Choosing a Pet Sitter

Choosing a pet sitter can be stressful and intimidating. What questions should you ask? What credentials really matter? How can you be sure that this person (or company) can be trusted to care for your pet (and to a certain extent, your home) while you’re away? There are no easy answers to these questions.

Here are a few things to look for:

1. Are they members of any professional industry organizations (like Pet Sitters International)?
2. Are they licensed?
3. Are they bonded and insured?
4. How long have they been pet sitting?
5. Can they provide references from long-time clients, as well as new ones?
6. Do they have a website?
7. Does their e-mail address correspond to their website domain name?
8. Do they offer a way to pay for services online?

Perhaps the best advice is to first check out their website. A pet sitter’s website can be a very good indication of their level of professionalism and a good way for you to determine whether a given pet sitter is a legitimate business owner or someone just looking to make some extra money by offering to pet sit for people in their area.

A well-thought out, attractive and easily navigable website (like that for Welcome Home Pet Sitting) is a great indication that a pet sitter is conscientious, detail-oriented and aware of the importance of building a great reputation with a base clientèle – and most importantly, that it is a legitimate pet sitting business, rather than just a “hobby for hire”.