How Much Would You Pay a House/Pet Sitter?

mickeysaver

<font color=blue>WINNER of the world's worst limer
Joined
Jun 2, 2002
Back in 2003 when we last went to WDW, we had a great couple next door to us in our apartment complex that took care of our cats and dogs while we went to WDW. Now, we have a house and the folks that lived next door to us do too, but it's about 4 miles away. Billy and Roger were going to do us the favor of looking after Beanie, our Chihuahua with the bad heart, at their house and we were going to need to board Deuce and Perdita. They also were going to come by the house a few times to check on the cats and the hamster. The cats are indoor/outdoor, so there is no litter box to worry about, just check the food bowls and the gallon water jugs that self fill the bowls. Deuce has Epilepsy and has to take medicine twice a day and stess is a trigger for his seizures, so we have been biting our nails over boarding him and changing his entire routine for 10 days.

Billy and his partner have now broken up. So, Billy has more freedom than he did before and has agreed to house/pet sit for us during our December trip. I can't tell you what a relief this is to us. Billy and Roger are the only people outside of the vet's office that our dogs like....and they have always favored Billy over Roger.

Ok, now the question, what would you pay someone to do this for you? The dogs get let out into the fenced back yard to potty at least 3 times a day.....once before I leave for work, once when we get home, and once at about 10pm. Deuce gets his pill first thing in the morning and roughly 12 hours later. The dogs will be bathed before he takes over and should not need another bath until we return. They should not need a change in bedding during that time either. The cats just need their self feeder filled about every 3 days and the water jugs get filled about every three days too. The dogs get a bowl of food every two to three days too. The hamster can be feed once every 2-5 days depending on how much he hoards away and should not require a cage cleaning until we can return. Billy will gather the mail and otherwise is welcome to have the run of the house. We just asked that no parties be thrown while we are gone. Just curious. I don't want to over or under compensate him for his time. We really appreciate what he is doing for us. Maggie
 
We paid our pet sitter $20 per day for 1 dog. She brought in the mail, checked on the house, fed. watered and played with Kara 3 times a day for that price. She didn't live in, but came before and after work and in the evening. HTH! :earsgirl:
 
We pay our kitty sitter $20 per day. That covers 2 visits per day, feeding, cleaning the litter box and lots of play time with our 2 "angels". He also brought in the mail and watered the plants. (on top of all that he was bored and fixed our broken garbage can - got to love that man!)

How much you pay will depend on the area in which you live. If we wanted three visits per day here (in the Chicago suburbs) we would expect to pay around $30 per day. Of course, the peace of mind knowing that the furry members of our family will be well taken care of is well worth the $$ :paw:
 
It is definately worth the $. We are not so fortunate to have a house or pet sitter and the thought of a kennel is taking the magic out of vacation time!
 


I agree with you CeeCee. I was going to board my dog while I was away for a week. Although the kennel and the people seemed nice, my dog has the run of the house and the thought of her being in a small cage most of the day had me feeling so guilty. So I had a friend pet/house sit for me. It was much better and a relief for me.

I'm planning a trip to SC this fall and decided that instead of using my timeshare for the week (which does not allow pets), I'm going to stay in a hotel (which does allow pets).

Terri
 
We just looked into a pet sitter for our upcoming trip, and would have had to pay about $45/day for three visits, to care for three pets. We are also in the Chicago suburbs (our old pet sitter, before we moved, would have charged us $36/day for the same). And you have a dog that needs to be medicated.

I'd say somewhere around $40/day, if you can afford it. If not, I'd give him what you can afford.
 
My 13 yr. old DD got paid $20 per day to take care of a neighbor's dog and 2 cats, she went over 3x per day. Another neighbor with 1 dog paid her $10 per day, again 3x daily. We didn't have to drive as they were close by. Good money for my DD but way cheaper then the kennel.
 


thanks everyone for this info! I have wondering the same thing!!
 
VickiB31 said:
We pay our kitty sitter $20 per day. That covers 2 visits per day, feeding, cleaning the litter box and lots of play time with our 2 "angels". He also brought in the mail and watered the plants. (on top of all that he was bored and fixed our broken garbage can - got to love that man!)

That's a great rate! We pay $17 a day for 3 kitties. $5 extra for any days that are a federal holiday. One visit a day - feeding, cleaning the litter box and playtime. Total visit time is 30 - 45 min a day. Kitty sitter also brings in our mail, brings our trash cans back from the curb (we put the trash and recycling out when we leave), and leaves on one or two different lights to make the house look 'lived in'.
 
Three dogs and multiple cats - three visits a day -would cost a premium with a professional dogsitter. Especially if one of the animals needs meds. We had bad luck letting a friend sit for us, and only use pros now, but if you have someone you really trust, go for it. Try calling pro-sitters in your area. then you would have good ball park figure. My mom and her best friend sit for each other, and then exchange salon gift certificates (manicure/fill).

Keep in mind how much time per day you are asking for about 3 hours, plus driving time, plus gas expenses, plus the inconvenience of coming to your house in the middle of the day, and someone who knows what to do when they see a seizure ( I have a dog who has them, it ain't pretty. If one should last a long time, we have emergency meds that have to be given to save her life.) It is very different from visiting a cat once a day.
 
100.00 for the week-the girl stays at the house waters the plants and
gets the mail. She takes care of 3 indoor cats
 
$40/day for 3 visits for 2 dogs and 3 cats. I think it's well worth it. You can't put a price on peace of mind.
 
I pay what it would cost me to board them on a per day basis (for 2 Goldens, in our area, it's about 30-35/day. It would be more for special "love sessions" where the kennel help takes them on extra walks, throws ball with them, etc.).

I have a college student that lives in my house while I'm gone, so she lets them out in the morning before she leaves for school, then at dinner time and again at bedtime.

She gets the mail, keeps the house "lived in" and I supply Diet Coke and any special snack request (she usually just brings her own food). I trust her COMPLETELY (she also babysits my son) and always feel comfortable leaving the dogs with her.

She makes some pretty decent money, gets a house to herself, and I don't have to worry about my dogs getting stressed out or the extra cost of grooming (usually another $100) that I'd have to have if they stayed at a kennel.

Mrs. PB
 
Dsis lives in Annapolis MD and pays 20 per day for one cat, feeds, waters, plays twice a day and brings in mail. THis is a high school girl that lives in the neighborhood.
 
Companies charge $20 per day /per visit. So it would be $50-$60 a day. However, Billy is not a company. We pay our house sitter $20 per day and all the food they can eat!
 
My pet sitter charges me $21 per visit, plus an additional $5 for a holiday visit. Since I only have cats, she only has to visit once a day (in the morning). I also have my step-daughter look in after class (she's a teacher) in the afternoon. The sitter does all the work (refreshing food and water, cleaning the litter box, etc). My step-daughter just stops in and does a headcount and makes sure everyone's OK. Sometimes we just ask my step-daughter do all the work and pay here what we would normally pay the sitter.

I don't have any plants, and we have our mail held, so that's not part of the services. Also, the house lights are on timers to give it a "lived in" look while we're away.

Nothing against vicb's daughter (please don't flame me), but at one point I had a neighbor's daughter looking in on my cats. One cat took sick while we were away, and the girl wasn't old enough to drive. It was during the summer, and the girl's parents were both at work. She called the vet, but everyone there was busy. It wasn't until some time in the afternoon that someone from my vet's office was able to come and pick up the cat (several hours later). So if you are having one of the neighborhood kids watch your animals, make sure there's a way to get the animal to a vet in case of emergency (maybe sign up for veternary ambulance service).
 
we're paying a friend of ours $150 to watch the dogs and house for a week. In addition I'm leaving her some meals I'm going to freeze, we're bringing her back a gift, and her commute will save her about $50 in gas for the week because it's 30min shorter.
 
We pay $16 per visit and we do three visits a day for our three dogs. A professional pet sitter is a great person to make a relationship with. I would not have friends or neighbors watch my pets, only because I'd fear that they wouldn't take their care as seriously as we do. A top-notch professional pet sitter is licensed, bonded and insured and has great references...and is worth every single penny we pay her.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!






Top