FAQs
Do you work on holidays?
Yes, absolutely. It's one of the things that makes a pet sitter such a wonderful addition to your "family." I am available 24/7/365 sometimes with just a few hours notice.
What do you charge?
I use a very customized approach and it is all based upon what you feel meets both your needs as well as the needs of your pet(s). Minimum is $10 per 1/2 hour plus mileage. I can spend as little as 1/2 hour or as much time as you wish.
See Our Services and Rates for additional information.
Do you stay overnight?
I certainly can, and do.
Do you like what you do? Is it easy?
I LOVE what I do! No, it's not an easy job. You have to have an incredible sense of responsibility toward the pet(s) you are caring for. Not only are their owners depending on your to keep their home and their pets safe, but the pets are depending on you! Experience in a veterinary or other professional animal care setting is very important. This enables you to provide the best possible care for them while their pet parents are away. It is also a potentially very dangerous job. You may be subject to bites and/or other injuries. If you are doing this full time you may have little time off, particularly during the holidays where you may be working 18 hours per day. The pet parents also rely on you to sit for their pets on very short notice if the situation requires. Be prepared to have your personal life interrupted - frequently. You also must be prepared to pay for the necessary insurance, bonding and fees associated with incorporating your business. It can be vey fun and is very rewarding. Easy, no.
How far do you travel?
I "sit" within Williamson, Jackson and Franklin counties and will travel as far as needed, however, bear in mind that I charge for gas. It may also be necessary for me to decline a sit if travel time makes it a scheduling impossibility.
Are you insured and bonded?
Yes.
Are you a member of any professional organizations and can you supply references?
I am a member of National Association of Professional Pet Sitters and Professional United Pet Sitters. I would be happy to provide references.
Do you do any training?
I am not a dog trainer and can only help you to reinforce the training you or your pet's trainer have already begun. If your dog needs training, I strongly recommended Behesha Doan's Extreme K-9. You may find her on Facebook or at http://www.extremek-9.com/. She has trained my old english mastiff as well as many other pets I know personally. I cannot say enough about both Behesha personally and her training methods, facility and her staff.
Do I need my dog visited more than once daily?
The best answer I have for the question was posted in a recent blog. Text follows:
I got an email a while back from a gentleman who was upset that a pet sitter he interviewed refused to visit his pets (a dog and 2 cats) only once per day. The pet sitter turned the job down rather than care for the pets in a manner she felt was not adequate.
All of Joe’s pets live indoors and he only wanted someone come to his home once a day, to let the dog out and make sure all of the pets had food and water. He was going to be gone for seven days. The man, I’ll call him Joe, didn’t want the expense of more than one visit per day, and felt there was no need for it. He was certain the pet sitter was scamming him and was simply trying to get as much money out of him as she could.
I explained to Joe that while one visit per day for cats is usually sufficient, most professional pet sitters will require at least two visits per day for healthy dogs. Far from being a scam though, pet sitters who require a minimum number of visits per day have the dogs’ best interest at heart. They want to be sure the dog gets outside often enough to relieve himself, and gets the social interaction he needs.
Making a dog wait 24 hours to relieve himself can cause a great deal of discomfort, and in fact, may cause medical problems. A healthy dog should be allowed outside to relieve himself at least every 12 hours, and more frequently if possible. Many pet sitters will require at least three visits per day if the dog has health problems or is elderly. And in response to people who say “my dog has held it for 24 hours before” I say, “That doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt.”
In addition to the dog needing to relieve himself, there is the social factor to consider. Since dogs are social animals, keeping them isolated for a long time without human contact can be very stressful. Things are unsettling enough for a pet when his people go away for an extended period of time. Having a pet sitter visit for a short thirty-minute visit every 24 hours does little to help relieve this stress. More frequent visits break the time up a bit for the dog and can serve as a way to keep him on a schedule as close to normal as possible.
A pet sitter’s job isn’t just to tend to the physical needs of a pet – food, water, and relief – but to also cater to that pet’s need for physical contact and attention. Asking a pet sitter to visit only once per day is depriving your dog of those physical needs as well as that much needed interaction.
After explaining the rationale behind multiple visits per day, most pet owners, like Joe, are more than happy to have a pet sitter visit their dogs more than once a day. Quite often all that is needed is a little bit of education, and once they understand the reasons, they are apt to make better decisions for the health and welfare of their pets. (Courtesy: PetSit USA)
Southern Illinois Pet Sitters' notes on above article:
I generally will require 3 visits per day if the dog does not have access to a doggie door for one simple reason. I cannot, and I sure you cannot, limit eliminations to once every 12 hours. Dogs should not be expected to either.
