School vacation week dog boarding in Gloucester: February and April

Gloucester Public Schools publishes its calendars more than a year ahead. For 2026 to 2027, Presidents' Day on Monday, February 15 is followed by February vacation from February 16 to 19, and Patriots' Day on Monday, April 19 is followed by spring vacation from April 20 to 23. The 2027 to 2028 calendar, approved in February 2026, puts the same breaks at February 21 to 25 and April 17 to 21, 2028, holiday Mondays included.

Rockport, Manchester Essex and the other North Shore districts each publish their own calendars, so check your children's school before you count nights. Households with children in two systems, a college student home on a different week, or a parent whose work does not follow the school year often find the dog's stay is the one fixed point in a busy fortnight. Write the nights down as soon as the school calendar is out, then reserve them.

Every dog new to Dogtown does the free evaluation before its first night: a temperament test, then a few supervised hours in a playgroup. It runs Monday to Friday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM by appointment, which means it happens during a school week, not during the vacation. For a February trip that points to January; for April, to March. An evaluation on the Friday before departure leaves no room if a vaccine date turns out to have lapsed.

Parents on the school run can use the early end of the window: bring the dog to 210 Eastern Ave before the buses, then collect it after its few supervised hours. Bring Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella records and the city license. If you hoped to use the Presidents' Day or Patriots' Day Monday instead, check the Dogtown app first; holiday hours are announced there, and this page does not assume them. Then, if you can, add one daycare day before the trip.

The suite is $78 a night, and the published price list carries no vacation-week surcharge. The Dogtown Classic adds $10 a night for a daily pupsicle or puppy cup and 10 percent off grooming; the Dogtown Deluxe adds $15 a night for a stuffed Kong or Toppl, a daily treadmill or enrichment session, the orthopedic memory-foam bed and 15 percent off grooming. Over seven nights the Deluxe is worth pricing against single add-ons such as a $7 sniff-room session. Our overnight stays page has the full menu.

The season decides the grooming. In February, Gloucester's beaches are open to dogs, Good Harbor on even-numbered days and Wingaersheek on odd, so a dog that walked the sand the day before drop-off arrives salty, and a bath before pick-up runs $55 to $95 by size. By April vacation Good Harbor has been closed to dogs since April 1, Wingaersheek stays open on odd days until April 30, and tick season has begun, so check your dog over before drop-off.

The Pup Van runs at $10 each way in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea, which helps on a departure morning when the car is packed to the roof; outside those towns, ask us for pricing. Pack pre-portioned meals for every day plus a spare in case a February storm delays the flight home, any medications with written instructions, and one comfort item that smells of the house.