Pet sitting is the act of temporarily taking care of another person's
pet
A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive/ cute appearances, inte ...
for a given time frame. It commonly occurs at the pet owner's home, but may also occur at the provider's home or at a pet sitting place of business or organization. Pet sitting is a more personal and individualized arrangement for care compared to
boarding or
kennel
A kennel is a structure or shelter for dogs. Used in the plural, ''the kennels'', the term means any building, collection of buildings or a property in which dogs are housed, maintained, and (though not in all cases) bred. A kennel can be made o ...
ing. Specialized training is usually not required for pet sitting.
Description
In 1997 Pet Sitters International (PSI) successfully campaigned to have "pet sitting" added to the Random House Dictionary. "Pet sitting" is defined as "the act of caring for a pet in its own home while the owner is away." Dog walking is also a form of pet sitting since it involves coming to the pet’s home to provide exercise and companionship. Caring for pets in the clients’ homes is what separates pet sitters from boarders or doggie daycares. Pet sitters visit the pet home to provide a range of services. This primarily involves feeding, exercise and companionship. Pet sitters generally bill clients on a per-visit, per-day or per vacation basis, and include additional charges for multiple pets, travel expenses, and non-standard duties.
Pet sitting services do not include services in the pet sitter's home. This is considered "pet boarding." Boarding outside the pet's home generally requires a kennel license, city or county approval, and in some counties oversight by the local Department of Agriculture which requires protocols to help maintain standards to prevent the transmission of diseases.
In many areas, no
occupational license is required for pet sitters. The term "licensed" is often used by pet sitting professionals to refer to licenses to do business, and/or
animal transportation permits available within the coverage area of the business. While licenses are not needed in all areas, they may be required in specific locations.
Global market
According to
Pet Sitters International's 2016 State of the Industry Survey, its members completed 17 million pet sitting assignments and generated more than $391 million in pet sitting revenues in 2015.
Many pet owners prefer hiring pet sitters instead of the more traditional pet care options available. Some reasons cited for using a pet sitter are to prevent stress to the animal caused by a changing environment,
travel trauma, contracting
illnesses
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that are asso ...
and
parasites
Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The en ...
from exposure to other animals, not meeting
vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...
requirements that may be necessary for kennelling, and to maintain regular routines and prevent the need to adapt to a new environment. It is also a solution for pets with health problems and mobility issues due to
arthritis
Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...
,
dysplasia
Dysplasia is any of various types of abnormal growth or development of cells (microscopic scale) or organs (macroscopic scale), and the abnormal histology or anatomical structure(s) resulting from such growth. Dysplasias on a mainly microscopic ...
,
incontinence
Incontinence or Incontinent may refer to:
* Urinary incontinence, the most commonly occurring type of incontinence, the involuntary excretion of urine
*Fecal incontinence
Fecal incontinence (FI), or in some forms, encopresis, is a lack of con ...
, etc.
Many new pet sitting businesses are emerging due to high levels of pet ownership and relatively low financial barriers of entry. The pet sitting
gig economy
The gig economy is the economic system by which a workforce of people (known as gig workers) engage in freelance and/or side-employment.
Description
The gig economy is composed of corporate entities, workers and consumers. The Internal Reve ...
has led to the creation of various
apps and
website
A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...
s to match pet sitters with clients.
Vacation care
Vacation care is the most typical type of pet sitting service. While a pet owner is on vacation, a pet sitter will arrange to visit the client's home for a period of time and frequency as determined between the pet owner and sitter. Services include (but are not limited to) feeding, exercising, grooming, providing company, monitoring health, administering medications or other special care. Less commonly, pet sitters offer live-in care which can also include the service of
house sitting
House sitting is the practice whereby a person leaving their house for a period of time entrusts it to one or more "house sitters", who by a mutual agreement are permitted to live or stay in the property temporarily, in exchange for assuming any c ...
and property maintenance.
Dog walking
Pet sitters commonly provide
dog walking
Dog walking is the act of a person walking with a dog, typically from the dog's residence and then returning. Leashes are commonly used for this. Both owners and pets receive many benefits, including exercise and companionship.
Description
Dog ...
services. Clients hire pet sitters to exercise and care for their pets when they are unable to do so themselves. This is particularly prevalent in dense urban areas, where pet owners often lead busy working lives, and are hence unable to care for their pets. Also, Clients who are physically unable to exercise their pets due to their own health issues or the client is not physically strong enough due to age.
Pet sitters may also offer other more aggressive methods of exercise for dogs during dog walking appointments. These methods include
jogging
Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...
,
running
Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion by which humans and other animals move quickly on foot. Running is a gait with an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is in contrast to walkin ...
,
inline skating
Inline skating is a multi-disciplinary sport and can refer to a number of activities practiced using inline skates. Inline skates typically have two to five polyurethane wheels depending on the style of practice, arranged in a single line by a ...
,
bicycling
Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of bicycle pedal, pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the ...
, or
dog scootering
Mushing is a sport or transport method powered by dogs. It includes drafting (dog), carting, pulka, dog scootering, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. More specifically, it implies the use of one or more dogs to pull a sle ...
with client dogs.
Commercial dog walkers in some regions are required to obtain a license for dog walking along with inspection of the vehicle that is used to transport dogs for commercial walking. Such licenses sometimes limit the number of dogs that can be walked at one time.
Insurance and bonding
Insurance
Most professional pet sitters are
insured
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...
through pet sitter insurance providers. Most pet sitting insurance providers are country-specific. The
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
each have firms insuring pet sitters.
As of 2016, the major American and Canadian pet sitting
liability insurance
Liability insurance (also called third-party insurance) is a part of the general insurance system of risk financing to protect the purchaser (the "insured") from the risks of liabilities imposed by lawsuits and similar claims and protects the in ...
providers include limits from $2,000,000 to $4,000,000 for liability claims. They also include an uncommon endorsement that provides coverage for care, custody, and control of the client pets from $10,000 to $200,000 per occurrence. Coverage is included for fire damage, lost keys, and other negligence claims. The major UK pet sitting insurance providers claim coverage limits between £2,000,000 and £10,000,000. The limits for liability claims generally range from £2,000,000 to £5,000,000.
According to the PSI 2022 State of the Industry Survey, 78% of the association's U.S. member pet caretakers obtain their insurance through Business Insurers of the Carolinas (BIC).
Pet Sitters Associates (8%), PETCARE Insurance (6%) and Mourer-Foster (3%), among others, were also used by the U.S.-based pet-sitting and dog-walking companies owned by PSI's members as insurance providers.
In the same poll, 28% of respondents said they used PROFUR, 1% said they used Canadian Pet Pro, and 59% of Canadian pet sitters said they used BINKS (PSI's Preferred Canadian Provider) for insurance.
Most pet sitter insurance plans provide coverage for
pet transport. The majority of pet sitting industry insurers also provide care, custody, and control liability coverage for all animals, excluding the loss from income from an animal that may be used for other business ventures such as farming.
Some resources recommend that pet sitters be bonded, though many professional organizations in recent years have held bonding to be unnecessary.
Pet sitters are generally not protected from injury to themselves by regular pet sitting liability coverage. pet sitter liability insurance usually covers injury to other people and pets.
Bonding
A dishonesty or
fidelity bond
A fidelity bond or fidelity guarantee is a form of insurance protection that covers policyholders for losses that they incur as a result of fraudulent acts by specified individuals. It usually insures a business for losses caused by the dishonest ...
claim generally applies when a pet sitter is convicted in criminal court of theft from a client home. When the pet sitter is
convicted
In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a trial by jud ...
, the bond will reimburse the client for the loss, and then seek reimbursement from the pet sitter. This process can take many years to complete, and usually relies on a
criminal law
Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...
court
A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...
conviction.
Many pet sitters have decided to seek actual insurance coverage for theft instead of procuring a bond. Theft insurance coverage does not require convictions, and can include coverage for accidental breakage, mysterious disappearance, and accidental damage to items in a client's home.
Certification and accreditation
Pet sitting organizations offer training, testing, or review of credentials for pet sitters in the form of certification or accreditation. The curriculum of pet sitting programs may include pet care, health and
first aid
First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with a medical emergency, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery until medical services arrive. First aid is gener ...
, animal law information, nutrition, and behavior, and/or business development and management.
Certification that is credentials-based may require the pet sitter to provide a
criminal background check, proof of insurance, proof of bonding, certificate of completion of a pet first aid program, documentation of business methods and policies, or other evidence of their professionalism and adherence to industry standards.
It is common for pet sitters to obtain a separate certification for pet first aid. Hands-on training can be obtained through private businesses and organizations like
Red Cross
The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
. Virtual classes are also available.
See also
*
Dog daycare
Dog daycare, or doggy daycare, is short-term daytime care for dogs. It differs from multi-day kennel boarding and pet sitting, where the sitter comes to the pet's home.
Background
Dog daycares arose out of traditional kennels in the early 19 ...
*
Pet taxi
A pet taxi is a type of transportation taxi service that transports various pets. Some pet taxi services also provide pet ambulance, animal boarding and grooming services. Some pet sitting companies may also offer pet taxi services. Some pet taxi ...
*
Cat In A Flat
References
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Dog-related professions and professionals