Archive for March, 2011

A Pet Sitter may be the perfect resource to have readily available, knowing that your furry pal is taken care of by a qualified professional. These are typically individuals who dedicate their everyday life to attending to animals as soon as the owners have to be away, are unwell, or for those who have really hectic lifestyles but want their pets to generally be maintained on a fixed routine.

There are various very good reasons you could utilize a sitter.  Some boarding kennels won’t consider more aged pets, they are not able to dedicate all their time on just your furry friend, additionally your pet will likely be on it’s own inside of a kennel almost all the time.  By using a sitter, it’s not only just best for your peace of mind, but it surely will minimize how much anxiety and stress is on your pet also.

Your pet’s schedule will not be disrupted and any medications will be firmly maintained on time, just like your pet’s feeding schedule. Also, considering that your furry friend won’t be place into kennels with lots of other animals, there probably is substantially much less potential for acquiring any diseases.

A professional will arranged for a consultation before taking the job to meet up with both you and your  family pet.  At this time, you can go over what they charge, if she or he is covered by insurance and bonded, just how long will the visits last, and in addition what tasks you’d like them to perform.  Additionally, any special abilities in dealing with foreign pets and reptiles if needed.

Some caregivers offer extra services, such as opening and closing curtains, switching on/off lighting, supplying water to your house plants and picking up your postal mail.  When you have a pet that can’t remain on it’s own, you are able to employ sitters to stay overnight with your pet, in their own personal surroundings.  Also, this greatly helps at attempting to keep your house appear resided in and safe when you are away.

Also, you won’t need to feel the necessity to impose on any family or friends.  Instead you’ll be stress-free, knowing  that your furry loved one is in the safe hands of your loving, qualified, and trusted pet sitter, and having a pleasurable time themselves.

Hello and welcome to Pet Sitters San Diego!

Now, I know that might seem like a strange name for a website, but there is a perfectly good reason behind it.

Basically, when a pet owner living in San Diego needs to find a pet sitting business to take care of their pet or pets while they are on vacation or away, whether it’s just for the day, an over-night stay, or a drop-in visit, that pet owner is probably going to search online and type in something like San Diego Pet Sitters or Pet Sitters San Diego to locate a local company that can provide a caregiver for their furry loved ones.

With that in mind, I wanted you to find my website right away, because unlike many of the results that may pop up on your computer screen, I do not own my own professional pet sitting business.

I’m just an impartial pet owner and consumer who was once where you are and had a negative experience looking for and hiring local pet sitters that it made me want to create this website to protect you.  I guess you can say that it was my duty to do it.

I do want to say, that I have no intention of bashing any company in the area that employs pet sitters, but you can count on me to provide you with a recommendation of a professional, insured, and bonded pet sitting service provider that you can trust to take care of your fish, dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, or any other type of animal that is apart of your family.

Additionally, I want to provide some knowledge to pet owners and educate folks on what to expect and look for in a pet sitter business like licenses, certifications, references, associations, and what it means to be insured and bonded.

Before I started looking for a professional pet sitter, I had no idea about the most crucial things that all pet owners should require when hiring a pet sitting service.

Have no fear, I will talk about all of this at Pet Sitters San Diego.  We’ll look at all the most essential things that a pet owner should be aware of before making that final decision that could very well impact the whole family.

This site is going to help you hire a pet sitter in San Diego that is professional and honest.

Also, I want to add that the rates pet sitters charge for various services are all over the place.  When a service is needed and scheduled, the pets usually receive, dog walking, feedings, poop scooping, medications, play time, and of course love and affection.  Additional duties like bringing in the mail, taking the trash out, turning on and off lights, and watering plants are common place as well.  You can be ripped off easily because most pet owners have no idea how much all these services should cost. Hiring professional pet sitters is still relatively new to pet owners because previously, it was something that we normally would ask a neighbor, friend, or family member to do.  Because of this, I will tell you what I personally feel the adequate price range for these services should be.

An important word of warning:  Don’t think you can rely on the Better Business Bureau either to vouch for a business.

I’m not sure if you are aware of this, because most people are not, but the Better Business Bureau is not any type of official government agency like their name may suggest.  They are actually paid by the very companies they represent.  Sounds like a major conflict of interest to me!

You might want to check out this very eye opening article about the BBB, here.

It is also important to know what organizations a pet sitting business is in association with.  For example, are they members of Pet Sitters Associates, LLC., otherwise known as PSA or the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters, also known as NAPPS.  There are other organizations as well like PSI and Professional United Pet Sitters or PUPS.

It’s my hope, that after you spend a few quick moments on my site, Pet Sitters San Diego, you’ll be able to make a knowledgeable decsion on who to hire as your pet’s caregiver while you are away.

When searching about pet sitting services in San Diego or anyplace even, there’s a few essential factors that each pet owner ought to make certain a pet sitter has.  I’m about to give a quick explanation of three things, but only two of the three are completely vital.

Insurance

Liability insurance coverage addresses property or home damage and injuries to pets or individuals whilst a client’s home and  animals are in a pet sitter’s care (recognized formally as “care, custody, and control”).  This is  essentially the most crucial item a professional pet sitter will need to have.  If your pet sitter manages to lose keys,  knocks over a costly vase inside the entry hall, or perhaps the dog bites somebody, these are the basic kinds of things  which are covered under insurance.  Regrettably accidents do occur, so its always beneficial to be aware that these  accidents are going to be taken care of.

Bonding

Bonding means a security (dishonesty) bond.  This safeguards the pet owner’s household from any unfortunate  thievery which may happen.  In case a pet sitter has employees, this is a must in my opinion.  For me personally, it provides me with  comfort if a pet sitter or pet sitting business is bonded.  A sitter who steals or damages the client’s property will need to be charged and found guilty of the offense before the bond can “answer.”  Some pet  sitters will not be bonded, but that doesn’t mean that a client isn’t safeguarded because in place of a bond,  some pet sitter’s insurance coverage carry what is known as a ‘Special Personal-Property Endorsement’ and this add-on  to the pet sitter’s insurance plan is becoming increasingly popular.

Licenses

A professional license and a business license are quite different, and any person who uses a pet sitter should know about those differences.

Business License

A business license is actually a permit, provided by a government organization, that allows a person or corporation to operate a business inside a particular geographical area. It usually is issued by a city, town, or another entity, and could be provided to a pet sitter, a retailer, a book shop, etcetera. – not just pet sitters. This type of permit doesn’t imply that the person obtaining the permit has any expertise in the business he or she will operate.

Professional License

In order to operate in certain professions, one will need to take specific training after which, they have to pass an examination. Passing the exam shows (ultimately!) that folks know their stuff, and in addition it earns them a permit to work in that field.

There are no professional licensing requirements for pet sitters.

Anybody who wants to start up a pet sitting business is able to do so without the need of any official education, and no licensing exams are necessary. Numerous pet sitters have attended pet related training like pet behaviour, dog training, first-aid, or small business programs. Many sitters take business courses given by non-public corporations or like-minded field groups, but programs like this aren’t lawful requirements to operate a pet sitting company.

So for a number of pet owners, every time they see “licensed, bonded and insured” they believe the pet sitter underwent some licensing training program and official certification. Seeing however, for pet sitters, there aren’t any professional licenses, this is actually not the way it is. I actually don’t feel pet sitters are purposely seeking to deceive possible customers by doing this but it could actually be misleading for those who don’t  understand there’s not a pet sitter license.

I would definitely like to see significantly more pet sitters clearly indicate they have a “business license” rather than saying they’re licensed. Maybe that, or perhaps leave off the fact they possess a business license. To me, I actually don’t think that it is crucial as most companies running in a professional manner obtain the necessary business licenses as well as other permits for their location. And, surely, if a customer were to ask if a pet sitter posesses a business license it is a clear-cut yes or no reply.

Well listed below,  I’ll be putting my neck on the line.

My top recommendation is for a company that serves most of all of San Diego.  I became referred to this business by way of a friend who had to locate a pet sitting company at the last second due to the fact that she would have to go of town for a week because of an unexpected emergency.  Now, she utilizes this company regularly for her pet sitting needs in addition to dog walking (yes, they provide dog walkers too!)

Since I have had a negative experience with a pet sitting company in the past, I was somewhat reluctant to hire one again.  The previous time, my dog appeared depressed once i came back home as well as a bit skiddish…not the happy social butterfly she generally was and she stayed this way for a few days.  Also while I had been away, trying to get a status from the sitter about how my girl was doing was like yanking teeth.  I’d call, text, and e-mail merely to be answered a full day later with a vague 1 or 2 sentence response.  It gave me an extremely uncomfortable feeling.

There after, I thought I would just try and obtain the help of a friend, neighbor, or relative whenever i needed a pet sitter again.  Or, pay for her to be boarded in the kennel, which I loathe doing to her.  It’s costly and a lot more importantly, it will cause her quite a lot of stress (she’ll gnaw the hair off her paws or the rear of her tail!)

Soon after hearing my good friend go on about her pet sitter, I made the choice to contact them.  One of the owners came to my house for a free of charge consultation and she immediately made me feel at ease.  You know when you get that instant feel about a person, regardless of whether it’s good or bad?  Well, this was certainly a good vibe.  She was professional, polite, well-spoken, immediately affectionate to my dog, as well as down to earth at the same time.  We talked about the jobs that the pet sitting service included (like poop scooping the yard, dog walks, postal mail pick up, watering the plants, taking out the garbage, and so on.), completed necessary paperwork, asked and answered questions, and lastly, played with my girl a bit. They had an immediate connection too, which is most crucial to me. Another important factor was obviously the over-night sitting fee, which was incredibly competitive taking into consideration the fees of other businesses in the area.  I don’t want to talk about the precise rates, but for me personally, a good rate for any professional over night service really should be between $45-$60 per night along with a possible small increase if it is on a holiday.

Anyhow, the pet sitter’s name which I hired is Kelly.  She co-owns a company named Fido’s Forty Winks.  I highly suggest them and truly I don’t give glowing recommendations very easily.  This company is bonded, insured, has excellent rates, and provides package discounts.  Most significantly, whenever you’re away you receive regular updates (oftentimes with photos too!) via text message, phone, or e-mail and once you return home, your pet(s) behave like you had never been gone.

You can’t fail with this company.  Give them a call and they’ll be more than happy to come out and meet both you and your furry loved ones.

Down below, you can view a video which I kind of snagged from their website.  I thought it was cute and so i thought I’d share: