As mentioned in my previous post, hiring a pet sitter to care for your companions in their own environment is a wonderful alternative to kenneling but I forgot to tell you HOW to find a pet sitter....until now.
The following 10 tips will help you find your perfect pet sitter:
1) Make a list of everything you need in a sitter and a list of the needs of your pet.
For example: Does your pet require medication? Would your pet be happier with a male or a female pet sitter? Do you want a pet sitter who will water your plants, take out the trash, etc, at no extra cost?
2) Ask pet owners in your neighborhood for recommendations.
3) Seek recommendations from your veterinarian and vet techs.
Some vet techs provide pet sitting services for clients at a low cost. Many veterinarians, like those at Northside Animal Hospital, have a community bulletin board where pet services are advertised.
Pet Sitters International offers a certification program for qualified pet sitters.
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| Pawsitive Pet Nutrition, your one-stop-shop for pet nutrition, dog training, and pet care advice! |
5) Speak with employees at your local pet store for recommendations.
6) Your local animal welfare or rescue organization may know of capable, caring, professional people who pet sit.
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| Patty had no problem introducing herself to her new pet sitter during her new client meeting! |
7) Make sure your potential pet sitter insists on meeting you and your pet in your home before hiring him/her.
We always meet new clients in their home because we want the pets to become familiar with us and we want to know where everything related to the pet's care is located.
8)Every pet sitter should arrive at your home with paperwork for for you to review and complete.
If he does not have these available be sure to leave detailed notes pertaining to the care of your pets so that he can refer to them whenever necessary. Also provide him with contact information, phone numbers and addresses of your vet, and friends and neighbors who can help out if necessary.
9) Make sure he is licensed and bonded and has excellent references and experience.
10) Make certain your pet sitter is able to handle an emergency and is aware of the phone number and location of the nearest veterinary emergency hospital as well as your vet’s office.
If this information has been helpful, please leave feedback! I hope you find your perfect pet sitter just in time for your next vacation!
Oh dats awesome information.
ReplyDeleteWe has to be kenneled though...at da vets office. Fur some reason mum is fraekishly paranoid bout me home alone, said stuffs bout Me having parties or sumptin likes dat...I dunno, I wasn't really listening to her.
Puddles
Good information!! I wish I'd had it the very first time we looked for a pet-sitter, we kind of learned the hard way, but we certainly learned the 2nd time and have been so lucky to have found the one we did in our little town in VA!
ReplyDeleteThat is a very informative, well-done post. I agree with everything you have listed and I listed something similar on my blog months back. Proper information makes our job easier and less stressful and certainly keeps the dog or cat more comfortable while their owners travel. All the best with your business and I hope you have a busy, fun-filled Fall. Hugs, Deb =^..^=x5
ReplyDeleteGreat information for everyone to know! The last time I was going to hire someone, she arrived on time, with lots of papers to be filled out, with references and then my vacation fell through so I had to cancel. The pet sitter/house sitter that my friend hires has an outstanding reputation in this city so if I ever get to have a vacation again, I'll get her (unless you want to move to Virginia!) Lots of love, Debbie and Holly
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! I had no idea there was an organization called PSI.
ReplyDeleteThese are universal sound advice!! Thank you. Charlie approves! :-)
ReplyDeleteTake care
x
Woof! Woof! Thanks for sharing. I never had a pet sitter. I usually go to a very nice friendly doggie farm camp up north since I was a puppy. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar
ReplyDeleteFYI: not sure if some of your readers have told you ... we read you posts on google reader but seems we are having difficulties accessing your blog. We are MAC users (sometimes it can be sensitive to stuffs). But it happened many times before we can post this comment. It's about scripts attached to your blog ... we have to abort it. We've encountered this the same issue with some of the blogs we visit ... not sure exactly what is is ... Golden Woofs, Sugar
thanks for stopping by and saying hi! i would be honored to be featured on your blog :)
ReplyDeleteand thanks for this great info, i'm looking into finding a petsitter for our pups in october. this will be my/their first experience so your info is greatly appreciated!
hi!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog and becoming a follower! I'm also following you back. Great post today. Have a wonderful week!
Blessings,
Jill
Thanks, very helpful information - not sure how available pet sitters are in the UK but we have started to think about it.
ReplyDeleteMartha is not keen on new people and we try to avoid going off and leaving either of them.
So far we haven't but I couldn't put either of them into kennels so you have prompted me to start investigating availability over here.
xx
Great information! I usually get a pet sitter instead of the kennel, we have too many pets for the kennel!
ReplyDeleteHave a nice day!!