When you hire someone to take care of your pets, how qualified are they to walk or sit your pet? What's their level of training? Are they prepared to handle emergencies? How will they respond if something goes wrong? Who's responsible if your property is damaged or your pet gets hurt, bites someone?
With the explosion of pet care services nationwide, these are questions every pet owner should ask in depth before agreeing to pay someone for pet care services.
Many pet sitters and dog walkers work for small pet care businesses, which evaluate, train, monitor and assume accountability for the people they hire. Many are sole business owners in full control of the services they provide.
A growing number of pet care providers are part-time walkers and sitters who find work through apps and websites that offer the service of connecting dog and cat owners with people who sign up to be pet care providers. Online reviews about app-based services range from glowing compliments, to scathing complaints. The facts are, that the people are not vetted. That there is no rigorous testing in the care of an app-based pet sitter.
“A May 14, 2019 review by an outside source of the online Terms of Service of the two biggest app-based pet care companies, offers enough fine print and legal jargon to make your eyes glaze over. But there are important disclaimers.
One app based business says upfront " MAKES NO REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY, OR GUARANTY AS TO THE RELIABILITY, TIMELINESS, QUALITY, SUITABILITY, AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE SERVICES."
Other app based business says: "We make no representations or warranties about the quality of boarding, pet sitting, dog walking, house sitting, or other services provided by Service Providers."”
If you're dealing with a professional pet care company, what kind of training do they require for their employees? How well do they vet their employees before they hire them? What are their standards and policies? Are they insured and bonded? If they are, what exactly does that mean?
Ask if they belong to an established professional pet sitting or pet care association. Keep in mind, there are excellent pet care providers that do not belong to a professional organization so don't make that a deal killer, but membership in a organization that promotes high standards and ongoing education can be a plus.
You should ask the same of any app-based pet care provider. Can you provide references, beyond online reviews? Have you been certified in Pet First Aid or training? What's your previous experience with animals? Will you be bringing anyone with you to the pet care visits? Do you have insurance (there is not a legal requirements at this time, it is up to the individual person to carry insurance.)? What's your backup plan if you can't make it? What are the potential danger areas you watch for when caring for or walking dogs?
Here at Pet Pals we take pet safety very seriously. We encourage pet parents to meet and carefully evaluate potential pet sitters.
