Trusting your furry kids to just anyone is not an option for animal lovers. These special creatures are like children to most pet owners and letting someone into your home to take care of your four-legged loved ones can be difficult. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to make sure that you are getting the best care for your pets possible without forking out a fortune!
Ask For References
When searching for a good pet sitter, ask for at least two references of clients that they have serviced for over a year. Make sure that you also ask whomever you speak to will be the person (and only person) coming to your home.
Background Checks
It may sound like you are going overboard, but getting a background check of the person coming into your home is not out of the question. Protect your valuables and pets by requiring the pet sitter’s history. Many criminals will take jobs such as pet sitting to gain easy access to your home, so you can’t be too careful.
Meet In Person Before You Go Out of Town
You can tell a lot about a person by just meeting them. It is so important to see how your pets react to whomever you let into your home. If Fido cowers in a corner when this potential sitter comes close to them, it’s probably not a good match.
Make Sure the Company is Reputable
A couple of easy ways to check a pet sitting companies history of complaints is by calling the Better Business Bureau and even by Googling the company. Previous customers are all to happy to give good AND bad reviews when it comes to their precious pets.
Heather Green is a freelance writer and the resident blogger for
OnlineNursingDegrees.org, a free informational website offering tips
and advice on Nursing Programs.
Harriet
Great tips! My parents own two cats and haven’t had to get a cat sitter in yet because they have me to pick up after the little furry monsters! I’ll bear in mind your tips if I do ever have to get a proper pet sitter though.
Jim @ Michael Costume
A background check is a really good idea. My in-laws did that, since they go out of town a lot and don’t want to kennel their dog. They were fortunate to find someone right away who has done an excellent job. Their dog loves when Jackie comes over, and it’s good that he “knows” her because she is always the one who comes to take care of him.