Boarding Facilities ~ A Necessary Evil?

A lot of people feel that boarding facilities are a necessary evil, and do whatever they can to avoid using them by instead having friends, housemaids or pet-sitters take care of their pets of them while they are away. These other options are good sometimes, but there are also potential problems that can arise because of them. A good boarding facility is not a necessary evil but instead a potential benefit, if it's a good boarding facility. Also, by starting your pets, especially dogs and cats, in boarding facilities at a young age, both the owner and the pet develop an understanding of that environment, making the use of them throughout the pet's lifetime a more positive experience than most owners realise it can be.

Transparency ~ How pet owners can learn to trust their pet-care provider, and what to do if something goes "wrong"?
 
What can pet owners do to determine whether or not they feel they can trust pet care providers? What should they be looking for?

Also, when pet owners rely on others to care for their pets while they are away, things sometimes go "wrong" - the pet gets sick, or gains or loses weight, or in the worst cases, sometimes they die. Or any number of other possibilities. Going "wrong" doesn't happen often, but it does happen. In almost all cases, these things are just the normal ebb and flow of life and the pet carer is not responsible for being negligent or careless - this is true for boarding facilities, pet-sitters and friends and housemaids. But pet owners understandably immediately become distrustful of those who were caring for their pets, especially if they are a boarding facility or pet-sitter, and often feel powerless in trying to find out what happened and how to deal with that.