Policies and Procedures
In-home pet care is a service that may only be properly performed when a reasonable level of trust has been established between the pet sitter and the client. During our first meeting, we will ask you a lot of questions about your pets and the type of service you require for their care. You should feel free during this meeting to also ask a lot of questions of us. Trusting someone with the safety of your beloved pets as well as the security of your home is serious business. We understand this and expect you to ask a number of questions about our backgrounds and our methods of doing business.
In addition, below is a listing of our standard policies and procedures. Should you have any additional questions or concerns that we've neglected to address, we encourage you to discuss those with us. The more we know about your expectations of our services, the more diligent we can be about satisfying and perhaps exceeding those expectations. The following policies and procedures should offer you a clear understanding of exactly how our services are performed.
These policies have been adopted based upon what our clients' needs and expectations have been in the past. They are certainly not set in stone. If you have particular needs which require us to service you and your pets differently, we are certainly willing to adapt to those needs if possible. Please feel free to discuss exceptions to our policies and procedures if necessary.
1. We do not answer your phone. If you need to contact your sitter at a time when you expect them to be at your home, please instruct them to listen for your voice on your answering machine and then pick up.
2. Your key will never be labeled with your name or address or kept in the same location as any paperwork containing your name or address. Keys and keypad codes will always be kept in a secure, locked location while in our possession.
3. While in your home, your sitter will always remain in the areas that require them to care for your pets or your home, as specified by you. Areas within your home that do not contain pet supplies or cleaning supplies are none of our concern and will always be treated accordingly. Your privacy will always be highly respected.
4. On daily visits, your home will always be as you left it, unless we are directed otherwise. If, when we arrive, lights, TVs, radios, etc. are on, we will leave them on. We will at times use our own judgment in some situations if we have reason to believe that something is not as it should be and we are unable to contact you to discuss it. For example, if your door were unlocked when we arrive, we would assume that it should have been locked and we will lock it upon leaving if we could not reach you by phone.
5. We will never bring anyone with us on our visits unless we have specifically requested your permission to do so. You have authorized us to enter your home and no one else. This rule will always be strictly adhered to.
6. Our vehicles will never have advertising on them. The last thing you need is an announcement to the world that your home is unoccupied. (Many of our competitors do not follow this common sense policy.)
7. We commit to being at your home within 30 minutes either way of the requested time for the visit. We do of course make every effort to always be on time. However, the nature of our business often makes that impossible. We are often required to perform duties that were not anticipated - clean up, a visit to a vet, etc. These situations unfortunately do occur and we're certain that if they occurred with your pets, you would like us to remain a bit longer to handle the situation even it makes us a bit late for our next visit.
8. We will always clean up after your pets to the best of our ability. We do what we do because we love animals. We would never leave a mess behind after our visit. Not only would it be unpleasant for you to come home to, but it is cruel and neglectful to the animal. Especially if the animal is crated. Any and all messes will be cleaned up before we leave your home. Please bear in mind however that we are not a professional cleaning service. We will clean up to the best of our ability and we will always exercise caution in cleaning carpeting. If you have not left specific instructions on which cleaning product to use on your carpets, we will not attempt to clean them.
9. We do not engage in physical corrections for negative behavior. In other words, we don't hit animals. I do not believe in striking or shouting at animals. It is completely unnecessary and accomplishes nothing. If your dog is accustomed to walking with a training collar, we will certainly walk him or her with that collar and provide physical corrections when necessary if you would like us to. That is the only exception to this policy.
10. We always ask for two sets of keys. Having an extra set of keys on hand gives us peace of mind and should hopefully give you peace of mind as well.
11. Additional fees may apply. Additional fees may apply for rendering service outside of our regular route areas, for visits required on holidays, for administering some medications, for watering a large number of plants, for providing service before 7 A.M. or after 10 P.M., or for other special considerations.