Online pet sitting and dog walking booking companies such as wag.com, rover.com and care.com are literally taking a big bite out of the professional in home pet sitters world. As the owner of Wisconsin’s highest awarded and highest rated dog walking and pet sitting company, you bet I’m worried about this type of competition-NOT because it cuts into my revenue but because IT AFFECTS THE QUALITY AND SAFETY OF CARE FOR YOUR DOG, CAT, FISH, BIRD AND REPTILE!!! Safety of your animals should be job #1-not saving money on sitting! Horror stories abound here….I can go on and on!
DO YOU KNOW WHO’S SITTING YOUR PETS? Those old enough to remember this slogan-Do you know where your kids are? was highly successful in the 1980’s and I believe still holds true today! Who can you trust when there prices are so insanely low? Looks don’t matter here-anyone can post a photo and look cute cuddling a cat!
At Wisconsin Pet Care WE DO know who is sitting your pets! We’ve done criminal background checks, drug testing, asked for a copy of the sitters driving record from the DMV, done personality assessments, checked references and invested time and money to make sure WE know who is coming into your home! They are our esteemed and beloved employees.
Online booking companies don’t have the staff to check out sitters who sign up with them. As there are 10’s of companies doing this, that would mean 1000’s of employees handling just background checks! So, they have no idea of who they have on their websites to go into YOUR home. Are you comfortable with this? And if they fail at one company, they can easily hang their shingle on the next one-no accountability here!
Safety should be your #1 concern. Only a trained professional-skilled in pet first aid and CPR, canine and feline body language, basic obedience, and even beyond can make the correct judgement call about the health and wellness of the pets you are leaving behind.
Employees of established companies are trained to follow a company protocol. They follow best practices. Online companies-what do they offer?
An established company offers legal documents to sign, liability insurance, bonding and accountability. Does that online service do the same?
An established company has a back up plan in place and knows how to deal with pet and home emergencies. They are accessible by phone. Do you think these large companies have an emergency number to call in case your sitter doesn’t arrive on time?
Professionals put their heart and soul into caring for your loved ones. Hobbyists, neighbors and friends, and online people generally are in it to make extra cash. For professionals, its how we support ourselves!
So, if you are considering hiring someone from Craigslist, or rover.com, or care.com consider all the above factors and ask yourself if your comfort level is there. I doubt it will be. Hire a professional!
