Pet Sitting Service. UPDATE LOCATIONS listed in post #1

[Wifezilla]

I am an experienced pet sitter, but it is not my full time job. So I would not make it past your screening despite being responsible and very experienced. I have watched cats, dogs, chickens and ducks as well as ferrets, and some tropical birds. I even water houseplants as part of my service

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

Yeah, "after a careful screening"... I don't want anyone coming to my house really, unless I know them and trust them. as a single mom (DH in Afghanistan) responsible for 3 little kids in the middle of nowhere, I'm reluctant to let the UPS guy come to my house... I think you need to find someone who has helped someone you know and trust, not just some random person (possibly a whack-o) come to your house and care for your animals. I had our Yurt Neighbors (oh geez, yes, them... they're leaving in a week TG!) watch my birds, and we lost a little duck because she thought it was being trampled by its siblings and mama, so she locked it AWAY from the mama in a little cage, and the poor thing was soaked and freezing when I got back (no real feathers yet!).... it died. SO I know she can't handle tricky circumstances at all... I would have liked her to have called me, and asked me what to do.... but she didn't... hello? anyway, she's nice, and managed to not kill any of the other birds. which is good, but a $10 duckling was a bummer, and it was so cute too, and belonged to one of my kids....

I don[t think you need to be super neurotic about qualifications, sometimes it's good to have them do ONE day (when you're actually around) to judge their abilities.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
I think everyone is misunderstanding my post. Yes, I do have questions but once meeting the person/pet sitter, I will know if the person meets the basic requirements. If the person can give me references and I am comfortable with how they care for their animals, I am satisfied. The questions are just an added bonus for me. If I were a pet sitter, I wouldn't even pass my own screening.

I am just curious to see what services this person provides due to the fact that I have about 175 animals. I also want to make sure that this person is trustworthy and will follow through on our agreement.

I would hate to come home to find my 122 chickens, 6 Barbado sheep, 1 pygmy goat, 9 geese , 6 turkeys, 10 rabbits, 19 muscovy ducks, 30 muscovy eggs to be hatched soon, 6 hens sitting on 32 eggs (total) and 15 stray cats either gone, done or have been starved and not cared for for 3 days or more or to have tons of feed missing.

 

[kuntrygirl]

chickensducks&agoose :

Yeah, "after a careful screening"... I don't want anyone coming to my house really, unless I know them and trust them. as a single mom (DH in Afghanistan) responsible for 3 little kids in the middle of nowhere, I'm reluctant to let the UPS guy come to my house... I think you need to find someone who has helped someone you know and trust, not just some random person (possibly a whack-o) come to your house and care for your animals. I had our Yurt Neighbors (oh geez, yes, them... they're leaving in a week TG!) watch my birds, and we lost a little duck because she thought it was being trampled by its siblings and mama, so she locked it AWAY from the mama in a little cage, and the poor thing was soaked and freezing when I got back (no real feathers yet!).... it died. SO I know she can't handle tricky circumstances at all... I would have liked her to have called me, and asked me what to do.... but she didn't... hello? anyway, she's nice, and managed to not kill any of the other birds. which is good, but a $10 duckling was a bummer, and it was so cute too, and belonged to one of my kids....

I don[t think you need to be super neurotic about qualifications, sometimes it's good to have them do ONE day (when you're actually around) to judge their abilities.

Oh yea, you are ABSOLUTELY right about having someone over with your small babies and hubby not home. I totally understand. I have so many animals and it is too difficult to know everything which is why I have a binder with notes/information in it. The last time I left for 1 weekend and had my cousin watched the animals, 3 baby chicks died. I was fuming.

. This is why I am so picky. Something simple as closing the coops at night will be a nightmare for the pet sitter due to the fact that I have a few rowdy chickens/turkeys who prefer to roost on the fence, in the back of the truck, with the sheep, on top of the rabbit cage, on top of the steel post, etc. I have to shine the spotlight on the fence, barns, coops, sheds, truck beds, etc to make sure that everyone is in. Looks like I will have to train the kids who live next door and allow them to make some money. I have decided that one of the keys to making sure that everyone is in is to do a headcount. If all animals are not accounted for then the person needs to start looking for that particular animal until the head count is exact.

I guess that's what I get for having so many animals.

 

[ChooksChick]

I pet sit occasionally, but I'm not anywhere near passing your questions. I would, however, attempt to answer them and explain why I was still a good bet.

I wouldn't allow you to my home or breeding facility because it's poor biosecurity, but I would let you look from the street...you can see my set-up from the alley 2 yards over.

I'm not bonded, licensed, nor do I belong to any org. for pet-sitting, but I am compassionate, resourceful, diligent, passionate about ethical treatment of animals, and the person you want in case of an emergency. I'm happy to tell folks about my animals and past experiences, and I have good relationships with several vets I'm sure would vouch for me.

I think if you didn't get an answer, it's someone who isn't prepared to defend not being able to answer all of the questions, "Yes," and they're not sure what to do with regards to your request.

I don't advertise. People find me.

 

[FireTigeris]

... is there some way to set up a run for the rowdy animals? Anyway to make caring for the animals not require hunting for specific animals?

How old are these kids, when does school start? Do they have other requirements (team sports, family visits) ?

For when we are out of town I am building (having built) a run that can hold all of my outside animals so that they can be cared for easily.

I'd suggest something like that for the birds that don't follow the rules a small one just for when you leave that is predator proof.

 

[vfem]

My aunt ran a pet sitting company for years in NH, and she's moved to FL and is starting it back up while she works part-time elsewhere. It was just her and my uncle, perfectly legit. I helped on the side some while I was up there. It was hard work, and a lot of work for 2 people. They didn't make much and sometimes I thought they would go under during slow times.

If you want to cut back on some of the questions, as I can tell ya, it can be overwhelming to have all that expected of you as a small or new company. Cut it back to the most important questions, like 10 or less... but request 4 or 5 recommendations from other clients to back up the rest. 5 happy customers I have talked to mean more to me then a BBB rating any day. Look out for a good attitude when you talk to them, that means a lot in its own.

I honestly think it would have been great to email them and get them to call you and ask the questions of the phone. You learn a lot from how someone talks.

Remember, its a bad economy, a lot of people are going into business for themselves or are at least trying to. Find out the situation with out intimidation. I'm a new small business and we're going through a lot of red tape right now. Its hard to get started, and customers are the one's who teach us, lift us up and give us the energy to do and be our best as business owners! We want you happy. We want you positive. We want you to come back and bring friends!

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
I understand biosecurity but how do zoos remain open and the animals are not dead because people visit the animals all the time? I can understand not visiting where you breed but if someone tells me that I CANNOT look at how they are set up, that means they have something to hide. Just my opinion and opinions are like belly buttons - everyone has one.

I agree in that the person isn't prepared to defend not being able to answer all the questions. I think my set up requires more than just a "pet sitter". This is not checking on a dog or 2 or a few cats or about 10 chickens. This is about 175 animals. I may be looking for a miracle.

 

[FireTigeris]

Quote:
Most ppl that visit zoos (most not all) do not have kangaroos or zebra at home to cause sickness to the kangaroo and zebra at the zoo.

I can't have you visit my rats in my closed colony if you own rats -for three hours after contact with your rats - that's the estimated amount of time Myco lives outside a rat body...

I can't have you going to a large poorly run kennel then visiting my neighbor's dogs he's had two pups react to one of the normal kennel type shots so his dogs are not vaccinated for that anymore (can't remember if it was P or L).

I WOULD be willing to take and post pictures with that days newspaper of any area (wide angle) and zoomed.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
I'm not sure about a run. The chickens free range on about 1 acre of land. I do not like keeping them contained in a run. I have too many to do that.

The kids are 13 - 16 and they have started school. They have their own animals, so they know about feeding and watering and caring for animals. They don't have any other activities. I have been knowing their parents for 30 years. We grew up together. Their parents would kill them if they didn't check on my animals.

The chickens that don't follow the rules are my day care babies. They are about 3 months old. They are mischievous and it's only about 5 of them. I am still trying to train them to go into the chicken house. I'm not worried about the turkeys because they change their roosting spot every night.

Thanks for the suggestions.