Photograph: Anthony crouched on the front step of the house beside Mina, his corgi, in front of the turquoise front doors, with white roses on either side.
Overnight dog boarding
Your dog spends the week in a house with a fenced yard and someone home all day. No runs. No concrete floors. No eight hours alone between shifts. You’ll see how they’re doing while you’re away, without having to ask.
Sending dates costs nothing. The deposit is only due once I confirm, and the meet-and-greet is free.
5.0 from 117 reviews on Rover — and 203 stays for 93 families, counting the ones booked here
Our front door, and Mina, who the house is named for.
Three dogs at a time, maximum Pet first aid & CPR certified Liability & vet expense insured
In short
Mina House is a one-person, in-home dog boarding service in Yorba Linda, California, run by Anthony Lin. Dogs stay in the house and its fenced yard rather than in kennel runs, with a maximum of three dogs at a time, counting your own.
Boarding is $69 a night, or $85 a night on eleven national holidays, with 10% off each dog after the first. A day runs 24 hours from drop-off. Every stay includes two walks, meals served separately, medication at no extra charge, and a photo update every day.
Dogs must be over a year old, spayed or neutered, and current on rabies, DHPP and Bordetella. Every family meets first at the Yorba Linda Community Center, free, with nothing booked at the end of it. Mina House carries $1M/$2M liability insurance and serves Yorba Linda, Placentia, Brea, Anaheim Hills, Orange, Tustin, Villa Park and Fullerton.
Boarding facilities run on shifts. Someone arrives, feeds, cleans, leaves. The hours in between are the ones owners worry about, and they’re the hours your dog spends alone in a run.
This is a house. I work from it, so the day has a person in it.
I work from home and consult evenings for clients overseas. My wife is here too, and our daughter lives with us, so even when I run an errand the dogs are with someone who knows them — not shut in a room waiting for me to get back.
Food is the most common reason dogs fall out in a group home. Separating meals removes it.
Two to four hours settling in their own space, then introductions outside where nobody owns the ground.
Two a day, morning and evening, plus a text if anything looks off.
Mina, our corgi. She crossed the rainbow bridge on 12 November 2025. She is in several of the photos on this page, and the name is hers.
I’m Anthony. After a corporate career in Silicon Valley, my wife and I moved to Orange County and settled in Yorba Linda. Dogs have been in my life for 35 years, starting with a Labradoodle, then a Maltese, then our Corgi, Mina.
I started boarding other people’s dogs in 2024, a few months after my mother passed away. Having a house full of dogs again did me more good than I expected, which is the honest reason I kept going. Mina died in November 2025.
I’ve been on your side of this. For eight years I boarded Mina with other sitters whenever we traveled, and I know the particular quiet of a weekend with no news. Once she came home with a bite nobody had mentioned to me. I found it myself.
Photos and clips go out twice a day, and if something goes wrong, a limp or a scuffle or a dog who won’t eat, you hear it from me that same hour rather than at pick-up.
So there’s no resident dog in the house right now. You’ll still see a corgi in some of the photos here. That’s Mina, and I’ve left her where she is. For dogs who’d rather not share a home with another dog full time, having no resident dog turns out to matter.
Since 2024, 93 families have booked 203 stays here. Sixty-eight of them, nearly three in four, have come back. I’ve never cancelled on anyone.
Before this I spent more than 25 years in engineering and operations, starting at 3M, Intel, and HP, then running manufacturing and supply chain teams overseas. These days I also run Arkrise, where I build automation and software for small businesses that are still doing too much by hand. It is desk work I can do from home, which is part of why someone is always home here.
It’s an unusual background for a dog sitter, and it’s why this house runs the way it does: meals served apart, arrivals paced over hours instead of minutes, an emergency clinic confirmed before your dog ever walks in. I do this because I want to. If you’d like to see who you’re handing your dog to, my work history is on LinkedIn.
A day here
Here’s the usual day. It gets adjusted to whatever yours is already used to.
First meeting, outdoors and both on leash. A new dog settles in a room of their own for two to four hours before this happens.
There’s a quiet trail a short walk away. Early, because by ten the pavement is too warm for paws.
Your food, your portions, your timing. Each dog eats in their own space, medication included if yours takes any.
Fetch for the dogs who want it, shade for the ones who’d rather watch. Always supervised, always behind a closed gate.
The house goes still. Most dogs choose a spot near whoever is working and sleep through the afternoon.
Later when it’s hot, usually a different route so there’s something new to smell. Never a dog park.
Dinner was at five. The evening winds down with one more trip outside before bed.
A photo goes out every day without fail, and usually two — morning and evening.
“Taylor absolutely loves staying with Anthony. She gets so excited for her walks, especially seeing all the different animals along the way, and always comes home happy and relaxed. … Whether it’s introducing Taylor to another dog or making sure the dogs’ play styles are a good match, he’s always paying close attention.”
Rates
If any night of a stay lands on one of these days, the whole stay is billed at $85 a night instead of $69. Holiday weeks fill first, so ask early for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
A pan-fried egg chopped over breakfast kibble, boiled chicken cubed over dinner, whatever your dog is used to. No oil, no seasoning. Every dog’s is different, so email or call and we’ll work out yours.
Every dog after the first is 10% off. Three dogs is the most that are ever here at once, so a family bringing three has the house to themselves. The estimate below works it out.
A one-night deposit holds the dates. The balance can go by card, cash, Zelle, Venmo or PayPal, whichever suits you. No platform fee and no booking fee on top.
Check your datesEstimate
Put in your dates and the total appears underneath. No sign-up, nothing sent anywhere.
Every dog after the first is 10% off. Three dogs is the most that are ever here at once.
This is an estimate. Toppers, and pickup or drop-off, are quoted separately. Email or call and we’ll sort them out. Send your dates and I’ll confirm the exact total before anything is booked.
The things a photo doesn’t show, written out.
I paid for an enhanced background check through Rover’s third-party screening provider, and the result is on my Rover profile where anyone can see it. I’ve also completed Rover 101, their course on pet care best practices.
Over the years I’ve sat in on dog training classes as well. I’m not a certified trainer and I won’t pretend to be — but I know what a good class teaches about reading a dog, and I use it here every day.
Mina House carries a commercial general liability policy for in-home dog boarding, written through Insurance Canopy. It includes veterinary expense reimbursement that pays regardless of whose fault anything was. That is $1,000 per incident. Ask at the meet-and-greet and I’ll show you the certificate.
Three at a time, counting any that arrive together. Three is the maximum. Most weeks it’s one or two. Small enough that I always know where every dog is.
Crates, baby gates, and rooms that close. Any dog can be given space from the others in seconds: at meals, during an introduction, or if anything about the day stops feeling easy.
I walk the fence line between stays looking for gaps and loose boards, and keep toxic plants, tools, and chemicals out of the yard.
Most escapes happen during drop-off and pick-up, so collars get a fit check and gates stay shut while we talk.
Before each stay I save your vet’s details and your emergency contact, and confirm which clinic nearest us is open overnight.
Walks stay on routes I know. A dog park means unknown dogs and unknown vaccination records, and nothing there is mine to supervise.
On the Fourth and New Year’s Eve everyone is inside before dark, curtains drawn, sound on, nobody out without a leash and tags.
Ring cameras indoors, and AirTags for dogs who are a flight risk.
Anything that goes wrong reaches you within the hour. You don’t find out at pick-up.
If your dog is picky about other dogs — fine with some, not others, or needs a slow introduction — say so and bring them anyway. That describes a lot of good dogs, and it is most of what the meet-and-greet is for. I have the room to go slowly, the gates to keep dogs apart, and no reason to rush it.
The meet-and-greet runs both ways. I get to meet your dog, and you get to decide whether I’m the right person for them. If either of us thinks it isn’t a fit, we say so then, with no deposit and no awkwardness. I’d rather that than a stay neither of us enjoyed.
Drop-off day
Every dog arrives a little unsure. This is the routine I use to get them past that, and it is the same every time.
Hand me the leash, say goodbye, and go. It feels abrupt, but a long emotional farewell tells your dog something is wrong. The quicker the handoff, the faster they settle.
Five to fifteen minutes around the neighborhood before we go inside. It gives them a chance to relieve themselves, work off the nervous energy, and arrive at the house already a little familiar with where they are.
The yard first, then a sectioned-off part of the house to take in the new smells on their own. Most dogs need two to four hours of this before they look settled.
Only once your dog is calm, and one dog at a time. If you drop off late in the day, introductions wait until the next morning rather than being rushed.
The list is short on purpose. Most of what your dog needs is already set up here, and a dog settles faster into a routine that is already running than into a suitcase from home. Once your dates are confirmed I send all of this again, with the timings for your day.
The regulars
Seniors, puppies grown up, a deaf husky, a few who needed medication twice a day. Most of them have been back.
In their words
Not the nicest ones — the ones that describe what actually happens here: how a dog is introduced, who gets turned away, and what I do when something goes wrong.
Drop-off, by the third stay
Whereas the first two times was hard with our dog looking at us and whining, now that he knows where he’s going to stay, he’s totally fine and ready for the adventure to start. He doesn’t even look at us as we leave.
Before the first night
We met at a public location for the meet-and-greet, a safe practice that I appreciated. … He provided a detailed checklist and careful introductory procedure to make sure that Blaze could settle in and be comfortable.
Who gets to stay
Far more intelligent than typical pet sitters, he understands canine psychology and pack dynamics and is selective in which pups he’ll watch to ensure good group dynamics.
Fireworks weekend
Because we were gone over the 4th of July, Anthony took special care to make sure that Polar was safe and secure during fireworks, which I really appreciated.
Catching the small things
When Willow developed some skin irritation, he was genuinely concerned and went above and beyond to help her feel better. He even provided an ointment that helped her skin tremendously.
What they go home from
He provided a truly enriching environment for our dog, taking her to visit farm animals and for longer walks than we are typically able to give her. I can tell that my dog was really happy at her “summer camp.”
Every quote is from a verified review left after a real stay, shortened only where marked. First names and dates are as published.
Based in Yorba Linda 92886, a few minutes from Anaheim Hills and Placentia. I don’t publish my address. We meet at the Community Center first, and once your booking is confirmed you get the address, straight to your phone.
Drive times are door to door in normal traffic.
About 8 to 12 minutes away
About 18 to 25 minutes away
Dropping off yourself? Most families do, and it takes about ten minutes.
Your dog lives in the house and the yard rather than a kennel run, and is never shut in a crate through the day. If your dog sleeps better in a crate at night, there are 42″ and 48″ crates here already — bring your own only if they’d rather have theirs. The kitchen and our bedroom are the only rooms off limits, for hygiene.
Never more than three, counting yours and counting any dogs that arrive together. It’s a hard cap rather than a target, and most weeks there are fewer. Tell me about your dog and I’ll be straight about whether a given week is a good fit.
No, and it describes a good share of the dogs who stay here. Being picky isn’t the same as being a problem — most dogs have a type they get on with and a type they don’t, and a rescue who had a rough start has every reason to be careful.
What I need from you is the honest version: what sets them off, what the warning signs look like, and what has happened before. I’d far rather know than find out. With that, introductions happen one dog at a time on neutral ground, and if your dog would rather keep their distance for the whole stay, they can — there are gates, separate rooms and a yard that can be used in shifts.
Bring them to the meet-and-greet and we’ll find out together. That is exactly what it’s for.
Not yet. Dogs need to be over a year old and spayed or neutered, which keeps the group calm for everyone staying.
$69 a night, $85 on national holidays, every dog after the first 10% off. That covers two walks a day, yard time, meals on your dog’s own schedule, medication given at no extra charge, and a photo every day, usually two. No platform fee, no booking fee, nothing added at checkout.
A day is 24 hours from drop-off, so 9 a.m. out means 9 a.m. back. The first hour past that is free; after it, extra time is $20 an hour but never more than one night’s rate. Drop off Monday at 9 a.m. and pick up Tuesday at 9 p.m. and you’ve used one night plus twelve hours; the twelve hours cap at $69 instead of billing $240, so the stay is $138.
Yes. Holidays are $85 a night instead of $69, and the holiday rate applies to the whole stay if any night of it lands on one of the eleven national holidays listed under Rates. Drop off on Christmas Day and pick up on the 27th and that’s two nights at the holiday rate, so $170.
The one-night deposit is due when I confirm the booking, and the balance seven days before drop-off — fourteen for a holiday stay. I send an invoice you can pay by card, or you can use cash, Zelle, Venmo or PayPal, whichever suits you: just tell me when you book.
Booking direct means no platform fee and no service charge added at checkout. What comes back if you cancel is set out in full, with a calculator.
With a week’s notice — two over a holiday — everything comes back, deposit included. Closer in, the deposit covers the night I can’t refill; closer still, half of the first seven nights. Nights beyond the first seven always come back in full. The whole policy, and a calculator that works out your refund, is here.
Yes, and you won’t have to chase me for it. A photo every day without fail, and in practice usually two — morning and evening — plus a text the same hour if anything seems off. If a day ever goes by with only the one, you’ll know why before you have to ask.
I call and text you first. If I can’t reach you, I try the emergency contact you gave me. Either way your dog goes to your own vet — and if your vet isn’t available, to mine, who knows me. I keep calling you the whole time.
“Polar sustained a small injury (not Anthony’s fault) and Anthony didn’t hesitate. He immediately contacted us and took Polar to our vet to be certain that he was okay. … I really appreciated the communication, and for treating Polar like he would his own dog.”
Yes. Mina House carries a commercial general liability policy for in-home dog boarding — $1 million per occurrence, $2 million a year — plus veterinary expense reimbursement of $1,000 per incident that pays regardless of who was at fault. Ask at the meet-and-greet and I’ll show you the certificate.
The cover is mine, not a platform’s, and it stands behind your dog either way.
Proof that rabies, DHPP and Bordetella are current. A photo of the card from your vet is fine — there’s a file upload on the booking form, and you can send several shots if the record runs over more than one page. I keep it on file, so returning dogs only need the update when something expires.
I ask every family for the same thing, which is what makes it fair — the dog sharing the rug with yours was asked for it too.
At the Yorba Linda Community Center, 4501 Casa Loma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92886. Look for the three flag poles on the plaza — that’s where I’ll be.
The meeting spot: the flag poles by the lawn at the Community Center.
Half an hour on neutral ground, and it does more work than it sounds like. I get to read your dog — temperament, quirks, what they do when they’re unsure — and your dog gets to meet me, smell me, and decide I’m not a stranger. That recognition is what makes drop-off day easier later.
The other half is you. You ask whatever you want to ask, I walk you through how a stay actually runs, and you leave knowing who you’d be handing your dog to. A dog can’t tell you it’s comfortable, so you have to be. It’s free, and nothing is booked at the end of it unless we both want to.
In Yorba Linda, 92886, about ten minutes from Placentia and Anaheim Hills. I don’t publish my address. We meet at the Community Center first, and once your booking is confirmed you get the address, straight to your phone.
Yes, for an added fee that depends on how far out you are. Nearly everyone drives over themselves, and it takes about ten minutes, so rather than publish a fare table, tell me where you are when you send your dates and I’ll quote it.
If plans change
Three dogs is the most that are ever here, so holding your dates means turning other families away for them. That’s the whole reason there’s a policy — and why it’s written down instead of decided in the moment.
The deposit is one night, due when the booking is confirmed. The balance falls due seven days before drop-off, fourteen for a holiday — the same day the full-refund window closes, so you never pay for a stay you could still walk away from free. Nights beyond the first seven always come back in full: a three-week stay cancelled the day before still refunds two of those weeks. What’s kept is never less than the deposit. Moving your dates is free with the same notice, and usually free inside it — just ask.
Starts on today’s date. Move it to see how the refund changes.
This calculator is a guide. If something serious has happened — a hospital stay, a death, a dog who falls ill before the trip — that is not what this is for. Call me. And if I ever have to cancel on you, every dollar comes back and I’ll help you find somewhere else; it hasn’t happened in 203 stays.
The meet-and-greet is free, and you can walk away afterwards with no hard feelings. If this isn’t the right house for your dog, I’ll say so.
(714) 386-9672Call it, or send a text — a question is often quicker that way, and you will not get a form back.
“Anthony always makes us so comfortable and puts our mind at ease when he watches Tundra! … This is our 4th time with Anthony and we will continue to use him for Tundra’s care moving forward!”
Start here
Tell me when you’re traveling and a little about your dog. I usually reply within the hour and always the same day, with two meet-and-greet times this week.
Three lines is enough
Proof of rabies, DHPP and Bordetella before the first night. A photo of the paperwork is fine.
Or pick a time yourself
Thirty minutes at the Yorba Linda Community Center, 4501 Casa Loma Ave, by the flag poles. I get to know your dog, you get to ask me anything. Free, and nothing is decided until you’ve met me.
Pick a time
Send me the days that work and I’ll come back with two times, usually within the hour. Bring your dog, and bring whoever else gets a say.
Map to the community center — we meet by the flag poles out front.