Who has hired a petsitter?

[CheshireVal]

I am going to have to hire a petsitter for my kitty when I go to the beach next month because all of my close-by friends will also be out of town. I've found a reputable company that I've heard good things about....

my question is: do you tip petsitters? I've never used one before so I don't know the proper etiquette.

 

[Sandy V.]

I usually don't, but that's because I think her prices are on the high side (she charges $12.50 for each visit she makes to the house; so that's $25 per day to let my dog in and out and to feed her).

What I have done is bring her back something from where we've vacationed to, like a small trinket box covered with seashells or a t-shirt. She's liked both of these items.

 

[floridaminnie]

Our pet sitter always stays at the house. We usually have a straight rate that is paid.

 

[katerkat]

When I had them kenneled, no tip (but they weren't even there 24 hours.) When they had a sitter come to the house, we paid them and got a little something from where we went. When my parents took care of them, we got them something but didn't pay them.

 

[Otto's Doll]

When we went to Disney last year (11 days) we paid our house/dog/cat/bunny sitter $200. We brought her back a Sorcerer Mickey keychain too. I didn't give her a tip, but I did supply lots of food and snacks for while we were gone.
It was worth every penny. Her younger sister (19) will be staying here during our Hershey trip for 4 days. I will be paying her $60, and leaving some food as well. I will bring her back a keychain or something.

 

[LUVDSNY04]

We did tip our per sitter but we had to have her visit because of a death in the family. Getting a small souvenir is a great idea and I will remember that when we go to DW again. Thanks for this posting.

 

[MosMom]

I did and it didn't go well. However, my dog is hmmmm how shall I put this...mentally delicate?

He wouldn't go near her and I think he thought she was an intruder even though they had previously met. He ended up going in our house for 4 days before he would come to her. It was HORRIBLE. It took us forever to get all the mess cleaned up and we now own stock in Nature's Miracle.

To answer your question....we did not tip because it was her company. If she had been an employee, I probably would have if I felt he/she did a great job.

AND I worked for a pet sitting company awhile ago and I was never tipped.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Does anyone know any reputable petsitters in the northern Virginia area? We are trying to plan ahead of time (waaay ahead of time) for our vacation, and we cannot kennel our dogs because they do not receive vaccinations.

We would need someone to move into our apartment and stay with our little ones full time. They do not do well in other people's houses. Unfortunately, no one in my family will help us out either.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[hockeymom7691]

I've never had to hire a petsitter. I have my friend come over and play with my kitty and keep him company. She loves it because it gives her time to herself. I always bring her back something special from wherever I go.

 

[cherylp3]

If you use someone from an orginazation they are usually bonded and insured.

Here are some links:
Pet sitters International
http://www.petsit.com/

National Association of petsitters
http://www.petsitters.org/

Pet sitter listings:
http://www.petsitters.com/

 

[chager]

We have used a pet sitter the last couple times we have gone on a trip. She usually charges $25 a day. She comes to the house 2x a day to feed and play with the furbabies. She does not stay at the house fulltime. She is a vet tech from our vets office so she is familiar with the cats and dog. (Our dog usually stays at my parents house with their dog so she will feed her when she goes to do the animals at my parents house. We often go places together.)
I guess I would say to check with your vets office and see if anyone there does pet sitting on the side or if they have any recomendations.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Thanks guys. We have already checked with our vets office, and since they are located in Maryland, they only have sitters who will sit in Maryland, not Virginia. Kind of surprising, IMO. My vet said she would take them, were it not for the fact that she has a bullmastiff and my dogs are tiny little toys.

I'm going to have to go with an organization, I guess. I'll visit those links. When we lived in NYC, we had a trustworthy friend who would stay in our apartment happily and eat all our food and play our playstation. That was fine by us. But since we've moved here, we can't even figure out a way to go away for the weekend. What is really annoying is I have family and friends down here, so it should be a cinch to find someone. Oh, not so. It's actually pretty annoying.

 

[Tiger Fan]

Several years ago we felt we should get "outside" help instead of continually asking our family and close friends. We ended up asking a 20 year old girl from our church that we had known for several years. We even told her she could stay at the house if she wanted. We did have our family still checking on the house and getting our mail and one evening they found that Tiffany had "stolen" one of our cars and had gone drinking with several friends in our Tahoe. It was a huge disaster. A few months later an 11 year old in our neighborhood put our fliers for summer work. He'd wash cars, walk pets, etc. We interviewed him and talked to his mom and decided to hire him for our petsitting. He's been doing it for 3 years now and he's a lifesaver!! We pay him $7 a day with a minium of $10 (sometimes we just need him for the day while we are at a football game and I feel getting less than $10 isn't worth his time). He's so good and goes beyond the pet walking. He'll check the mail, water plants, and even "police" our home. Once he called us long distance to tell me a "man in a truck was looking under our house". We forgot to tell him that we had the yearly termite inspection scheduled for while we were gone. That's how good he is. We usually do tip him or bring back a goody or both. Wow, that was long to just say yes, we tip sorry!
Lisa

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

When we had a dogsitter that I thought was very inexpensive, I would always give her something. The current one is very good, but her rates are very HIGH-$48 for 3 visits-just letting 4 dogs out to go potty and feed them once a day. So I don't tip this one...