10-20. First-dog standard rate; holiday and add-on pricing excluded.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "boarding_price_p25:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "boarding_price_p25",
   "label": "25th percentile boarding rate",
   "value": 55,
   "unit": "USD/night",
   "format": "currency",
   "n": 78,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "25th percentile across 78 of 352 indexed Boston facilities with an overnight rate found on their own website. Crawl protocol: homepage plus linked pages matching rate keywords, 2026-10-20. First-dog standard rate; holiday and add-on pricing excluded.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "boarding_price_p75:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "boarding_price_p75",
   "label": "75th percentile boarding rate",
   "value": 85,
   "unit": "USD/night",
   "format": "currency",
   "n": 78,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "75th percentile across 78 of 352 indexed Boston facilities with an overnight rate found on their own website. Crawl protocol: homepage plus linked pages matching rate keywords, 2026-10-20. First-dog standard rate; holiday and add-on pricing excluded.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "boarding_price_spread:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "boarding_price_spread",
   "label": "Boarding price spread (p75 ÷ p25)",
   "value": 1.55,
   "unit": "×",
   "format": "ratio",
   "n": 78,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "Ratio of the 75th to the 25th percentile published overnight rate across 78 Boston facilities, 2026-10-20. Both figures share the same population and period.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "daycare_median_price:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "daycare_median_price",
   "label": "Median published daycare rate",
   "value": 42,
   "unit": "USD/day",
   "format": "currency",
   "n": 111,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "Median full-day daycare rate across 111 of 352 indexed Boston facilities publishing one on their own website, 2026-10-20.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "rate_findable_share:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "rate_findable_share",
   "label": "Share of facilities with a rate findable on their website",
   "value": 24.6,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 317,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "78 of 317 Boston facility websites we crawled had an overnight rate on the homepage or a linked rate page, 2026-10-20. A facility counted as not-found may still publish a rate outside that crawl scope, on a page requiring login, or quote it by phone — this measures findability, not disclosure.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "facility_count:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "facility_count",
   "label": "Indexed facilities",
   "value": 352,
   "unit": "facilities",
   "format": "count",
   "n": 352,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "dogsaway-index",
   "basis": "Count across the 352 Boston facilities in the Dogs Away index, 2026-10-20. Index scope: the counties of the Census metro area, plus places within 30 miles of downtown, categories per /about/#score.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "boarding_count:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "boarding_count",
   "label": "Offering boarding",
   "value": 221,
   "unit": "facilities",
   "format": "count",
   "n": 352,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "dogsaway-index",
   "basis": "Count across the 352 Boston facilities in the Dogs Away index, 2026-10-20. Index scope: the counties of the Census metro area, plus places within 30 miles of downtown, categories per /about/#score.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "daycare_count:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "daycare_count",
   "label": "Offering daycare",
   "value": 270,
   "unit": "facilities",
   "format": "count",
   "n": 352,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "dogsaway-index",
   "basis": "Count across the 352 Boston facilities in the Dogs Away index, 2026-10-20. Index scope: the counties of the Census metro area, plus places within 30 miles of downtown, categories per /about/#score.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "dedicated_facility_count:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "dedicated_facility_count",
   "label": "Dedicated boarding/daycare facilities",
   "value": 309,
   "unit": "facilities",
   "format": "count",
   "n": 352,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "dogsaway-index",
   "basis": "Count across the 352 Boston facilities in the Dogs Away index, 2026-10-20. Index scope: the counties of the Census metro area, plus places within 30 miles of downtown, categories per /about/#score.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "vet_count:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "vet_count",
   "label": "Veterinary practices that board",
   "value": 18,
   "unit": "facilities",
   "format": "count",
   "n": 352,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "dogsaway-index",
   "basis": "Count across the 352 Boston facilities in the Dogs Away index, 2026-10-20. Index scope: the counties of the Census metro area, plus places within 30 miles of downtown, categories per /about/#score.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "open24_count:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "open24_count",
   "label": "Advertising 24-hour operation",
   "value": 24,
   "unit": "facilities",
   "format": "count",
   "n": 352,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "dogsaway-index",
   "basis": "Count across the 352 Boston facilities in the Dogs Away index, 2026-10-20. Index scope: the counties of the Census metro area, plus places within 30 miles of downtown, categories per /about/#score.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_vaccines:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_vaccines",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Vaccination requirements",
   "value": 42.6,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "129 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 174 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_bordetellaWindow:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_bordetellaWindow",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Bordetella timing window",
   "value": 5.3,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "16 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 287 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_fecalTest:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_fecalTest",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Fecal / parasite test required",
   "value": 16.8,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "51 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 252 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_spayNeuter:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_spayNeuter",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Spay/neuter policy",
   "value": 31.7,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "96 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 207 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_trialRequired:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_trialRequired",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Trial / temperament evaluation required",
   "value": 36,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "109 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 194 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_proofRequired:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_proofRequired",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Records verified vs. taken on word",
   "value": 27.7,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "84 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 219 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_staffOvernight:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_staffOvernight",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Staff on site overnight",
   "value": 15.5,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "47 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 256 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_staffRatio:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_staffRatio",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Staff-to-dog ratio",
   "value": 3.3,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "10 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 293 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_groupSizeCap:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_groupSizeCap",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Maximum playgroup size",
   "value": 2,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "6 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 297 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_staffCertification:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_staffCertification",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Pet first aid / CPR certification",
   "value": 9.2,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "28 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 275 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_playModel:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_playModel",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Play model (all-day / rotation / no group play)",
   "value": 10.9,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "33 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 270 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_separationBasis:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_separationBasis",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Groups separated by size / temperament",
   "value": 21.1,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "64 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 239 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_hoursOutOfKennel:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_hoursOutOfKennel",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Hours per day out of the kennel",
   "value": 5,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "15 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 288 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_soloOption:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_soloOption",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Option for dogs who can’t do group play",
   "value": 11.2,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "34 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 269 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_kennelType:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_kennelType",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Housing type (wire crate / suite / free-roam)",
   "value": 20.9,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 302,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "63 of 302 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 239 sites carried no such statement, and 1 more were described by reviewers but not stated by the operator (counted as not published). Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_outdoorAccess:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_outdoorAccess",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Outdoor access (yard / run / indoor only)",
   "value": 44.7,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 300,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "134 of 300 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 166 sites carried no such statement, and 3 more were described by reviewers but not stated by the operator (counted as not published). Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_capacity:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_capacity",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Capacity",
   "value": 1.7,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "5 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 298 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_climateMonitored:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_climateMonitored",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Climate control / alarm monitoring",
   "value": 27.7,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "84 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 219 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_liveCamera:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_liveCamera",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Client-viewable live cameras",
   "value": 3.7,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 300,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "11 of 300 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 289 sites carried no such statement, and 3 more were described by reviewers but not stated by the operator (counted as not published). Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_photoUpdates:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_photoUpdates",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Daily photo / report-card updates",
   "value": 10,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 289,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "29 of 289 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 260 sites carried no such statement, and 15 more were described by reviewers but not stated by the operator (counted as not published). Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_tourPolicy:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_tourPolicy",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Facility tour policy",
   "value": 9.6,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "29 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 274 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_incidentPolicy:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_incidentPolicy",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Injury / fight policy and notification",
   "value": 1,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "3 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 300 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_vetAccess:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_vetAccess",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Vet on site / on call",
   "value": 3.3,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 301,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "10 of 301 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 291 sites carried no such statement, and 2 more were described by reviewers but not stated by the operator (counted as not published). Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_medicationAdmin:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_medicationAdmin",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Administers medication",
   "value": 13.2,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "40 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 263 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_feedingPolicy:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_feedingPolicy",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Accepts owner-supplied / raw food",
   "value": 15.8,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "48 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 255 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_acceptingClients:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_acceptingClients",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Accepting new clients",
   "value": 6.3,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 303,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "19 of 303 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 284 sites carried no such statement. Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "disclosure_onlineBooking:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "disclosure_onlineBooking",
   "label": "Facilities publishing: Online booking available",
   "value": 13.3,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 301,
   "of": 352,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "40 of 301 Boston facility websites we reached and reviewed publish this, 2026-10-20. Every candidate passage the extractor surfaced for this field was read by a curator; 261 sites carried no such statement, and 2 more were described by reviewers but not stated by the operator (counted as not published). Measures what operators publish on their own websites — not what they would say if asked.",
   "asOf": "2026-10-20"
  },
  {
   "id": "stated_catBoarding:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "stated_catBoarding",
   "label": "Facilities stating they board cats",
   "value": 11.3,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 256,
   "of": 256,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "29 of 256 dedicated facilities in Boston, MA whose websites we reached state that they board cats, 2026-10-08. We read up to 20 pages per site plus linked PDFs. A recall check of 30 sampled sites that stated nothing found 2 that did (7%), so the true share may be slightly higher. Measures what operators publish, not what they do."
  },
  {
   "id": "stated_minimumAge:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "stated_minimumAge",
   "label": "Facilities stating a minimum age",
   "value": 18.4,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 256,
   "of": 256,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "47 of 256 dedicated facilities in Boston, MA whose websites we reached state a minimum age for boarding or daycare, 2026-10-08. We read up to 20 pages per site plus linked PDFs. A recall check of 30 sampled sites that stated nothing found 3 that did (10%), so the true share may be slightly higher. Measures what operators publish, not what they do."
  },
  {
   "id": "stated_illnessPolicy:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "stated_illnessPolicy",
   "label": "Facilities stating an illness policy",
   "value": 10.2,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 256,
   "of": 256,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "26 of 256 dedicated facilities in Boston, MA whose websites we reached state what happens with a sick or contagious dog, 2026-10-08. We read up to 20 pages per site plus linked PDFs. A recall check of 20 sampled sites that stated nothing found 1 that did (5%), so the true share may be slightly higher. Measures what operators publish, not what they do."
  },
  {
   "id": "stated_cancellationPolicy:city:boston-ma",
   "metric": "stated_cancellationPolicy",
   "label": "Facilities stating a cancellation policy",
   "value": 16.8,
   "unit": "%",
   "format": "percent",
   "n": 256,
   "of": 256,
   "evidence": "calculated",
   "source": "facility-website",
   "basis": "43 of 256 dedicated facilities in Boston, MA whose websites we reached state a cancellation rule for boarding, 2026-10-08. We read up to 20 pages per site plus linked PDFs. A recall check of 40 sampled sites that stated nothing found 2 that did (5%), so the true share may be slightly higher. Measures what operators publish, not what they do."
  }
 ],
 "licensing": {
  "status": "resolved",
  "tier": "B",
  "stateLicensesBoardingKennels": true,
  "stateInspectsBoardingKennels": true,
  "summary": "Massachusetts requires every commercial boarding or training kennel in the Commonwealth to hold a kennel license and pass inspection before that license issues or renews. Mass. General Laws c.140 sec.137A defines 'commercial boarding or training kennel' as a facility, other than a veterinary or personal kennel, that boards, houses, trains or provides day care to a dog or dogs not owned by the kennel's owner, for consideration, and makes it unlawful to operate one without a license from the local licensing authority. That authority is municipal, not a single state office: in every Massachusetts city and town except Boston it is the city or town clerk, and in Boston, uniquely, state law names the police commissioner as the licensing authority (c.140 sec.137A/147). A licensing authority may not issue or renew a kennel license until the premises has passed inspection by an animal control officer, must set a maximum number of animals the kennel may house based on that inspection, and must inspect every licensed kennel at least once a year (c.140 sec.137C). This is a genuine, uniform, state-mandated regime, not a patchwork of local ordinances that may or may not exist depending on the town, the way Florida's county registrations do. Since 'An Act to Increase Kennel Safety' (Ollie's Law), signed 20 September 2024 and effective 19 December 2024, the regime has grown a state layer: every municipality must report its licensed kennels to the Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) annually by 1 June, and MDAR must promulgate binding minimum care, staffing-ratio, housing and safety standards for commercial boarding/training kennels by June 2026. As of the June 2025 reporting deadline, 237 of 351 municipalities had complied, reporting 1,370 licensed kennels statewide, 415 of them commercial boarding or training kennels; MDAR publishes municipality-level compliance status, not a name-and-address list of individual kennels, so there is still no public register to join to facility records the way Colorado's PACFA register is joined. Whether the City of Boston itself submitted its 2025 report, and what MDAR's June 2026 minimum-standards regulations say once finalized, were not confirmed by this search and should be re-verified before this record is trusted as current.",
  "boundary": "IMPORTANT — Massachusetts requires a kennel license for every commercial boarding/training/daycare operation, and requires it to pass an animal-control-officer inspection before issuance and at least once a year afterward, but the license is issued and the inspection performed by the city or town (in Boston, by the police commissioner), not by a single state office, and there is no public list of who holds one. Dogs Away has not verified which, if any, of the facilities in this market hold a current Boston kennel license, and never states or implies that a facility is licensed, unlicensed, inspected, compliant or non-compliant. A facility's absence from this record is a statement about what we searched, not about its legal status.",
  "register": "No public, name-and-address register of individual licensed kennels exists at the state level. MDAR's municipal compliance report shows which cities and towns submitted their annual list and statewide counts by kennel type, not which specific facility holds which license. Nothing in this market record is joined to any facility.",
  "checkedAt": "2026-09-09"
 },
 "analysis": {
  "headline": "Forty-seven of 303 Boston-area websites say whether anyone is there overnight, and two of them say no one is. Ten publish a staff-to-dog ratio, in a state whose new kennel law tells a regulator to set one.",
  "body": "Boston is a Tier B market. Massachusetts requires a kennel license for commercial boarding, training and daycare, and an animal control officer must inspect the premises before the license issues or renews, then at least once a year. The license comes from the city or town, not from one state office, and in Boston the licensing authority is the police commissioner. Ollie's Law, in force since December 2024, makes every municipality report its licensed kennels to the Department of Agricultural Resources and tells that department to write minimum standards for care, housing and staff-to-animal ratios. There is still no public, name-and-address register an owner can check a facility against, and we have not confirmed whether those standards have been finalized. We have not verified the license status of any facility here and make no statement about it. Forty of the listings are in New Hampshire, which the Massachusetts rules above do not cover.\n\nThe index covers the counties of the Census metro area plus places within 30 miles of downtown, and holds 352 listings: 221 offer boarding, 270 offer daycare and 18 are veterinary practices that board. We crawled 317 websites and reached and reviewed 303 of them in October 2026. Every disclosure share below uses 303 as its base.\n\nForty-seven sites address overnight staffing, 15.5%, against 13.7% in Dallas and 20.9% in Chicago. Forty-five say a person is on site. Pawmenities says \"we provide true 24/7 living staff\", The Downtown Paw says its staff member \"sleeps in the same overnight room as your dogs\", and Hidden Gem Pet Resort answers the question in the words an owner would use: \"Is someone with them overnight? We have staff that live on site as well as our night shift staff\". Two say no one is. Camp Canine writes \"we do not have Counselors on the premises overnight\" and describes video cameras, temperature sensors and motion detectors in their place. Harbor Hounds gives its hours as \"MONDAY-FRIDAY 7a-7p\", which we record as no overnight staffing. The other 256 reviewed sites say nothing either way. Google marks 24 listings as open 24 hours. That is a statement about a business profile, not about who is with the dogs: only three of the 24 are among the sites that describe overnight staffing.\n\nSupervision numbers are thin but not empty, and that sets Boston apart. Ten sites publish a staff-to-dog ratio, 3.3%, where Dallas has none and Chicago has 1.3%. The figures run from 1:3 at Pawmenities' two locations to 1:15 at Seaside K9s and Holliston Meadows Pet Resort. The operators do not agree on what normal is. Seaside K9s calls its 1:15 \"in line with industry best practices\"; Four Leggers Pet Supplies & Services says of its 1:7 that \"industry standard is typically 1:15-30, and sometimes even 1:50!\" Six publish a playgroup size, from Dogtown Daycare's \"Playgroups of 7–10 dogs\" to Happy Tails Doggy Daycare's limit of 20. Five publish a capacity: Greater Boston Dog Kennel serves \"no more than 50 dogs at a time\", Seaside K9s has \"a maximum capacity of 25 dogs\", DogTowne gives 40, and two count runs rather than dogs. Three publish what happens after an injury, and they do not agree either. Dog House says it will try to reach the owner or an emergency contact first; Happy Tails writes \"If the injury is critical, we will not call you, we take your dog to the vet for immediate treatment.\"\n\nThirty-three describe a play model: 20 open play with enforced rest, ten all-day open play and three a structured rotation. Fifteen say how much time a dog spends out of its room, and the answers cannot be compared: \"4 potty breaks outside each day\" at Red Dog Pet Resort & Spa, \"up to 11 hours of supervised play time\" at Dog House. Thirty-four mention an option for dogs who cannot join group play.\n\nAdmission is where Boston operators say most. One hundred and twenty-nine sites publish a vaccination list, 42.6%, and every one names rabies. Bordetella is required by 118, recommended by three and not required by three; Truly Balanced Dog Care writes \"We do not require the Bordetella (Kennel Cough).\" Canine influenza is required by 19 and recommended by nine, and 101 lists do not mention it, so the same dog can be admissible at one site and turned away at the next. Leptospirosis is required by 12. Sixteen state how long before arrival a vaccine must have been given, and the answers run from three days to 14, with seven the most common. Eighty-four say they will check proof rather than take an owner's word. Fifty-one require a negative fecal test, 16.8%, against 4.6% in Dallas and 20.6% in Chicago, with windows that range from \"within 14 days before joining daycare\" at The Downtown Paw to once a year.\n\nNinety-six publish a spay and neuter policy. Sixty-eight require it outright, 16 only for group play and eight only for males. Three do not require it; Pawmenities writes \"Intact dogs are welcome at any age\". Buck Teeth Boarding requires it, then accepts intact dogs for \"an additional $15 charge per night\". Where an age is given it runs from six months, the most common answer, to 18. One hundred and nine address a temperament evaluation: 85 require one, 17 require one and say it is free, and seven require it only for some dogs or services. Twenty-nine state a tour policy. Twelve take appointments, Got Pawz? says \"Stop by any day of the week unannounced\", and Seaside K9s says it is \"unable to have any guests walking through the facility\".\n\nPrice is the hardest thing to find. Of the 317 Boston websites we crawled, 78 show an overnight rate, 24.6%, against 37.0% in Dallas and 39.9% in Chicago. Among those 78, the median is $70 a night and the middle half falls between $55 and $85, a spread of 1.55x. Dallas's median is $50 and Chicago's is $60. One hundred and eleven Boston sites publish a daycare rate, median $42, against $33 in Dallas and $41 in Chicago. A rate that is not on the homepage or a linked rate page may still exist; these figures describe what the websites state.\n\nOne structural caveat belongs on every number here. Seventy-one listings resolve to just 24 websites. Playtime Pet Resort has six listings on one site; Best Friends Pet Hotel, PetSmart Doggie Day Camp and Boston Dog Company have five each; five more are VCA hospital pages. Boston Dog Company's tour policy reads identically across all five of its listings, and Red Dog's three listings share chain-wide policy pages, so those are chain statements rather than local ones. The Doggy Port has two listings for one site that offers boarding at its West Roxbury location only, and Crate Escape's own site says its Charlestown boarding brand is Suite Escape, so those two names describe one business at one address. A good share of this market's disclosure decisions were made once and counted several times.\n\nNone of this is a ranking and none of it is a judgment, and it is not a compliance check. A Massachusetts kennel license means an inspector set a maximum number of animals and comes back each year; it does not tell you who is in the building at 3am, and a site that does not publish a figure may still give it to you at the counter. What the index measures is narrower: which of these facts you can find out before you pick up the phone."
 },
 "facilityCount": 352
}