Choosing a Live-in Pet Sitter (and maybe some hot takes!)

There are many options to choose from when it comes to finding care for your pets. All are individual preferences and one is very rarely better than the other, but all are based on you and your pets specific needs. Live in pet sitting is typically chosen for it's ease - you do nothing except make sure your pets food and meds are topped up (and probably tidy your home too!). The pet sitter shows up and the rest is mostly in their experienced hands (we still text you with questions sometimes!).

People also choose live in care if they have multiple pets of various needs. Sometimes, the pets are really stuck in their routine. Sometimes there's an older pet that needs to stay home because of mobility or to reduce stress on an aging brain and body. Sometimes there's a new kitty that requires almost around the clock enrichment which would be hard for a facility with many other pets to reasonably offer. The reasons are truly endless and case specific.

When the pet sitter is in your home, in addition to basic needs, they are generally providing extras. Your dog always has someone to ask for his 10th pee break that morning, there's someone home to soothe the anxiety of the dog who is afraid of thunder, and the storms always happen in the middle of the night. All that said, pet sitters do need to stick to their work routine too if they have other clients and they do take breaks. We're not available 24/7 even in your home. We are always there in the case of an emergency even if we're busying ourselves with some non pet related thing at that moment, OF COURSE! All of that said, we are still available to give more attention to your pet than they would be receiving at a kennel or home boarding facility (if said facility takes more than one pet at a time, in that case it might be comparable). Your pets are the most comfortable in your home and the stress of you going away is significantly reduced if they can stay in their own environment. Live in sitting is a fantastic service for a variety of needs, but quality care is not cheap and for good reason.

Pet care providers are moving into your home, first and foremost. They are picking up their lives and dedicating the majority of their time to your house, your pets and communicating with you. If this service was billed hourly, it would be thousands of dollars per day, even if it was billed per service it would be significantly more than what most good, higher end live in pet sitters charge. This kind of care is essentially a very exclusive and luxury service. Additionally, pet sitters are usually tending to the needs of your pet in the middle of the night, special needs pets, large pet families on different schedules, and pet messes including mostly hair and dirt/mud but a lot of time, pee, vomit (always on the carpet or in the bed by the way, NEVER on the hardwood floor) and poop too! The provider cares deeply about your home as well and having a house lived in while you're away significantly reduces break and enters. Pet care providers are offering clients almost constant labour and that labour needs to be compensated for and well!

*Hot take* You will sometimes see pet care opportunities in exchange for a place to stay...I can only say in these cases, it really must meet a mutual need for it to work, and often times, it does not. If you can own healthy pets, and also own a home... in this economy (!), as well as all the extras that come with those things, it is very likely you can afford live in pet care if this is the service you're looking for - I know, I know, it is a hot take that you can either take or leave, and of course, there is always nuance in 99% of situations, this is just my take on the "in exchange for services" sector. I think at one time in recent history, maybe even as recent as a decade ago, this system DID work, but that was because it was equal for a lot of people. Wages and the wealth gap have changed significantly and I see a lot of vulnerable people being exploited by individuals who have a lot of resources and can afford the service they're requesting but are choosing to frame it as an "opportunity" instead of a job. Please pay people for their labour. Not many people I know work for free and I see a lot of ads where the service seekers is expecting a lot in exchange free labour, please if you do this, stop. End of hot take. ANYWAY, touching on an above point, pets are really a lot of work, even if you have an incredible pet. If nothing else beyond basic care, they require an experienced eye, hand, ear and someone who can make decisions quickly in emergencies. As someone who has trained "experienced" people in the past, there are many folks who claim to have these abilities and they simply...do not. The best chance of finding this level of care is by paying for it. If you're not paying for this level of care, you are doing yourself a disservice; not only for your your house but your beloved pet too. Onward to the next point!

It is also worth it to be choosy when picking your provider. The person you choose will hopefully participate in fostering a lasting working relationship with you for years to come; a relationship that is built on honesty, trust and dependability. I am choosy when taking on clients because I also care about my well being so much that it shaped my niche! I personally prefer a quiet, calm, trained household that has very few surprises or changes in store for me. I'll leave the rowdy pets to someone else; I have nothing to prove and I'll even give you their name and number. You may have rowdy pets and that's ok! We wouldn't be a great fit and it's important to know that right away. This can easily be taken care of by reading the websites of the providers, writing an email or lastly, by having a meet and greet. Always have a meet and greet before going away. Be sure to ask any questions you have and even go further and have the provider out for a couple dog walks before you leave - I ask a lot of my clients to schedule a couple walks before they leave so we can be sure it's the right fit and we can also ask questions about any behaviours we may see come up that didn't come up in the meet and greet (this happens all the time!). Hiring a live in provider should also never be last minute decision and with a complete stranger; it's a red flag for pet care providers when these requests come in and should be a red flag for clients if the pet care provider doesn't want to get to know your pet before staying with them full time with you out of town if something goes wrong.

Overall, the purpose of live in pet care is vast and individual. It is a luxury service that should be compensated fairly. It is a relationship that is built on honesty, trust and dependability so hopefully all parties - two legged and four legged - can feel safe and want to work together for the long-haul, all for the shared interest in the well being of your pet!