UC Davis winter break boarding for faculty, staff and grad students

This page is for people on the UC Davis calendar who leave town for the break: faculty and staff visiting family, grad students flying home. The dates below come from the registrar and housing calendars, which the university says may change.

The calendar you are planning around

The drive from Davis

The kennel at 6677 Midway Road is about 13 miles from Davis, roughly 21 minutes without traffic by CA 113, I-80 and County Road E6. That is short enough to drop a pet off after your last class or meeting and still get home before dark. Midway is a slow country road, so allow a few extra minutes.

The office takes drop-offs and pick-ups 7:30 to 11:30 AM and 2:00 to 5:00 PM, every day except the holiday closures.

Where the holiday deposit lands

The 2026 rate sheet asks for a 50 percent non-refundable deposit, due 30 days before drop-off, on stays beginning from seven days before to seven days after a major holiday. Christmas and New Year's windows merge: stays beginning December 18, 2026 through January 8, 2027.

A grad student who drops off on Saturday, December 12 begins before the window, so the sheet's wording does not call for a deposit. The kennel's older hours page words the rule as any reservation that includes a day in the window, so a December 12 stay probably needs a deposit too. Please call 707-678-6600 to confirm. A faculty member who leaves December 18 or later is inside the window, and the deposit is due 30 days earlier, on November 18 for a December 18 drop-off.

Cancel at least 7 days ahead and the deposit becomes a 100 percent credit on your account; cancel later and it is forfeited.

Kennel hours over the break

A pet arriving or leaving on December 25 or January 1 cannot be handled, so plan the drop-off and pick-up around those days. See the hours page.

• Thursday, December 24: open until 3:00 PM, with the afternoon window 1:00 to 3:00.
• Friday, December 25: closed all day.
• Thursday, December 31: open until 3:00 PM, afternoon window 1:00 to 3:00.
• Friday, January 1: closed all day.
• Saturday, January 2 and Sunday, January 3: regular hours.

What a three-week break costs

A stay of 14 or more nights is billed at the reduced rate on the 2026 sheet. One dog in Business Class for 21 nights, December 12 to January 2, is 21 x $53 = $1,113. One dog in Economy is 21 x $47 = $987, and a cat condo for the same 21 nights is 21 x $35 = $735. Picking up on the afternoon of January 2 adds half a night. Stays longer than four weeks use a card on file, charged every two weeks in advance.

The stay estimator and the holiday deposit checker take your exact dates.

Getting ready before finals

Send vaccine records early. Dogs need rabies, distemper/parvo, Bordetella and canine influenza, with the flu booster given three to four weeks after the first dose; cats need rabies and FVRCP. Records must be good through the last day of the stay, so a certificate that expires on December 30 needs renewing before you leave. Upload them to your account through the Book / My Account link.