Why hire a professional petsitter?
The best situation for the comfort of your pets might be if you could just stay at home with them all day, everyday and cater to their every need. However, that’s just not reality for 99% of us! Either we have to leave the house every day for that grizzly thing called “work” or we might get to be home most of the time but, occasionally the family is away for a vacation, business trip or family emergency.
When those times arise that you are not at home with Fido and Fuzzy, what are you supposed to do to make sure they are well cared for? After all, they are a very important part of your family. Your options are usually to beg a family member, bribe a neighborhood kid or pack the pets all up and crate them off to a kennel. Ugh.
For pet owners who want individualized, responsible loving care for their “fur-kids” and who want the peace of mind to know who is caring for their pets, a professional pet sitter is a great choice!
Customers are sometimes confused on the difference between a kennel and a petsitter. While some kennels might be fine for some pets, by definition that implies that you are taking your pets and dropping them off for the week at a facility that charges per pet. The going rate in our area at reputable kennels, the cost is approximately $30/night per dog (possibly with a discount after the 3rd pet). A couple of problems that might arise would include the cost if you say have 3-4 pets (over $100/night), most kennels won’t take cats or other small pets like your son’s lizard etc, requirement to be current on all shots/vet visits, chance of a virus etc being transferred pet to pet…….plus, your dog probably is just not used to sleeping on a concrete floor, unless you send him out to the garage to sleep each night when you crawl into bed.
“Petsitting” is defined as “caring for a pet(s) in their own home/environment while the owner has to be away. Dog walking is also another service that pet sitters offer and that can take place when the owner is away or sometimes even when the owner is home and either can’t or don’t want to walk their own dog. Your pet gets to sleep in their own bed, smell their own smells, eat their own food and even pee on their own tree! Our pricing is more a flat fee based on our travel time to get to your home and a little bit about time involved to care for your pets if you have more than a couple. Fees vary from area to area but, start as low as $13 per visit. A typical customer with a cat might have us come 1-2 times per day and a typical customer with a dog(s) might have us come 3-4 times per day.
The difference between a professional pet sitter and a “hobby” pet sitter or a neighborhood kid are many! Professional pet sitters have a real business that they are dedicated to running, they carry business insurance & bonding, they complete a contract & take notes about your pets care so that everything is in writing, and our care for your pet is our 1st priority each day! A “hobby” petsitter, family member, neighbor or friend is not an actual business owner, probably carry no insurance, might not remember the details of your pets care, and may offer pet sitting services as a side gig or a favor on top of another job or school.
If you live in our service area, we would LOVE to love on your fur-kids! Give us a call or drop us a line!
