Should You Tip the Pet Sitter?

We are asked about this pretty often! Some people wonder if it is allowed, is it expected,

what is normal? We leave that up to the discretion of our clients and the service provided. While that's not the most helpful answer we can only say that your pet sitters will take great care of your pets, regardless!

The team strives to do the best job possible to enable you to travel with Peace of Mind. They pay attention to your pet's behavior, potty habits and eating habits to be alerted to anything unusual that may need intervention. Your visit reports will be fun and informative and you can trust that if your dog has stopped eating or has diarrhea you will be kept informed.

We'll also be looking after your home and the pet sitters have alerted the manager and clients to ice makers that have failed (they leak all over the floor!), a gas burner that was on at our first visit (the pet was immediately evacuated and the house was aired out), a trampoline that had blown over the fence, a ping pong table that had blown up against a sliding glass door, a gate that was blown off the hinges (yes, we do have a windy season!), a toilet that hadn't stopped running, a sprinkler system gone haywire, pipes that had burst after a deep freeze and more! 

If you choose to tip your pet sitters our system makes that so easy! Simply log in to your account and navigate to Petcare > My Info > Details (expand the section) > Tipping. You can set a Percentage or a Dollar Amount per visit.

Tip FAQ:

Q: How much do most clients tip?

A: It averages out to $2 to $4 per visit.

Q: How is the tip distributed?

A: The system splits it per visit and the amount goes to the pet sitters completing the visits.

Q: Can I leave a cash tip?

A: Yes. Please put it in an envelope with Creature Comforts written on it so they know to take it (they are not going to take unmarked cash left on the counter). The manager will collect it from one of the pet sitters and will add it as a tip payment to have the system split it. 

Q: What if I cancel or add visits?

A: We charge at the end of service and your automatic tip setting will apply only to completed visits. If you pay your invoice in advance the cancellations will appear as a credit balance on your account and the tip amount is not applied to cancelled visits.

Q: Can I tip one pet sitter more?

A: You can do this with the assistance of a manager, just text and we'll help!

We hope that you will rest assured that our pet sitters are dedicated to providing the best care. They do love to get tips and it makes their day but they are going to love your pets just the same if tipping is not within your budget!

  

Why a Pet Sitter is Not Right for You

Believe it or not, pet sitting is not the right solution for all pets.

Why would we bring this up? We want to make sure that your pet receives the best possible care while you're traveling and that you're aware of the reasons why a pet sitter may not be right for your pet.

1: Your dog is not good with strangers. Some pet parents don't really know this or they won't fully disclose it and the pet sitter finds out in a most unfortunate way. We have had several encounters like this and they've been among our most challenging experiences.

In one situation, the owner said the dog is skittish around strangers but should be ok. We

met the dog the day before the owner left. The next evening the dog would not let the pet sitter in the house. We reached out to the emergency contact and the dog wouldn't let the friend in the house, either! Fortunately, the owner was only in Tucson and was able to come home.

We once had to contact an owner who was away on a trip to get vaccination records to take their dog to a boarding facility as he was too dangerous to the pet sitter attempting to let him out of his crate on the visits.

2: Your pet has a medical condition that is not fully managed by medication. This is most common in senior pets and pets with chronic issues whose health is deteriorating and not responding to medication. These pets require a lot of supervision and, often, veterinary intervention. We recommend boarding at veterinary hospital.

3: Your pet is on medication and is shy with strangers and/or is resistant to the medication. Pets on medication must reliably and easily take medications without force or extreme trickery. Putting medication in favorite treats is fine, as long as the pet will always accept the treat. While we can usually spend extra time getting the medication into an unwilling pet it can often be a risk; to either the pet, if we simply can't administer the medication or get the pet out from under the bed, or to the pet sitter, if the pet becomes upset and bites or growls.

4: You are having workers or guests at your home while you're away. They may be there during scheduled visits and impede the pet sitter's ability to provide care. They may leave a gate, window or door unsecured. The noise and chaos of having significant construction or repairs being done can cause your pets undue stress.

We have walked in on guests in various stages of undress and activities that definitely indicated they weren't expecting anyone to come barging in on them. We have been startled by people coming out of bedrooms when we thought the house was empty. In one very alarming situation a boyfriend chased one of our pet sitters out of the house. Our policy requires that no one else is at the house during our visits for the safety of our pet sitters.

Those are the Top 4 Reasons why a pet sitter is not right for you. If you have a unique situation and you aren't sure whether we can help just give us a call! After 12 years and more than 100,000 visits we have the experience to guide you in the right direction, even if it is not with us!

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How Much Does Pet Sitting Cost

Most of us go straight to the "Price" page when browsing options for things we need. It can be frustrating to not find prices published on a website. We're working on that! 

Let's dive into this topic while we are working on the rebuild of our website where our rate chart will have it's own page to make it easy to access!

If you live in Sierra Vista or on Fort Huachuca your rates are pretty straightforward. If you live in Hereford, that's where it becomes a bit complicated! We're happy to give you an actual cost, all we need is an address, but this chart will give you a good idea for your rural area.

Our pet sitters are paid fairly for their professional service, knowledge and dedication and we are confident you will find your Peace of Mind worth it! There is no sales tax on service and we do not charge fees for multiple pets or even plants that need to be watered. We offer flat rates to make budgeting for your pet care easy.

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What would happen to your pets 

Many people in our community worry about what would happen to their pets if something were to happen to them. Whether this is an accident, a sudden health issue, or hospitalization. We want to put your worry at ease!

Existing Clients: Simply put a wallet card or key chain fob to alert emergency responders that you have pets at home alone and put our contact information on it. They will call us and we will step in to make sure your pets are fed, watered and let out for potty until you are able to come home. If you want us to be on standby for this service we will need to keep a copy of your key in our safe; simply reply to this email and we'll coordinate this step.

Other Pet Parents: This is a bit trickier as we won't have met your pets and we aren't familiar with their care. We will provide this service to cats and reliably friendly dogs (think Golden Retriever personality) who will welcome us into the home. Hospital staff who call us on your behalf will also need to give us basic information, like your address, and we can arrange to get your keys from them. This is not always an easy solution and we recommend using our pet sitting or dog walking service so we are already part of your dog's family.

Alternative: What happens if you don't have an emergency contact or your pet will not allow a stranger into the home? Animal Control is the default contact when a pet parent doesn't have anyone to call, or isn't able to alert emergency staff as to who to call. Your pet(s) will be taken to the animal shelter.

Most Important Step: Please make sure to have a card in your wallet that indicates you have pets at home alone. This is critical to fast coordination of their care In Case of Emergency.