|
 Pet
Sitters.. I am referring to businesses
that hire themselves out to pet owners and go from home to home. I am
not talking about a pet sitter/house sitter who moves in and stays 24 hours a day with
the family pets.
Certainly it doesn't seem plausible or logical that pet
sitters, going from one home to the next as rapidly as possible to make
their appointed rounds, and feed and walk or play with the dogs and feed
cats have time to sanitize their clothing and shoes in between stops at clients
homes. There are only so many hours a day and travel time has to be factored
into the schedule...and many pet sitters claim to spend 45 minutes playing
with and walking the dogs...how much time do they spend with the cats? ..add
up the hours, how many homes could they possible visit in daylight hours?
and Which owners' animals will get their breakfast at 8 am and which will
get their breakfast at 3 or 4 pm? Add up the hours! Could one person do it
all? I don't think so!
Logically
they could only take care of five homes a day which
would be a ten-hour day for them with no stopping..
figure out the hours...five animals = 5 hours for ONE
feeding.. what about dinner? 5 more hours for the rounds
= a ten-hour day! ..if the pet sitter doesn't take a
minute out for himself or herself to eat... can they
make a living on five homes a day? I don't think so!
Can they exist very long with this schedule without
winding up in an institution? No, this is by far not the
best selection for your pet care.
So who else is given the keys to your home? Keys that
they can be copied for future use? Is it a neighbor's
son, who could bring his friends back to your home on
Saturday night for a party because he knows there is
little chance of getting caught because you are 'out of
town'? Is it a teenager? Or a stranger who answered an
ad in the paper for a part time job? Are they
experienced to recognize a medical Emergency? Are they
in business because they genuinely love animals or are
they in business because there is little, if any,
accountability and it is an easy and cheap business to
get into...for only $20 they can have 1,000 business
cards printed up and start calling, making appointments
and picking up house keys. They are in business!
Who are they
giving the keys to your house to? Could it possibly be a
part time job and they could easily make keys to your
home to enter at a later date when you are at a movie or
out to dinner? Think about it! Don't fall for the
old cliche that "Oh, your pets are better home than
being boarded!" It simply is not true. We hear the
horror stories. So don't be fooled into thinking this is
the best pet care alternative. Check each out and see
for yourself where your cats will be the safest.
The logical
answer is: They are not better off at home if they are
left alone for over 23 hours a day.. and that is the way
licensed pet sitter businesses operate....
A Country Cat House
was the first “cat’s only facility” in the nation and
the world to achieve the prestigious accreditation
status by the Pet Care Services Association. |
