Why should I hire a Professional Pet Sitter?

Why should I hire a Professional Pet Sitter?

Do you travel a lot, or even a little? If you have pets, chances are you get stressed whenever it’s time to leave them. It’s normal, but having a trusted professional pet sitter can help ease travel anxieties so you can enjoy your vacation. But, what makes someone a professional vs a hobby sitter? The differences may surprise you. Loving animals isn’t the only qualification for great pet care. In honor of professional pet sitters week (March 3-9) we’ve put together a list of things you should consider when searching for a pet sitter.

License/Insurance/Bonding

You may think that if someone has a license and insurance that’s all they need to make them professional. That’s not true. It’s just one of the many factors of being considered a professional. In addition to basic state and local licenses, a great pet sitting company will have employees that are covered by workers comp insurance. Just like any other business, if an employee is injured on your property or while doing a walk the companies insurance will cover the injury. This means you don’t have to worry about being sued. If you hire a hobby or app based pet sitter they are considered independent contractors, which means they are not covered for a lot of things that could potentially happen.

Background Checked Staff 

While background checks aren’t everything, they are important when someone is coming into your home. You want to make sure that the pet sitting company you choose does a formal background check on all their staff before they enter your property. Don’t just rely on a background check alone, it has to be combined with all these other important qualifications.

Online Booking and Payments

Nowadays, fast and convenient is the way everything should be handled. You want to make sure your pet sitter is using a pet sitting software that allows you to book and pay online. If they are using an old school handwritten planner, what happens if that gets lost? The best pet sitting softwares allow you to GPS track your dogs walks, chat with pet sitters, book and see your schedule all from your smart phone. You should also make sure your pet sitters software sends a visit report after each visit.

Pet Aid/ CPR Certified & On Going Employee Training

Although basic pet care may seem, well, basic. Knowing what to do in an emergency could mean the difference between life or death. A professional pet sitter and it’s company should have pet sitters that are pet aid CPR certified and undergo ongoing training. Make sure to ask these important questions about training.

Reviewed

People review everything, including pet sitters. If you’re looking to hire someone make sure they have some reviews on their Google my business or yelp page. While Google tends to have more reviews for service based businesses,  most companies should have at least a few reviews on both. Read through the reviews to see how people rated their experience. Likely, the things they think are looking for in their pet sitter are the same things that you are.

5 Star Customer Service

Customer service is an important part of any business. If you have a problem or issue you want to make sure it’s going to be handled properly. Having stellar customer service in the pet industry means having a sitter or owner who is responsive to emails, booking requests and can problem solve.

So now that you know what makes a pet sitter professional. Would you choose the professional over the hobby sitter next time you go out of town?

 

 

 

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