Backup Plan

Feb 14, 2024: Edition 184

Our Sits & Wiggles team wants nothing more than for you & your pets to be safe & happy. We are grateful that our community has some incredible pet sitters. All pet parents should be in the position of feeling safe with their pet care providers. Of the many amazing sitters, relatively few offer overnight services. Others who do provide overnight care aren't available to new clients. Or they are closed on weekends & holidays.

This is where the problems lie. Should your sitter cancel your booking at the last minute, who will care for your beloved pets?

Everyone who is entrusted to care for animals should have a concrete backup plan. Nobody is immune from illness, injury or emergency scenarios. Please discuss this with the sitters who you interview & decide to contract with.

It's common for local sitters to cancel at the last minute. We know this as many of our current clients are with us because they were in this exact situation. The sitters who canceled were independent as well as from Rover & Trusted House Sitters.

These people we were able to assist, as we had overnight availability for their dates. Others who shared on social media seeking last minute trustworthy pet care were unable to establish care. Keep in mind that these cancellations are often during peak travel times of spring break, summer & holiday dates. All the sitters who they felt safe with were already booked, potentially 6-18 months in advance.

Some of the pet parents were forced to cancel their travels, whereas others paid to have a loved one flown in to perform the services. Travel may be for leisure. However, it also may be for an important event which cannot be rescheduled or recreated, such as a wedding, honeymoon, family reunion, funeral, conference, etc. In addition, down payments may not be refundable. This isn't to mention the heartbreak of having to miss the event.

Ask your potential pet sitters if their business model is structured to "expect the unexpected"? If so, how? If their response is that they network with other local pet sitters, this is insufficient. We all know that everyone is typically booked for the same in demand traveling dates.

Have they had experiences where they were unable to provide care? If so, how was the situation resolved? If they were ill or injured, was a backup person available to perform the care? If their vehicle broke down or was unable to drive in the snow or ice, were they able to find transportation to care for the pets?

Do they have an "insurance card", so to speak? If the sitter is part of a team, is there another sitter who is on standby? Do they intentionally not book this person? Is this person actively turning away bookings in order to be available for canceled or delayed flights?

If the sitter is a solo entrepreneur, do they have a trusted individual trained & capable of performing the required tasks? Is this person also licensed, insured, background checked & pet CPR/ first aid certified? Will you & your pets be allotted the opportunity to get to know them prior to the start of service? Does this person offer pet sitting services to the community? If they do, they typically will be booked. If they don't, do they have experience?

Will your potential sitter charge you cancellation fees? Should you also be able to charge them if they cancel? These are all considerations which we recommend taking into account.

Nalina Matthews