How Do I Find a Reliable Pet Sitter?

My cousin is getting married (congrats Lindsay and Colin!) and I wanted to offer her some tips on finding a good pet sitter.

She said that someone suggested Rover.com.  Yes, I said, you can find a good pet sitter on Rover-- but how do you know the good ones from the bad ones?  What prevents someone from taking your money, and never turning up to take care of the dog?  We have all heard horror stories of a friend who was watching someone's dog and...  At this point, Colin spoke up.  He knew someone whose dog was being watched by a friend and the dog got loose and got killed by a car. That is one of the reasons it is worthwhile to hire a professional: we are experts in the art of door-blocking, having practiced it with multiple pets for days and years.

I've talked before about the dangers of hiring a non-professional, so in this blog I want to focus on how pick out the very best of professionals.  The price of professionals seems to vary only slightly, but the services can be quite different. Here are some things to consider when talking to a potential pet sitter:

Insurance: a good pet sitter will have insurance to protect your home and pet. Pet sitting insurance covers accidents that happen to your house as a result of pet sitter neglect, although is not very common. An example of this is newly ruined floors from pet accidents. Some pet sitters get insurance riders that cover damage to a customer's property-- for instance, if I break a client's expensive vase, my insurance will pay for it.  If the pet sitter has employees, make sure the employees are bonded, as this will protect you from theft.

More importantly, the insurance will cover something that happens to your pet on the pet sitter's watch.  For example, if your dog gets bitten by another dog on a walk, or if your dog ingests a toy that requires him to have surgery, insurance will reimburse the vet costs.  Pet sitter insurance does not cover if your dog injures other people, pets, or the pet sitter. It only covers accidents that happen to your dog.

Contracts: surprisingly, some people feel comfortable handing over the keys to their home and entrusting their pet to a stranger without a written contract.  If something happens without a contract, you don't have any legal recourse. Nobody wants to think about bad things happening, but for goodness sake, protect yourself!

References: potential clients seldom ask for references.  I always feel a little weird asking good customers if they will provide references for me; instead, I have a list of written testimonials on my website. Realistically, anyone can make up "written testimonials" on a website, and anyone can make a website that makes their business look amazing. I now encourage my customers to leave references on google and yelp-- it is more difficult for business owners to fake. If you want to get the straight scoop on a potential pet sitter, ask for references and then get in touch with them directly. Don't trust a pet sitter's marketing just because it looks professional.

Communication: my company has a software system that allows us to email our customers after every single pet visit.  I insist on sending pictures and notes for every visit. The owner might not be able to check email immediately, but if she does check, she will be certain we were there and the approximate time of the visit.  There are many professionals using these types of software systems, which may include options to schedule online and even payment online. If your pet sitter uses a paper log, you can see the activities when you come home, but it won't reassure you while you are gone.

Once you have found a potential pet sitter, you should schedule a Meet and Greet. A professional will always insist on meeting your pets at your house before you leave.  Most pet sitters do not charge for the meet and greet, although

some charge a modest fee or a refundable deposit. Your pet sitter should pay careful attention to your pet's routines, finding out what, where, and how often to feed your pet, your pet's exercise routines, and get several emergency numbers.  You generally need to leave a key with them and they should have a reliable method of tagging the key so they recognize it as yours, but in the event the key is lost nobody else would know "Oh, that's a key for Phoebe and Atlas's house!"

With these tips in mind, you should be able to find a solid professional pet sitter who will be available to you for years to come and provide reliable pet visits without fail.