How to select a Pet-Sitter
Who is a Pet-sitter?
A pet-sitter is one who is trained and paid to care for pets. The choice of a pet sitter is a major decision made by a pet parent. This choice affects the level of care the pet receives and also determines the extent to which preventive pet care is provided.
Reasons for hiring a pet-sitter
There are various reasons why people use the services of a pet-sitter.
- Help: Pet-sitters come in as a great assistance, especially for busy pet parents. While the pet-parent is away, the pet-sitter attends to various needs of the pet. Which include: feeding, walking the pet, and general care of the pet.
- Health of the Pet: The pet sitter also acts as an immediate veterinarian in cases where the pet is sick. They look out for symptoms of likely diseases and take the pet to the Veterinarian.
How to select a pet-sitter
The task of selecting a pet-sitter that is right for you and your pet can be stressful. Some key items must be checked during this process.
- Trust: During the process of hiring a pet-sitter, ask for referrals from a good veterinarian, friends, and family etc. The pet-sitter must be from a trusted and reliable pet-sitting company. Ask for at least two valid references from the pet-sitters including references from previous or current pet parents. Also, look out for reviews on the pages of the pet sitter’s company. Hire from a company that has affiliations with good veterinarians. Also, ensure the company has a back-up in place in case your sitter has an emergency.
- Training: This is a major factor in the selection process. A pet-sitter must know the fundamentals involved in pet-sitting, so maximum care could be given the pet.
- Meeting/Interview: This is important as the pet parent will get a one-on-one meeting with the pet-sitter. The parent will get to know more about the pet-sitter, the experiences the sitter has encountered, the challenges and how the sitter solved those challenges. Ask for licenses and other training certifications.
- Accommodation: When satisfied with the points above, you can go ahead and negotiate availability and schedule. Verify that the pet-sitter can accommodate you and your pet. This is very vital.