Policies

Notice: Please allow at least three business days’ notice, if possible, to schedule pet sitting or a new client consultation.

 It is best to give as much notice as possible, especially for holiday pet sitting, as we book up quickly.

We will do our best to accommodate last minute requests but may not be able to.

Reservations: Please make sure that you make all reservations/changes / cancellations through the business office.

Our secure client portal is the best way to make a reservation or cancellation.  Simply log in from our website and click the Request Services button.

Or go to the Schedule tab in the portal to cancel a visit.  Please do not schedule new pet sitting visits or cancel appointments with your pet sitter directly.

This has led to miscommunications about visits, and clients being charged for appointments that had been previously canceled.

In addition, all pet sitters have signed a non-solicit agreement, so if they accept pet sitting jobs on-the-side, they are at risk of losing business from their other clients.

Please help us to keep our good pet sitters on staff.

Texting: We prefer not to use text messaging as a form of business communication.

It has led to misunderstandings about pet care details, schedules, cancellations, and billing. Please do not text your pet sitter directly.

If you need to get in touch with your sitter, please contact the business office.

Home Access: We prefer that you use a key lockbox to allow your pet sitter access to your home.

We provide key lockboxes, which are yours to keep, or you may use your own lockbox. Be sure to place the lockbox in a discreet location on your property.

The lockboxes are magnetic and have an adhesive panel, and may be physically secured to your home with a zip tie if desired.

 Your sitter will need to return your key to the designated spot after each pet sitting visit.

We prefer to use lockboxes for a number of reasons. Most importantly, if something happens to your primary pet sitter (serious illness, car accident, family emergency), we will always be able to send another member of our team to care for your pets.

Further, we feel that your key is much safer in a locked box on your property than in your pet sitter’s car or home. 

Early and Late Appointments: We generally do our pet sitting visits no earlier than 7:00 – 9:00 a.m. and no later than 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Very late and very early appointments can pose a safety threat to our sitters.

We will do our best to follow your pet’s routine within these hours.

Travel Delays: It is rarely a problem for us to continue pet sitting should you be delayed on your trip and not be able to return home as expected.

Regular rates for the extra visits will apply.

Pet Sitters: Every effort is made to assign one pet sitter to each client’s household.

However, a back-up sitter will be sent to your home should your sitter be ill, have an emergency, be on vacation, have scheduling problems, or no longer work for the company.

The back-up pet sitter will be in touch, if possible, with your regular pet sitter and will have access to all of the client information in your online account.

Appointment Times: We will make every effort to follow your pet’s routine and visit your home at your requested times.

However, we cannot promise to be there at an exact time each day; we prefer to have a “time block” that is acceptable to you and your pets, during which we can promise to visit your home.

Our time blocks are generally 7-9am, 12-2pm, 3-5pm, 7-9pm.

If you need visits outside of these time blocks, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate – keeping in mind that we generally do not pet sit before 7 am or after 9 pm (except for overnight stays and private boarding).

Privacy Policy:  We will not share your personal information with any other third party for marketing or promotional reasons.

We collect your name, address, phone numbers, email addresses, payment information, and home/pet information for the sole purpose of providing quality pet care and home care services for you.

This information is maintained in a secure online software system, such as QuickBooks Online or other client management system

Payment:  We operate on an auto-pay policy.  We require a credit card to hold all pet sitting reservations.

We will charge your credit card on file for service the evening that your pet sitting visits have been completed.

Recurring midday dog walking services are charged the Monday, Wednesday or Friday after the service is completed (for the prior two weeks).

Please enter your credit card information on the Settings tab in your online account (and ensure that the ‘Allow automatic payment’ box is checked) before your pet sitting begins.

Our online client portal is a secure site with the very latest security algorithms, and our payment processor is certified PCI compliant level 1 which is the most stringent form of certification available.

All invoices and payments are viewable in your online account for 12 months.

Cancellations: If you need to cancel your pet sitting appointment, please give us at least 24 hours notice.  

A 50% cancellation fee applies to all pet visits falling within the 24-hour time frame.  

*** If you use our recurring midday dog walking service, please contact us no later than 9:00 am if you need to cancel your midday dog walk.  Otherwise, full price applies for the day.

Client Portal: Please make sure that you enter thorough notes and information in your online account.

We refer to your online account while pet sitting for you.  We need your contact information to be correct, veterinary contact info and vaccination dates, and instructions to care for your home and pets.

The client portal is a secure site.  You can also pay online, check your schedule, request service and cancel visits in the client portal.

Aggressive Dogs: If you are not completely sure that your dog will allow a pet sitter into your home while you are NOT there, then we cannot accept the pet sitting assignment.

Entering your home when you are away is a condition of our pet sitting service; attempting to care for a potentially aggressive dog puts the pet sitter at risk and does not allow us to fulfill our promise to you to care for your pets and home.

If you did not realize that your dog would be aggressive (growl bearing teeth, nip at pet sitter’s hand while attempting to put on leash, etc), and we have already begun pet sitting, then we will do our best to finish our assignment as agreed.

If we are unable to provide normal pet sitting duties due to your pet’s aggressiveness (walk your dog, get him or her outside to go potty), then regular fees and/or additional fees will apply.

We cannot provide free or discounted visits for pet sitting if the dog’s aggressiveness prohibits us from performing our regular duties.

Further, you may be responsible for your pet sitter’s medical fees should your dog bite or otherwise injure the sitter.

Hurricane Contingency Plan: We should always have your contact information on file for every trip you take so that we can get in touch with you in case of an emergency.

During a hurricane, we also need to have a local contact who can take in your pets if you cannot get home to care for them yourself.

We can assist in getting the pets to your local contact.

But, we would be unable to evacuate all of our clients’ pets.

During a time of such an emergency, our pet sitters will naturally be concerned about their own families and pets, as well as all of their clients’ pets.

 If you choose not to return to care for your pets, and we must travel to your home during a hurricane to care for your pets, we reserve the right to adjust your scheduled visits accordingly (i.e. caring for your pets twice a day rather than three times per day).

Refund Policy:  If you are not satisfied with our service, please let us know so we can address the issue and remedy the situation.

 We are happy to refund your money in part or in full depending on the situation.