FAQ

GENERAL SERVICE

What is a professional pet sitter?

A professional pet sitter is a person who cares for your pets, like their own, when you cannot be there for them. We are insured and bonded for pet sitting.

Why should I choose Fuzzy Friends Petsitting?

We specialize in customized care with one-on-one attention for each pet. During the initial consultation, we will learn as much as we can about your pets, and create a unique plan for their care, in their own home. If you want to make sure your pet gets the best and most personalized care, when you can’t be there, then give us a call.

Will you take my pets to your home or come visit them in mine?

We will come to your house to care for your pets. This means your pets stay in a familiar environment where they are most comfortable.

I've never had a pet sitter before and I don't know where to start.

Not a problem! To get started, take a look at our Dog Walk and/or Pet Sitting Packages and let us know what you’d like to schedule by visiting our Contact Page. Please include the type of pet you have, their age, and if they have any medical problems. We will follow up with you by email to get a little more information about your pets and needs, and also ask you to verify your location to make sure you’re in our service area. If we are a good fit for you, we’ll set up a meeting at your convenience with our office manager so she can come to your home, meet your pets, and get to know your routine with them. You can then ask more detailed questions about our business and services. This helps her select the perfect sitter for you! She will also send you a welcome email which will go over most of our information, how we invoice, how you can pay your bill, and it will even give you access to our pet sitting phone app we use. This is a great piece of technology! Any time our sitters visit your home, you will get a report sent to you via either the app or your email including a checklist of what was done during the visit, a note from the sitter about how the visit went, and lots of cute pics the sitter took of your pet while they were there.

When should I contact you for a reservation?

The sooner the better, especially around the holidays! For new clients, we need at least three weeks between the initial contact and the first scheduled visit in order to schedule the meet and greet, pet sitter introductions, and set you up in our system. This also gives you time to review our client contract and pay your invoice. For existing clients, we do charge a $25 last minute reservation fee when a reservation is made within 48 hours prior to the start of the first visit. Reservations are subject to availability, and we do get very busy during holidays and summer months. During those time, we suggest scheduling 4-6 weeks ahead if possible.

Do I contact you when I’ve returned home?

Yes, please. This is very important. Our job is to care for your pet until you return, so we have to hear from you.

Can you stay at my house?

While we do not offer overnight visits and stays, we do early morning and late-night appointments. Upon request, we will do extended evening visits (subject to availability). If you absolutely require someone to be at your house during the night, we would be happy to offer you a referral.

Do you require proof of vaccinations?

Yes, adult dogs and cats must be vaccinated against rabies. However, because a pet sitting visit is in the pet’s home, other vaccinations, such as Bordetella, are not necessary. If you have questions regarding your pet’s vaccinations, please ask!

Do you have a minimum or maximum visit per day?

For dogs, we require a minimum of one pet sitting visit per day if the dog has continual access between the home and yard (ie: a doggie door), uses puppy pads or is litterbox trained. For most dogs, 2-3 visits per day are recommended. When we have our initial consultation, we will talk about your pet’s needs and tailor our plan to fit. Healthy adult cats should be seen a minimum of once every other day, but we recommend at least one visit a day. If you have other types of pets, we will discuss their care during the initial consultation.

How often do they let the dogs out?

During every visit, we will let the dogs out to potty. If your dog does not have access to a dog door or other facility where they can use the restroom without a person there to let them out, we suggest adding one or two potty breaks throughout the day in between the longer visits.

What are some tasks that you would consider normal to do while pet sitting?

During our visits, we will feed your pets, change their water, wash the food and water bowls, clean up potty areas (yard/cage/litter/etc), and provide your pets with exercise and attention. Upon request, we will also include (at no extra cost to you) things like collecting your mail, watering your plants/gardens, refilling bird feeders outside, taking out and bringing in your trash cans, brushing your pets (as long as supplies are provided), and even rotating your lights inside and outside or opening and closing curtains for security purposes.

Will it just be one sitter visiting?

That depends on our schedule and availability as well as the amount of visits you’ve requested. We like to introduce you to 1-3 sitters that way someone is always available for you and your pets. Our sitters get booked up, need time off, and may have emergencies that could prevent them from being scheduled for you. We always like to have a backup sitter just in case. In very rare cases of emergencies when sitters you’ve met with are unavailable, you will be contacted to explain the situation and get your approval for a backup sitter.

Would it be rude to request a particular pet sitter?

If you have previously worked with us and you prefer a certain sitter, it is not at all considered rude to request that particular sitter. We want you to feel comfortable with the people taking care of your pets. We will do our very best to accommodate your request depending on that particular sitter’s schedule. 

Do you always take dogs on walks, or do you ever do things like dog parks etc?

We offer controlled walks at dog-friendly parks, on-leash, but never off leash. If your dog is used to walking every day, we will do our best to accommodate that schedule, weather permitting.

Do you clean cat litter boxes? Or clean the cages of any of the animals?

For cats, we will scoop the litter box during every visit. Depending on the length of your trip and at your request, we will change the entire box with no problems. We also have no issues cleaning cages for small animals so long as supplies are provided.

Do my dogs have to be kenneled?

That is up to you. If your dogs do well in the house when you are not home, then there is no need of a kennel. If they are kenneled, we do require each dog to have their own crate/kennel, or for the kennel to be large enough for no more than two dogs to adequately move around in.

Do you do grooming? Like bathing & brushing?

We will absolutely brush your pet if that is requested. For pets who enjoy getting brushed, our sitters have found that doing so early on in the visits is a great bonding experience. If your pet gets in a mess, we will do our best to clean them before we leave.

Do I have to give you a key?

Before your trip, we require that (2) copies of your keys be made for our use. If you have a security code for your door, we do require emergency key just in case of technical issues like the door lock battery going out. An emergency key is also required from clients who give us garage code access for similar power outage reasons. We never want to risk your pets not being able to be cared for in your absence due to accessibility issues. At the end of your trip, we can return your keys to you at a return fee of $16 or we can keep them in a secure safe at our home office for future visits. All keys are logged into our secured system so we know where the keys are at all times. The only time your key is logged out of the office safe, is prior to scheduled visits.

I have an alarm system for my home. Are your sitters familiar with these?

Our sitters are very experienced with handling a variety of alarm systems. We will ask you to show us your particular system during the meet and greet and pet sitter introduction meetings where we will also collect and verify the alarm code. If you do not feel comfortable giving us the code, please feel free to set up a temporary guest code for us. For all alarm systems that are set, the pet sitter must be able to deactivate the alarm themselves. We’re aware that some clients have the ability to remotely deactivate the alarm system, but in cases of emergency when we are not able to get in contact with you, we need to be able to deactivate the alarm ourselves in order to make sure your pets are cared for.

How often are you available to walk my dog? Can you do daily walks?

We can absolutely do daily walks! Depending on your pet’s routine, we can even schedule multiple walks per day, weather permitting. We do adjust dog walk times depending on season and weather due to temperatures that are unsafe for your dogs. From late Spring to Autumn, dog walks are not scheduled after 10am.

Do you mind having clients with security cameras?

As long as you don’t mind watching pet sitters that occasionally sing to your pets, haha. We are there to do our job and we are not concerned about your cameras, nor would we ask that you remove them. While not required, it is helpful to know where the cameras are, so that we can avoid accidentally bumping them while playing with your pets.

How much time do you spend per visit?

Our Regular Visit is 30 minutes, and our Extended Visit is 45 minutes. If you require more time than that per visit, just let us know and we will work something out.

Business

What is your schedule availability? When are your open hours?

Feel free to call our office Monday thru Saturday between the hours of 9AM and 4PM and on Sundays between 12PM and 4PM. Most of our sitting appointments begin around 7AM and our last appointments of the night end at 9:45PM. We are available 7 days a week and on holidays. If no one answers your call during business hours, it’s because we are currently out on pet sits, so please leave a voicemail because we check it often.

What kind of background check like stuff do people need to get to become a pet sitter?

All sitters go through a background check, using a professional background check company called Acutrack.

Are you bonded/insured if something happens to the house or animal while you are there?

Yes, we are bonded and insured. If you would like to discuss in detail, please give us a call.

Medical/Emergencies

Are you able to care for diabetic animals?

Absolutely. We will go over dietary restrictions and medication administration during our initial meet and greet.

Do you do medications?

Our sitters are trained to administer most common oral and injected medications. However, we do not offer intravenous fluids. During our meet and greet, we ask our pet parents to go over the pet’s routine for us, so we can take notes about any medications and how they are administered.

Do you provide your own treats? What if my dog has allergies?

We prefer that the pet parents provide the pet treats because you know what your pets likes. Most of us keep rabbit treats on hand which generally are good for dogs with allergies. At the meet and greet, we ask if you pet has any allergies so we can be on the lookout.

Can I hire you to take my dog to the vet?

Occasionally this is a service that is requested. Feel free to give us a call and we can give you a quote.

What happens if my dog gets hurt or sick while I’m out of town?

In non-emergency situations, we will contact you through our visit reports to alert you that your pet’s behavior has changed or we noticed something new that may be medically related. In the case of an emergency or at your request will then make every effort to take your pet to your preferred veterinarian that we have recorded in your file. If your veterinarian is not available, then we will take your pet to another clinic or pet hospital.

What happens if my animal hurts the sitter?

The meet and greet is there to make sure the sitter and the pet get along to avoid most behavioral issues. We do our best to make sure that each pet and household is suitable for our company. We want to be your perfect match when it comes to pet sitting to avoid any potential problems. In the case that there is an accident during the pet sit, depending on the circumstances, it would be investigated, and the owner would be contacted for follow-up.

What will you do if my pet gets out?

During our initial meet and greet, we will get a look at your home and yard and ask if your pet has any escape tendencies. If, in the very rare case that your pet does escape, we will contact you immediately to update you on the situation and then exhaust all our resources in locating your pet. We prefer that all pets in our care have collars and tags with names and addresses and updated microchip information.

What happens in case of emergency (like weather problems) if you're not able to be there, but I have no way of getting back home?

We do request that you include an emergency contact on your file for situations like this. In case of emergencies, we try our best to get to your home. If one sitter cannot make it, we will contact you and see if you would allow another to visit your home.

Financial

Is it customary to tip your pet sitter?

If you are pleased with the service your sitter provides, we offer a space in our invoicing system for you to leave them a tip if you’d like to.

How much does pet sitting cost?

Each appointment is custom-tailored to the individual so almost no two clients are the same. If you’d like to see a listing of our prices to get an idea, please check out our Pet Sitting Page.

Do you charge by day or visit? How often do you stop by? How many times do you come out?

We charge per visit which is custom matched to each client depending on your pets and their needs. Some clients may need us to come by four times each day, while some only need one half-hour visit. For households with more than three pets, there will be a small charge of $1 per extra pet/enclosure per visit (for pet sits only; does not apply to dog walks) starting with the 4th pet. Enclosures include tanks, pens, and cages for small animals. This is to account for extra time and care required for tending to larger groups of pets.

Do you charge differently by breed or needs?

We charge by the time needed to take care of your pet regardless of breed. Some animals do need longer to care for, however, but that is determined by their routine and their owner’s requests.

Do specific 'extra' tasks cost an additional fee? (litter boxes, mail, trash, plants)?

Not at all. These tasks are included upon request at no extra charge.

Is it paid per hour? Per animal? Per visit?

We charge per time allotment up to three pets. For households with more than three pets, there will be a small charge of $1 per extra pet/enclosure per visit (for pet sits only; does not apply to dog walks) starting with the 4th pet. Enclosures include tanks, pens, and cages for small animals. This is to account for extra time and care required for tending to larger groups of pets..

Is there any extra charges for certain services like giving meds?

No extra charge at all! Administering medications is a common request and all of our sitters are trained in doing so.

Do I pay a base fee upfront or am I billed with all services listed?

Payments for pet sitting services is due in full by the first day of the pet sit. For new clients, a 50% deposit is required for the reservation and the remainder is due by the first day of the sit.

Pet Care and Behavior

Will my dog always be on a leash?

If your dog is outside of your home and yard, they will always be on a leash, no exceptions.

I have 3 dogs, and they all react differently to leash walking. Will you walk them all together or individually?

We will determine what works best for the dogs. It may be time-related if there is a need to do separate walks. It would be something to discuss during the meet and greet.

Do you tend horses? Or reptiles or Avians?

Dogs and cats are our most common client pets, but we also care for most common household pets (including reptiles, caged birds, fish, rodents, and chickens). However, there are some exotic pets that we do not care for including house bunnies, some hybrid animals (savannah cats / wolf dogs) would have to be reviewed before appointments could be scheduled. Horses can be cared for but there is limited availability. Please ask and we will look at our schedule. If you have any questions about a pet that is not listed, please Contact Us.

Are most pet sitters okay with any breed of dog?

We love ALL breeds of dogs. There is often a bit of stigma surrounding certain larger breeds of dogs, but our sitters get so excited when they find out they get to pet sit for those breeds.

Now, let's say a dog doesn't do well with other dogs, do pet sitters watch those types of dogs?

Absolutely! Depending on their normal routine, we will make sure your dog is taken care of. During walks, we follow your guidance in avoiding any streets or houses known for problems (ie: barking dogs outside), and if another dog is spotted on a walk, we will turn and take an alternate route.

Next, if they got dirty would you bathe them? (Considering the dog allows baths).

In certain situations, clean up is necessary and we will take care of that during the visit. Normally, professional grooming is not within our services but we will provide you with referrals upon request.

How will I know if my pets like you?

Before your trip, we arrange a meet and greet with you and a sitter at your home. This is a chance for you to get to know the sitter, for the sitter to get to know your pet’s routine, but most importantly, for your pet to get to know the sitter. With years of experience and training in animal behavior, we know how to interact with your pets in a non-threatening manner in order to build a trusted relationship with them.

How much time would you be willing to spend socializing with my pet?

Depending on the length of appointment you choose, we will spend our time making sure your pets are fed, watered, and cleaned up after. Aside from those tasks and any others that might be required, all of our time is spent socializing with your pets. We want them to like and trust us and be happy so that they don’t stress while you are gone.