Re: Pet sitting fee

Mom2Dogs · ‎03-09-2010

@agb80 We know our pet sitter - I would never have a stranger in the house.

haddon9 · ‎03-09-2010

The last time we had to go away and had a dog we had a neighbor watch her. He brought her to his house and she hung out with him watching TV, etc. He would take her for a walk 3x a day....he's the type who enjoys doing that and was unemployed at the time.

We were gone for just about a week and we paid him $500.00 for doing so. I know she was very happy with the attention and it was better than being in a kennel or even doggy day care which she loved when younger but she was getting too old for all of that activity.

hckynutjohn · ‎06-15-2015

@agb80 wrote:
I would think that pet sitting whether it's at your home or someone else's is not easy since many dogs and cats will bolt if the door is ajar. Also, do pet owners set up a camera somewhere? I too find it difficult to believe that you could find someone that wouldn't look through your closets or look through drawers. If they have kitchen privileges they could accidentally break one of your favorite drinking glasses or accidentally drop something valuable. Basically you're asking someone to sit still and watch tv or read a book and remain focused on just that for how many hours you have hired them. Even those who peak in once or twice a day....as soon as that door is open many animals will dash.

@agb80

Will only address my wife, not "pet sitters" in general. My wife understands how animals react, some by instinct, others by habits allowed. Most of the homes she enters are where there is no access directly to and outside door. And many of her entry points to the homes are through a door surrounding by 4'-6' fencing.

I personally do not trust everyone that contacts her to sit. She first meets them and their animals, no charge, before she accepts the job. Many of those visits I accompany her to make sure she is safe and it is not some type of trap for her.

Most of her clients I know from friends that have recommended my wife to them. I trust my close friends, as do those potential clients my wife visits.

Seems like you are one of those "what if" people. I personally try to never use those words along with "if only and shoulda/woulda/coulda", because none are based from a reality of the present or the future, in other words mostly hindsight.

What and how other pet sitters operate, I have no idea. However, I will not leave your comments, as they are, when you have lumped my wife into comments.

There are those that think the worst of people, and there are those of us who do not, until given a reason.

My wife just got home and it is only the 2nd time this month she has slept in her own bed. But, just for a few days. She will be off on a 15 day Pet Sitting job shortly. This to a family that our Vet recommended my wife to them.

hckynut

hckynut(john)

San Antonio Gal · ‎05-18-2017

Haven't read all the replies, but I'd say you got a heck of a bargain @Mom2Dogs .

Annabellethecat66 · ‎03-12-2010

I realize this is kinda different....

My friend (my Vet's nurse) comes over to my house 6 days a week to 'hydrate' my cat.

At least 7 or 9 months ago both Vets told me to take Bill (my cat) home and enjoy what time I had left with him.

They said he had around 1 month to live. He has/had an inflamed pancreas and his kidneys were shutting down.

I figured if he was going to die, he was going to die eating what he loved.

He loves the cheap (compared to the canned prescription food I'd been giving him) Sheba.

I asked my friend if I paid her she'd come and hydrate him to get his kidneys working better.

So, for months now he's been thriving. You'd never know there was anything wrong with him.

My Vet (been my Vet for more than 30 years) said Bill was a 'walking miracle'.

He is leaving the practice he started. He hasn't decided what he's going to do (he's 70 years old), but he said Bill should probably be written up in some kind of journal.

He ran all of the blood work and he said he'd never seen anything like it.

His kidney values have improved 75% and even his inflamed pancreas has 'greatly' improved.

I post stuff like the above in the hope that it will give others .... well...hope that even though their beloved furry family members have been diagnosed that they are dying, well...never give up.

This friend used to come to my house to do the same thing with my late husband's cat (Fabio). He got diabetes from the Prednisone I had to give him for his asthma. She'd hydrate him too.

If memory serves (which is often doesn't) I think @hckynutjohn said he used to hydrate his animals.

I tried doing it but he senses my uneasyness.

Finally, (I know...phew) my point. I pay her $200 every 10 days.

But she also does a lot of other things. She'll vacuum, keep bird feeders full, plant stuff (basically, you name it).

I'm like all of you in that Bill is the sun, moon and stars in my life. I've been mom to lots of cats.

But, Bill, well...I don't know if I will get another cat when Bill goes to Heaven. He's at least 15 years old now. He was (according to my Vet) 7 years old when I adopted him.

My daughter (she lives in Colorado) has a dog.

When she travels around the state (skiing, etc) the dog always goes with her and her boyfriend...I mean everywhere. I think Colorado is definitely a state that makes owning a dog easy.

Her dog stays with them in some really nice hotels (dog friendly). She is treated (as she should be) like a princess.

I love reading about all of your dogs and cats. It's one of my favorite things about this forum.

To everyone, thanks for all of your pictures and stories about your furry family members. I love them.

Mom2Dogs · ‎03-09-2010

@teganslaw I left a detailed note (although the pet sitter was not new to us or our dog). It listed names, phone numbers of our location, garage door number (in case the actual door opener did not work), when we would be home, how to feed her, etc.

I also left her payment...then I did not have to track her down after we got home.

Mom2Dogs · ‎03-09-2010

@Growing Pet sitter set the fee, I told her how many times to come over each day. My area of the country might make a difference on the cost per visit.

There is no reason to watch her via a camera. We have known her for years, she also trained our dogs.

She is not a 'freind' she is a woman we know from church that we have known for many years, and as I stated above, she has trained all of our dogs.

I asked her what the fee was and she said $10.00 per visit.

Mom2Dogs · ‎03-09-2010

@sunshine45 I would never pay $100.00 per day...it's your money to spen as you wish, but that is just to much in my opinion, but again it may depend on the area of the country.

hckynutjohn · ‎06-15-2015

@Annabellethecat66

Yes, you memory served you well. My wife and I have hydrated many of our cats over the years. Most of them as they reached their teen ages, started to have Kidney Failure.

Their Creatinine blood levels started to rise, and they got dehydrated very easily. They would get lethargic and eat less. Our vet showed us the correct way to check their hydration, and we hydrated them accordingly.

Some cats just laid there and purred. Others? We had a fight on our hands getting the right amount of fluid in them. We figured getting some in was beneficial to them. I will say it is a 2 person job. I would be surprised if the Vets don't have a Tech help them.

He showed us the fastest way to get it into their systems, which cut the time more than in half. Always used a new syringe which make inserting much easier. I tried by myself on 1 of our cats when my wife was gone, but I ended up with more fluid on me than in our cat.

Keeping them hydrated does extend their life, and it is still a good life for them. Like for my own life, I do not believe in just "existing", but living their normal life for their ages.

Of our 3 remaining felines, Tiny is our oldest. She is pretty close to turning 21 years old. She is a fighter when it comes to Hydrating her, and we get whatever we can in her. It gets to a point if almost having to hurt her to keep her still, and that is never going to happen.

Like you, we let her eat the foods she likes to eat, no special high $$$ food for her. She is still doing well, actually much better now that my wife came home last night. She sleeps with my wife, and she has been gone most of November and till yesterday in December.

Good story to read and I hope Bill lives many more years enjoying his life and love with you.

=^..^=

hckynut

hckynut(john)