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#11
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What do I need to know about pet sitters?
Suddenly, without warning, Cheryl exclaimed (5/17/2011 2:21 AM):
On 5/16/2011 9:22 PM, jmc wrote: Near Washington, DC. Things are outrageously expensive here in general, due to too many rich people and congresscritters living hereabouts. How near DC? I'm in this area and I love my pet sitter. I'm in Bowie. Other side of the river, I'm afraid. VA. jmc |
#12
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What do I need to know about pet sitters?
I'm glad you have two interviews scheduled. For your area, $45/day
sounds about right. I'm in the Milwaukee metro area, and rates vary from $30/day and up, with $30 being on the low end. I hope you find the right person. It sounds like you have a good start. Rene |
#13
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What do I need to know about pet sitters?
"jmc" wrote in message ... For the first time ever, I'm considering a pet sitting service for Meep. I'll be gone for nearly three weeks. She did very poorly the last time I had her in boarding, so I need to try something new. I'm a very private and somewhat paranoid person. I do NOT NOT NOT like the idea of a stranger in my house when I'm away! However, Meep's needs trump my discomfort. Can those of you who use a service tell me about them? I'm looking at services that were recommended by coworkers, but that doesn't always guarantee they'll do a good job. I'm leaving my cat's life and my personal home in this person's hands - since they're recommended I assume they'll do a good job with Meep, but how do I know they won't go through my stuff while they are here? Any advice is appreciated! I need to do this for Meep's sake, but I might be even more of a nervous wreck than I am when putting her into boarding! jmc - - - - - - - - - - - - I have used the same pet sitter for 8 years. I consider myself very fortunate to have found her--she becomes "another me" when I am gone, and I know I can rely on her to do everything in her power to keep Holly and Duffy happy and healthy. I also think they are much happier when they are left in their home environment instead of trying to move them around. When I was first looking for a sitter, I called various people for recommendations (friends, my vet, etc.). Her name kept coming up, and everyone would describe her as "fantastic." Then I called people that some of those references knew, just to be "doubly" sure of the sitter I was getting. I interviewed her on the phone, and did the same with several other people. This woman really impressed me, so I asked her to come to the house so I could meet her in person and she could meet Holly and Duffy. It was clear almost from the minute she entered the house that she was very good with cats. I explained their feeding schedule in detail and placed emphasis on the fact that I did not want anyone else to come to the house (no children, no friends, etc.), and she was amenable to that. I was concerned--just as you are--with privacy and protection, so that is something I asked about when I was talking to references. Interestingly, she told me later that she had also talked to references about *me*--it turned out that she was just as particular about where she worked as I was about who would come into my house. I did take one extra step, but I did this several years earlier so I could give a key to the woman who cleans my house. That is, I had a "maid's lock" installed. I have every lock in the house (including the maid's lock) keyed so that my primary key will fit them all, and I don't have to carry a bundle of keys around. The "maid's lock" is a second lock on the front door. It is set so that my key will fit but one additional key will fit that lock but *no other lock* in the house. Then, on days when I am going to have the house cleaned or need a pet sitter, I unlock the primary lock (because their key will not fit), and they can enter the house by unlocking the maid's lock. At all other times (including when I am home), I lock *both* locks. The keys that I have given to other people will not work because they cannot unlock the primary lock. I hope this makes sense because it gives me a great sense of security. Of course, it is very important to have someone very reliable for those occasions when you are gone because that person will have access to your house and Meep when you are gone. MaryL |
#14
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What do I need to know about pet sitters?
MaryL wrote:
"jmc" wrote in message ... For the first time ever, I'm considering a pet sitting service for Meep. I'll be gone for nearly three weeks. She did very poorly the last time I had her in boarding, so I need to try something new. I'm a very private and somewhat paranoid person. I do NOT NOT NOT like the idea of a stranger in my house when I'm away! However, Meep's needs trump my discomfort. Can those of you who use a service tell me about them? I'm looking at services that were recommended by coworkers, but that doesn't always guarantee they'll do a good job. I'm leaving my cat's life and my personal home in this person's hands - since they're recommended I assume they'll do a good job with Meep, but how do I know they won't go through my stuff while they are here? Any advice is appreciated! I need to do this for Meep's sake, but I might be even more of a nervous wreck than I am when putting her into boarding! jmc - - - - - - - - - - - - I have used the same pet sitter for 8 years. I consider myself very fortunate to have found her--she becomes "another me" when I am gone, and I know I can rely on her to do everything in her power to keep Holly and Duffy happy and healthy. I also think they are much happier when they are left in their home environment instead of trying to move them around. When I was first looking for a sitter, I called various people for recommendations (friends, my vet, etc.). Her name kept coming up, and everyone would describe her as "fantastic." Then I called people that some of those references knew, just to be "doubly" sure of the sitter I was getting. I interviewed her on the phone, and did the same with several other people. This woman really impressed me, so I asked her to come to the house so I could meet her in person and she could meet Holly and Duffy. It was clear almost from the minute she entered the house that she was very good with cats. I explained their feeding schedule in detail and placed emphasis on the fact that I did not want anyone else to come to the house (no children, no friends, etc.), and she was amenable to that. I was concerned--just as you are--with privacy and protection, so that is something I asked about when I was talking to references. Interestingly, she told me later that she had also talked to references about *me*--it turned out that she was just as particular about where she worked as I was about who would come into my house. I did take one extra step, but I did this several years earlier so I could give a key to the woman who cleans my house. That is, I had a "maid's lock" installed. I have every lock in the house (including the maid's lock) keyed so that my primary key will fit them all, and I don't have to carry a bundle of keys around. The "maid's lock" is a second lock on the front door. It is set so that my key will fit but one additional key will fit that lock but *no other lock* in the house. Then, on days when I am going to have the house cleaned or need a pet sitter, I unlock the primary lock (because their key will not fit), and they can enter the house by unlocking the maid's lock. At all other times (including when I am home), I lock *both* locks. The keys that I have given to other people will not work because they cannot unlock the primary lock. I hope this makes sense because it gives me a great sense of security. Of course, it is very important to have someone very reliable for those occasions when you are gone because that person will have access to your house and Meep when you are gone. MaryL I used one for my cats once. She was good, and spent about a half hour or 40 minutes with the cats while she was here every day. She also took in the newspapers from the front porch, and made sure the light was on so it looked like someone was home. But I don't know how to tell you to make sure you have a good one, except perhaps you could ask her for references and then telephone them and ask. You might also introduce her to your cats in advance so they won't be traumatized when she comes in while you are away. |
#15
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What do I need to know about pet sitters?
On Thu, 19 May 2011 19:27:32 -0500, "MaryL"
wrote: "jmc" wrote in message ... For the first time ever, I'm considering a pet sitting service for Meep. I'll be gone for nearly three weeks. She did very poorly the last time I had her in boarding, so I need to try something new. I'm a very private and somewhat paranoid person. I do NOT NOT NOT like the idea of a stranger in my house when I'm away! However, Meep's needs trump my discomfort. Can those of you who use a service tell me about them? I'm looking at services that were recommended by coworkers, but that doesn't always guarantee they'll do a good job. I'm leaving my cat's life and my personal home in this person's hands - since they're recommended I assume they'll do a good job with Meep, but how do I know they won't go through my stuff while they are here? Any advice is appreciated! I need to do this for Meep's sake, but I might be even more of a nervous wreck than I am when putting her into boarding! jmc - - - - - - - - - - - - I have used the same pet sitter for 8 years. I consider myself very fortunate to have found her--she becomes "another me" when I am gone, and I know I can rely on her to do everything in her power to keep Holly and Duffy happy and healthy. I also think they are much happier when they are left in their home environment instead of trying to move them around. When I was first looking for a sitter, I called various people for recommendations (friends, my vet, etc.). Her name kept coming up, and everyone would describe her as "fantastic." Then I called people that some of those references knew, just to be "doubly" sure of the sitter I was getting. I interviewed her on the phone, and did the same with several other people. This woman really impressed me, so I asked her to come to the house so I could meet her in person and she could meet Holly and Duffy. It was clear almost from the minute she entered the house that she was very good with cats. I explained their feeding schedule in detail and placed emphasis on the fact that I did not want anyone else to come to the house (no children, no friends, etc.), and she was amenable to that. I was concerned--just as you are--with privacy and protection, so that is something I asked about when I was talking to references. Interestingly, she told me later that she had also talked to references about *me*--it turned out that she was just as particular about where she worked as I was about who would come into my house. I did take one extra step, but I did this several years earlier so I could give a key to the woman who cleans my house. That is, I had a "maid's lock" installed. I have every lock in the house (including the maid's lock) keyed so that my primary key will fit them all, and I don't have to carry a bundle of keys around. The "maid's lock" is a second lock on the front door. It is set so that my key will fit but one additional key will fit that lock but *no other lock* in the house. Then, on days when I am going to have the house cleaned or need a pet sitter, I unlock the primary lock (because their key will not fit), and they can enter the house by unlocking the maid's lock. At all other times (including when I am home), I lock *both* locks. The keys that I have given to other people will not work because they cannot unlock the primary lock. I hope this makes sense because it gives me a great sense of security. Of course, it is very important to have someone very reliable for those occasions when you are gone because that person will have access to your house and Meep when you are gone. MaryL I have never heard of a 'maid's lock' before now, but it sure sounds like a REALLY good idea for your situation. And you are fortunate to have such a good pet sitter, that you can really trust. I know that Holly is getting older now, and of course Duffy is a very special cat, so you need someone really good to look after them, when you are gone. I just never travel. The last vacation I took was in 1977, long before I had gotten my first cat, Lucky. I have never taken a vacation, since then. I had one job where I was always at the maximum for vacation time, so I started taking Fridays off. First one Friday out of four. Then, every third Friday. And for 4 years, I had to take every other Friday off. It was really nice: every other weekend was a 3 day weekend |
#16
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What do I need to know about pet sitters?
"jmc" wrote in message ... For the first time ever, I'm considering a pet sitting service for Meep. I'll be gone for nearly three weeks. She did very poorly the last time I had her in boarding, so I need to try something new. I'm a very private and somewhat paranoid person. I do NOT NOT NOT like the idea of a stranger in my house when I'm away! However, Meep's needs trump my discomfort. Can those of you who use a service tell me about them? I'm looking at services that were recommended by coworkers, but that doesn't always guarantee they'll do a good job. I'm leaving my cat's life and my personal home in this person's hands - since they're recommended I assume they'll do a good job with Meep, but how do I know they won't go through my stuff while they are here? Any advice is appreciated! I need to do this for Meep's sake, but I might be even more of a nervous wreck than I am when putting her into boarding! jmc - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Here are three more things that I thought of after I sent my other message: 1) I made arrangements with my vet so that Holly and Duffy would receive care if the sitter needs to take them in for medical care. Of course, he said he would have done that even if I had not made arrangements. ) 2) My sitter leaves a daily log in which she makes notes of how much food is eaten, behavior, how active they are, etc. 3) Check in occasionally by phone or email..there were *never* any problems with Holly and Duffy, but it eased my mind. MaryL |
#17
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What do I need to know about pet sitters?
I'd used one of my vet's techs for several years for my cats. Then, my
neighbor across the street started a pet-sitting and errands business because she lost her job. I knew her before and she's spectacular . My other neighbor uses her, too, and swears by her. We all have each others' keys. Once I used International Pet Sitters. The guy was great and my vet also knew him which eased my mind a little. The next year he had quit. As for trusting- you need to hang loose a bit and allow that someone will be in and out of your house while you're away. It's either that or stay home. I would never have my cats boarded. They would be miserable. Barb |
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