|
Q. |
What is a Pet Sitter? |
|
A. |
A "Pet Sitter" is a person that is
hired to come to a persons home to
take care of their pets. |
|
Q. |
How much does a visit cost? |
|
A. |
Carolina Pet
Sitters charges $18.00 per visit for
one pet. We add $1 each additional
after that.
Please see our Services
& Rates Page
for more information. |
|
Q. |
How do I get started with Carolina
Pet Sitters? |
|
A. |
The first thing you need to do is
fill out our Reservation Form.
(Click the button above.) We will
then contact you to set up your Free
Initial Interview to meet you and
your pets. |
|
Q. |
How many visits a day do you provide
for pets? |
|
A. |
You
decide that. For inside dogs, we do
a minimum of two (2) visits per day
and as many as four (4). Most
people request 2 or 3. It really
depends on your dog's needs.
Outside dogs require a minimum of
one (1) visit a day unless you feel
your dog needs more visits for
medication or other needs. For
cats, we do a minimum of one (1)
visit per day. We do NOT do
"every-other-days". No exceptions
so please do not ask. |
|
Q. |
What areas of Columbia do you
service? |
|
A. |
We service Northeast Columbia, parts
of Blythewood, Hampton Hills,
Rosewood, Shandon, Forest Acres,
Downtown Columbia, 5-Points, and the
USC Area. |
|
Q. |
What goes on at the initial
“interview”? |
|
A. |
We go over the Service Agreement,
exchange keys, and discuss pet and
house care details. |
|
Q. |
Who comes to meet me at the Initial
Interview? |
|
A. |
Either Kim or Miller Huntley will
come to the Initial Interview
Meeting. There will be some
instances that another pet sitter
will come with them . Since
Carolina Pet Sitters has grown to
over 1000+ clients, there is no way
that Kim and Miller can do all the
pet sitting reservations. So we may
have one of our sitters come with us
to the Initial Meeting if Miller or
Kim Huntley will not be actually
doing the pet sitting visits. Kim
and Miller will then become the
backup in case of an emergency or
illness of the sitter. We feel this
is the best way. We want you to
meet us (the owners) and your
assigned pet sitter. We want you to
be comfortable with pet sitting in
every way. |
|
Q. |
Is my personal information on the
Service Agreement kept confidential? |
|
A. |
Yes! We do not disclose any client
information to any third parties.
All Service Agreements are kept at
the Carolina Pet Sitters Home
Office. Only the owners and/or the
designated pet sitter will have
access to your personal
information. |
|
Q. |
Will I have the same pet sitter each
time? |
|
A. |
We will try to make sure that the
same sitter will take care of your
home and pets each time. If there
is a change, we will give you a call
and inform you of this. We will
send the new sitter over to your
home to meet with you and your
pets. We want to make sure they
understand completely about the care
for your pets and home. |
|
Q. |
How long is each visit? |
|
A. |
The Basic Visit is around 20 minutes.
During this time, we take your pets
outside (dogs) for a potty break,
refresh their food and water. Clean
their litter box (cats) and of
course, give them hugs and kisses!
We also fill out a "Daily Scoop" --a
daily log that lists time in/time
out, what your pet is up to and what
services we have performed (getting
mail, taking out trash bin, etc...)
and any other comments that you
might be interested in about your
pets. |
|
Q. |
How much notice do you need for a
cancellation? |
|
A. |
If you have already made a
reservation for Pet Sitting and have
to cancel, we require at least a
2-day notice before the reservation
is to begin. No Cancellation Fee
will be applied if within that
time. BUT if you cancel your
reservation with less than a 2-day
notice, you will be charged a
Cancellation Fee in the amount of
one visit. We do understand that
sometimes emergencies arise, so we
will consider the situation
individually. BUT the Cancellation
Fee is STRICTLY enforced during the
months of November and December. |
|
Q. |
Do you take "last-minute"
reservations? |
|
A. |
ONLY if
you are a Current Carolina Pet
Sitters' Client, and we already have
your key along with a completed
and signed Service Agreement. There
is a small charge of $10.00 if less
than two day notice (48 hours). We
do understand that emergencies
arise, so if we do have the time, we
will make every effort to
accommodate you in those special
situations. BUT, we can not take
last minute NEW clients around the
Holidays. |
|
Q. |
What kind of animals do you care
for? |
|
A. |
We care for almost any animals
(except SNAKES AND SPIDERS) as long
as they do not pose a danger to our
safety. |
|
Q. |
Are you bonded and insured? |
|
A. |
Yes, we are both Bonded and Insured
through the Business Insurers of the
Carolinas in Chapel Hill, NC.
During our initial interview, we
will show you copies of our
Policies. |
|
Q. |
How do you choose the Pet Sitters
that you hire? |
|
A. |
Carolina Pet Sitters' first priority
is safety and security of our
client's pets and home. We obtain a
background criminal check with
SLED. We also put the sitters
through an extensive screening
process that includes a personal
interview that includes an
employment history check and a
personal reference check. All of our
sitters are either current CPS
Clients or a friend of a friend or
some kind of referral. We do NOT
advertise job positions in the
newpaper |
|
Q. |
Do you administer medication to
pets? |
|
A. |
Yes, we will administer medication –
pills, drops and/or injections.
However, we will not administer
medication to any animal that poses
a danger to the
sitter. (i.e....pilling a cat/dog
that is aggressive and may bite) |
|
Q. |
Can I hire my Pet Sitter directly? |
|
A. |
NO! Please do not place our
employees in the uncomfortable
position of offering them employment
apart from Carolina Pet Sitters.
Our sitters are contractually
prohibited from soliciting or
accepting employment directly from a
Carolina Pet Sitter's client. |
|
Q. |
What if my property or pet is
damaged while I am gone? |
|
A. |
Carolina Pet
Sitters agrees to provide the
services stated in our service
agreement in a reliable, caring and
trustworthy manner. However,
Carolina Pet Sitters is only liable
for claims arising from negligence
or willful misconduct. Due to the
extreme unpredictability of animals,
we cannot accept responsibility for
unusual mishaps (i.e., bitings,
furniture damage, spills, pet
stains, water stains that are due to
pets actions, etc.). Also,
if your pets have access to the
outside, we are NOT responsible for
injury, disappearance, or fines |
|
Q. |
How am I billed, and when is it due? |
|
A. |
Payment is
expected to be left at the beginning of
the pet sitting reservation. We
currently only accept cash and
personal checks. Do
NOT post-date checks unless you
discussed with Kim or Miller Huntley
prior to you leaving on your trip. |
|
Q. |
What do you do in case of an
emergency? |
|
A. |
It depends on the type of
emergency. If something was to
happen to your regular sitter, we
have a backup sitter that can take
over. If an emergency occurs with
your pets, we will first contact
your vet and transport them if
necessary. You will then be
contacted about the situation. If
there is an emergency with your
home, we will call you, your
emergency contact and the
appropriate authorities and/or a
preferred repair service. |
|
Q. |
May I give my Pet Sitter a tip? |
|
A. |
Yes. Please leave seperately than
the bill.
|
|
Q. |
Do you have references? |
|
A. |
Yes. We have
numerous references. You can read
some of our references here.
We can give you some phone numbers
when we meet for our Initial
Meeting. You can call any of our
references to ask them any questions
regarding our service. |
