Pet Sitting for Extra $

[onlinemoniker]

As a public school teacher who took a pay cut when the economy crashed, I'm STILL making less money than I was 5 years ago and I really need to find a way to make some extra cash if I'm going to meet my goal of paying my mortgage off in 10 years.

So I'm leading a kiddie trip to Ireland at Spring Break and I have to find a place for my cat and dog to reside while I'm away.

Looking on Craig's List I stumbled across a logo for a company that is synonymous with a canineholiday.com.

Contacted this site and apparently this is a service that allows people to advertise on their site to take dogs into their homes to board with their family while the owner is away. In my part of the country, most hosts charge between $20-30 per day. I've looked at the site and determined the company charges hosts 15% of every gig they get. They also offer pet insurance as part of the deal when a pet parent registers with one of their hosts. Actually, it appears to be a really good deal for all involved. And I'm beginning to wonder if I should register to be a hostess myself!

I have a fenced back yard, teacher schedule and walk my aforementioned dog an hour every day! I really love animals but I know that every silver lining has a cloud surrounding it and I'm wondering what drawbacks there may be associated with offering this type of service to traveling pet parents.

Anyone had experience using one of these services or even offering this service in the past? Anyone here signed up with canineholiday.com (not their real name but you can probably figure it out?) Any information would be beneficial in helping me decide if I want to SERIOUSLY consider getting involved in this type of thing. I know I haven't even BEGUN to consider all the implications.

Thanks in advance.

[catherine]

We had a friend quit her job as a manager at a prestigious retail store in Manhattan to become a dogwalker in Greenwich, Ct, and she made a ton of cash. She and her husband moved to San Diego, and she is still in the petwalking business.

I think it helps to live in an area where there are a lot of two-career families and people are willing to pay dog walkers. But if you are really looking for the occasional client who travels, I think there's good potential.

I've hired vacation dog walkers in my area twice: once was a bust because she bailed on me (it was a snowy Christmas Eve).

The other guy I would definitely hire again. He was a low-key guy who came to the house and met with us and our dog. He lived very close by, which was a plus, and came a couple of times a day to walk and play with our dog. He texted us after every visit, which was reassuring to us.

I think insurance is the only thing you'd seriously have to consider, and I think you need to be a real dog lover and able to meld with different dog personalities. I think it might be worth looking into for you!

ETA: In terms of working through this company as a booking agent of sorts, I had a similar experience when I was a family day care provider when my kids were small. I worked through a company that vetted all the parents, handled the matchmaking, provided back up sitters, and paid me. It was a great partnership, I thought. So, of course, do your homework with this pet company, but it can work well.

[Jilly]

When I worked in a shelter we offered pet sitting in exchange for a donation (decided by the client) to the shelter. There were only a few of us willing to do it, because it could be a lot of work. I was a vet tech, so we were able to accommodate pets with health issues.

I loved it and if you really like spending time with a variety of animals, it could be a great way to make decent money. Insurance is essential, mostly because you can never anticipate how weird someone is going to be. People came to us because we were well-known and had a good reputation for a municipal animal shelter and most often had been referred by a friend.

Having a dog in your house is going to work much better than bringing in a cat. Even when sitting clients wanted me to take their cat into my home, I declined. Cats do better in their own homes, even though the back and forth several times a day can be a pain.

Many people consult with their vet clinic staff for recommendations and asking to be listed with your clinic immediately increases your cache for someone looking for a sitter.

I do not know if you are experienced in taking obedience training with your dog, but a refresher course will go a long way in increasing you skill working with a variety of dogs. If you like it, you could offer to assist during future classes, which is also a great idea for the resume you will begin developing for this work. As for the site you found, would they be willing for you to talk to some of their hosts? You might get a good idea of how the company functions and what their experiences have been sitting for customers.

I loved doing that work and would do it again.

[Jilly]

I just read Catherine's experience with child tending. There is a company in my area that some of my clients have used. It is Care.com and this is the link to some of the cities they serve: http://www.care.com/sitemap-united-states-babysitters-p1196-q38777083.html

One of the exchange services they offer is pet sitting. They want you to register to see the listings, but you can get around that by clicking on your state in the bottom list, then a city and the results will come up. The list of pet care providers in the Chicago area is here: https://www.care.com/visitor/captureSearchBar.do?care=pet-care-pet-sitting-dog-walking . When you click on a provider, it will take you to that person's page, along with a pop-up registration form. If you close that form, it takes you back to the list, but you can still scroll on that provider's page, but cannot see their contact information. Erp. I am pretty sure that it is the same when looking for jobs/people who need pet care.

It helps a lot, and not just at this Care.com site, to see about what it takes to be bonded, as well as being certified in Red Cross First Aid. Some people think that PSI and NAPPS certifications are helpful, and I sort of think they are because they give you some credibility as well as good training. I liked NAPPS better, but both are decent. They are also expensive; when I went for certification, our shelter paid the fees, so there was no sacrifice on my part and I learned a lot. You might want to start and then think about certification programs later as you learn how much you like it (which I bet will be a LOT!!!).

Another thought, not original with me, is that more people have pets than have children. Both are lovely additions to our lives, and I always found it interesting how people would adjust their lives to their pets and maybe...just guessing here...that companion animals are a better choice for some people.

[Selah]

PetSitters International is a good website with lots of resources and a Facebook page. You can pay for membership ($75 a year), but you can also access a lot of their resources for free. It's an American company and you can get insurance and bonding through a company they work with. I do petsitting in Israel and I love it! Right now my only clients ask for help with cats and plants, but I'm open to dog care as well. I've had to turn down people who want their dogs to come stay at my place, because DH vetoed it--he's afraid a dog would upset our two cats, and he's probably right.