7 Easy Steps to Consider when Looking for the Perfect Pet Sitter
Everyone loves going on vacation, but for pet owners there is so much more to take care of in advance in order to make their vacation enjoyable. Pet owners struggle to find a trustful person to take proper care of their pets while they are away. This takes away the excitement on their vacation planning, because of course, let's face it, leaving your furry one behind is heartbreaking. You know they will miss you and all you wish is to find that special person you need to take proper care of your pet to keep them happy while you are away.
The process of searching for the right pet sitter can be very long, chaotic and frustrating. If you are leaving for just a couple of days, you probably could ask a neighbour, friend or family member to do you the favour. However, if you are leaving for more than 3 days or for a longer period of time, you definitely need to invest time in looking for the right pet sitter to take over. Remember, this person will be in charge of taking care of your pet and entering your home, so you need to find that special someone you can trust and your pet can connect and bond with.
“Everyone loves going on vacation, but for pet owners there is so much more to take care of before in order to make their vacation enjoyable. Pet owners struggle to find a trustful person to take proper care of their pets while they are away.”
- Marcela Pets Ahoi Founder
Follow the To Do's checklist below before making your final decision. This checklist will make your search easier and will help you find the perfect match for your furry friend, because they should be left in the best hands.
7 Easy Steps to Consider when Looking for the Perfect Pet Sitter
1. Interviews
Plan a personal interview ahead. Make sure to write a list of questions in advance in order to know more about their previous experiences, get to know their personality traits and find out how they will deal with a crisis in the house or with your pet. At Pets Ahoi we organise a free MEET & GREET: it is a 20-minute meeting with your pet and one of our matching pet sitters. This short meeting is necessary for both parties to have good feeling, ask all the necessary questions, talk about the pet's needs and routines and overall see how your pet and the pet sitter interact and connect with each other.
2. Reviews
It is important to read some references or reviews about previous pet owners' experiences with your pet sitter. This gives you more confidence and reassurance into making the right decision whether to choose this person or not. Pets Ahoi offers customer reviews from previous pet owners' experiences with our pet sitters. This is a great way for you to have an idea of how your matching pet sitter will be for you and your pet.
3. Home Environment
This criterion is more relevant to Homeboarding services as your pets would be staying with the pet sitter for an extended period of time. It is important to see their home and analyse if this place is ideal for your pet. You know your pet better than anyone and you will have a feeling if it will feel safe and happy in this environment.
4. Price
The price should not be your primary concern. You should not be focusing on getting the lowest price because most likely you will not get the qualitative service you are searching for. Like the saying "you get what you pay for". Qualified sitters are not cheap, but that does not mean they are not affordable either. You know your pet deserves more than just a quick 5-minute feed visit; they deserve enough time, attention, exercise, playtime and proper care from a true pet lover.
5. Local Area
It is always better to find a pet sitter in your area, this will facilitate their everyday commute and visits as well as spending more time with your pet. This is also great for pet sitters who are booked to visit your pet twice a day. You also need someone to get to your home quickly in case of an emergency.
6. Professionally certified
It is always good to ask your potential petsitter: what type of training have they completed? Do they have a certain badge or certificate to show? Are they associated with a veterinarian who can provide emergency services?
Hiring a certified pet sitter is always a better option. You know they acquired basic first-aid training, pet handling, routine care, and crisis prevention. If your pet sitter is certified, he or she knows how to take good care of your pet and will know what to do in emergency situations. The possibilities that anything can go wrong are very low and overall they will have a deep understanding of what means to take proper and good care of your pet. They know how to fulfil your pet's physical and emotional needs. Pets Ahoi offers an onboarding first-aid training to our pet sitters, so you can be sure our pet care service is 100% certified.
7. Terms & Conditions
Many professional pet sitting services have specific terms & conditions and an official contract. Double-check the terms & conditions to ensure that all the discussed and agreed-upon services have been included. Make sure that you read all the details to verify the job is clearly delineated with inclusions and exclusions clearly stated. At Pets Ahoi we offer specific terms & conditions for our services which are available to read on our platform. If you strictly want a contract with the specific pet sitter, we also offer a written contract upon request.
Hiring certified pet sitters is always the best option. Meeting them in advance and informing yourself as much as you can is the best way to find the perfect pet sitter match for your furry one. Pet sitting is always a great option to keep your pets comfortable in their own home, keeping their eating habits, exercise and sleeping routines. Staying in their home keeps them from being exposed to other people's pets that you don’t know the history of. It also gives them the one-on-one attention that they normally get as well. The above tips can help you get started guiding you into the right direction for your pet sitter search.
Pets Ahoi
Pets Ahoi is a pet-lover community connecting pet owners and trusted pet sitters. Pets Ahoi specialises in offering certified and personalised in-home pet sitting experiences tailored to pet owners' and pets' needs. We believe pets are family and when their owners go on vacation, pets deserve to be left in the best hands and the best care. We believe pets need to be taken care of in the comfort of a home. Our service helps pet parents find the perfect pet sitter in their area who will treat their pets like family.
Going on vacation soon? Looking for the right pet sitter? Pets Ahoi is happy to help you find the perfect pet sitter.
This Blog is using Storyliner Photo Credits Ira Efremova
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