Why You Should Not Ask Your Neighbor To Pet Sit For You

As a professional pet sitter and dog walker, I have to say that I am often baffled to hear when someone calls me and say “I NEED your services this weekend because my neighbor said they would watch my pets, but now have to leave town”  Did you know those pet sitters are often called upon to take over?   I can not tell you how many time this has happened.  Why would you put your neighbor out in the first place care for your pets?  They have other things on their plate and I am sure your pet is NOT one of them.  Sure it may work out sometimes, but for the most part, they probably see you coming and think  “Oh no they are going to ask us again to care for Fido again”   Call in the pro’s in the first place and your neighbors will not run for the hills when they see you coming….

Sure some neighbors would love to help you and let your dog out.  However, what if something were to happen to your pet would they know what do.  What if they had their child going in and letting your dog out and never noticed that your dog was having some issues and did not notice.  For example, I was called in to care for the cat for a week, the cat was fine the first few days, however after noticing that the cat was not using the litter box and had stopped eating I knew something was not right.  I called the owner and explained what was happening and she allowed me to take the cat to the veterinarian and have her checked out.  Turns out the care had a urinary tract infection and needed medication.  Now, you tell me that your neighbor or the kid next door is going to know what to do in a situation like that. Maybe an adult how knows about cats would figure it out but we the professionals know what to look for.

Another story:  I was hired to care for 5 cats at a clients house.  The first day I went there I only saw 4 of the 5 cats.  I knew I had to find the 5th cat so I could leave with a clear mind.  I looked all over the house and finally opened the laundry room door and looked behind the dryer and there she was.  The owners left that morning and did not know the cat was in the laundry room.  Thank Goodness they had a professional pet sitter that knew to do a head count.  Now you tell me the kid next door is going to know to do that…Probably not.  They would just come in and put food in the bowls and give water and be done with it.

Also, emergencies happen that are out of their control, a death in the family, a car accident, or a severe illness.  It is not planned and cannot be prevented.  This is why it is very important to have a reliable pet sitter that has a backup plan.   The last thing you want to do is end your trip to come home because the neighbor has an emergency and can longer help you with your pets.  Professional pet sitters have others employees that will know what to do and step in to help care for the pets.

Always make sure your professional pet sitter has insurance and do check their references.  You need to make sure they have a sitter backup plan in place.

https://loveandkissespetsitting.net/hire-professional-cat-sitter-travel/

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