Anyone used a dog/house sitting service.

[blossomchris]

We are going away for a few days and was wondering if anyone on here has experience of such a service.


Bloss

 

[Barrymagrec]

I`ve not used one but a former colleague`s partner was a qualified veterinary nurse and they used to operate a part time business house sitting for the practices customers - you might check with your Vet if you are on good terms with them.

 

[Tony Lockhart]

We used a pet-sitter for about ten years. No problems at all, and annoyingly our cat was far nicer with the sitter than she ever is with me. We've a cattery just five minutes up the road now, and Ziggy enjoyed that too.

Our cat sitters had CRB checks on all employees. Well, all two of them.

 

[gintonic]

Our cat sitters had CRB checks on all employees. Well, all two of them.

CRB no longer exists.

We've used cat sitters on two occasions - found them on the notice board at my vet. Both were great with the cats but we are sure one stole a pair of handcuffs, a tube of lube and a table tennis bat

 

[blossomchris]

CRB no longer exists.

We've used cat sitters on two occasions - found them on the notice board at my vet. Both were great with the cats but we are sure one stole a pair of handcuffs, a tube of lube and a table tennis bat

Thanks for the tip, so to speak. I will take ours with us, if it does not mean excess baggage.

Bloss

 

[Tony Lockhart]

CRB no longer exists.

I didn't say it did.

 

[linnfomaniac83]

CRB checks are now referred to as DBS checks or Basic/Enhanced disclosure... anyone placed in a position of trust should haves one. I’ve been both CRB and DBS checked for working with children... they’re essentially the same.

 

[ian123running]

We regularly House/pet sit through www.trustedhousesitters.com
(There are others). This basically matches owners and sitters. We stay in their homes while they are away and care for their pets and property. We get to travel the world (incl UK) with free accommodation and owners get their pets and property looked after for free. Owners we know say it’s transformed their lives and for us it’s been a brilliant ‘occupation’ since we retired relatively young and we get to look after some really great pets and the odd farm animal too.

As an owner you’d just describe what you’re looking for, your pets, dates, location and any relevant particulars usually with photos- you’d then almost certainly get a bunch of people applying and you’d select depending their experience, previous reviews etc. We almost always Skype with people before agreeing to make sure it’s a good match - this works both ways.

No money changes hands - we pay our own travel costs. The site has the usual review / ratings process for sitters.

Sits last anything from one or two nights to 6 months or more. With this website you do have to sign up and pay an annual fee so maybe not for a short one-off trip but may be worth a look. If you’re interested in joining I can let you have a 20% off discount code!

We have done the disclosure check though most owners don’t seem bothered.

Ian

 

[Tarzan]

We are going away for a few days and was wondering if anyone on here has experience of such a service.


Bloss

Try your local vet, all of our pet/house sitters ( Vet Nurses) have come from our here.( Hugo the slobby dog) loves them- and they love him.

 

[blossomchris]

We have done the disclosure check though most owners don’t seem bothered.
Ian

Thanks Ian, most promising , will have a delve.

Crikey , if by any chance you took the role here, would you be using my record collection and t/t, only joking.

Bloss

 

[Tony Lockhart]

I wonder what the score is with house insurance? I'm not thinking about the sitters stealing etc, but I'm sure it'd be worth a read of the small print and a phone call.

 

[ian123running]

I wonder what the score is with house insurance? I'm not thinking about the sitters stealing etc, but I'm sure it'd be worth a read of the small print and a phone call.

Good point - homeowners policy may well cover it, but worth checking.

 

[ian123running]

Thanks Ian, most promising , will have a delve.

Crikey , if by any chance you took the role here, would you be using my record collection and t/t, only joking.

Bloss

Ha would be nice! It’s been interesting how few stereo systems people have these days. Lots of nice TVs and maybe an old dusty cd system somewhere. Kitchen radios and wireless speakers seem to do for most people.

 

[blossomchris]

Ha would be nice! It’s been interesting how few stereo systems people have these days. Lots of nice TVs and maybe an old dusty cd system somewhere. Kitchen radios and wireless speakers seem to do for most people.

At times during my work I have worked in many households, must be around a couple of hundred plus. The one I should have taken more note of was a lady, living alone in a council premises. Her speakers nearly touched the ceiling and all valve, played Mahler all day long whilst I worked there for a couple of days. Memory has failed me on our conservations content, this was very early 70's, a couple of years before I seriously started. Other than that, a Musical Fidelity system, and a Cyrus with those small tube jobbies. One which surprised me was one of the owners of a west end Hi-fi shop, think his surname was Reed and although good, his set up was minimal and not used much by him.

Bloss

 

[s33k3r100m]

A friend of mine started his dog sitting service at about 10 years ago. Most of his customers are by the word of mouth. Get some references before committing yourself to the service.