Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.
A. Dog walking and daily pet visits are our most common services. Coming in second are overnight sitting, followed by medication assistance.
Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A. Be sure you meet the person who will be performing the services before the service is scheduled. With our group, this is a must since it ensures a good fit for both the family, pet and sitter. We use the meeting to discuss specifics of the routine and care needed, as well as allowing your pets and our sitter to meet each other.
Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?
A. It's important to ensure your pet sitter is licensed, insured, bonded and belongs to at least one of the major U.S. professional pet sitter societies! This means the sitter has a well-thought-out approach to caring for your pets, and, much like a human caregiver ensures we are constantly updating our skills and knowledge.
Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?
A. Ask your veterinarian or groomer (or a family friend / member who owns pets) for a recommendation. Most of our new clients come to us this way, so we don't really advertise much.....
Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?
A. We are a small family of professional pet sitters, who are also pet owners so we understand the mindset of a pet owner completed! We work closely with each owner to ensure the routine we follow is what the pet is already used to, so pets view us as an extension of their family!
Q. What do you like most about your job?
A. We love the interaction with owners and pets! Our greatest joy is experiencing the joy from the pets we care for, and seeing the look of happiness on the owner faces when they realize how happy their pets are!
Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A. Why choose a professional pet sitter over a neighbor or family friend? Simple -- this is our career, so we are available 365 days a year. We'll never cancel at the last minute because our priority is caring for your pets!
Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?
A. We soliocit feedback from all our owners since we believe it allows us to ensure their happiness as well as that of their pets. The most consistent feedback we receive is similar to that from an owner who, on returning from a vacation, remarked, "My pets had a better time that we did!"
Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?
A. A professional pet sitter makes it look "easy" to care for someone else's pets, but underneath that perception is an extensive background of training, education and community service. We have found that while anyone can be a pet owner, it takes a special type of person to care for pets -- similar to human care, professional pet sitters need to be diligent, observant, caring, honest and reliable.
Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?
A. We have over 40 years of combined service in the pet care industry. Some of us have worked as vet techs and pet sitters for other companies, until we decided to create our own company.
Q. Tell us about a recent job you did that you are particularly proud of.
A. We are proud of all the work we do -- we view this as a way to give back to the community at large, so that pet owners have a trusted source for pet care.
Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?
A. We belong to a number of professional societies and groups that focus on continuing education and training.
Q. What are the latest developments in your field? Are there any exciting things coming in the next few years or decade that will change your line of business?
A. Most developments involve pet-friendly training techniques as well as tools use in potty training. We partner with a small group of professional trainers to work as a team in assisting the owner with any pet training needs.
Q. Describe your most recent project, what it involved, how much it cost, and how long it took.
A. A typical service is twice-daily visits for a dog. The standard visit is 30 minutes in length, and includes providing fresh food and water as well as exercise and all the TLC the pet desires. We also include bringing in mail and newspapers, alternating lights for security purposes, and taking trash bins out to the street -- all included with our in-home services.
Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.
A. All our pricing is customized to the individual needs of the owner and pet. We do offer discounts for recurring types of services as well as for long-term service needs.
Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?
A. Someone who is interested in becoming a professional pet sitter should volunteer at their local shelter or humane society. Start at the bottom, spend a couple of months scooping poop and cleaning litter boxes and work your way up to caring for pets with behavior challenges.
Q. Write your own question and answer it.
A. Why should someone choose our company over another? We get consistently high reviews from our owners, and our high rate of referrals signal that we are doing the quality of work that owners expect.
