Happy House / Pet Sitters

[sheena]

We get our sitters from AussieHousesitters.com & have been very please with them. We now have the one couple that come regularly from interstate to housesit & look after our dogs. It costs us nothing & it costs them nothing. We do leave plenty of food in the house for them, but this is not required, it is just something we do. :)

[ChewieTAG]

I wonder how long should a list be without overwhelming the sitters?

Even if your pets are on medications, it doesn't have to be all that long.

I'll PM you the document I made for my last house sitter.

Thank you so much

[ChewieTAG]

We had a house/pet sitter last year and were far from happy. She caused us a lot of grief and money in vet bills by overdosing my cat on insulin. Not to mention she abused people at the equine vet clinic because the vet refused to come out on a weekend to take off a bandage. I was sooo embarrassed by her behaviour when i called the clinic to find out what was going on because all i could get out of her was rantings about how rude the clinic was. She told me my vet was an arrogant beeeeeeeeep.

I would never use HER again however it hasn't totally put me off.

That is truly awful. Only good thing is she probably won't be in business for long. No one would be going back to her and she wouldn't be getting references.

I hope your cat is okay now.

that is scary. I hope your cat is ok..

[ChewieTAG]

Not only did I document the dogs routines - i.e. feeding, grooming, etc, but also documented their quirks and behaviours. It came to about 6 pages long, but had everything in it. We also left $200 for emergencies and they were good with giving us back receipts and change.

In answer to your questions below.

What would you do before engaging the sitter?

1) meet them - abosolutely - don't do what we did and meet them, a couple of days before you leave!!

2) ask for police clearance check? - for peace of mind, good idea.

3) ask for references so you can contact them? - who gives bad references, really?

4) negotiate the rules? - rules are non-negotiable. It's your house and they are your pets.

What would you do before engaging the sitter?

1) meet them - abosolutely - don't do what we did and meet them, a couple of days before you leave!! I shall meet in advance. It's hard if they are interstate?

2) ask for police clearance check? - for peace of mind, good idea.

3) ask for references so you can contact them? - who gives bad references, really? come to think of it, yes indeed

4) negotiate the rules? - rules are non-negotiable. It's your house and they are your pets. Good point here..

[temperamentfirst]

We have an amazing sitter - she looked after all the animals so well. It was her first time for us, and while we left her instructions and were in touch via the internet, I would now feel totally relaxed leaving her in charge even if I was unable to be contacted for a few days.

I simply cannot praise her enough for her care and dedication to the animals. We do pay our sitters as we feel there is a lot of responsibility, and the cost is minor compared to any kennel.

Having a good trustworthy sitter who really cares about our animals is wonderful, and she even kept all the plants alive during the heatwave:-)

She is so good that I would actually recommend her to other doggy homes, which is a first for me!