Will we always have the same sitter?

This will depend on the days you have visits booked for.    Obviously none of our staff work 7 days a week 365 days a year so we will never guarantee it will always be the same person.   Year round we generally have 2-3 staff covering the week’s shifts. From years of experience, this works best as it allows us to be able to provide consistent and reliable service.  We also have on-call staff who are able to help during our busy times, staff sickness and leave.  As long as your details are all loaded into your client portal any staff member will be able to complete your visits. We do not recommend verbal instructions but encourage you to leave printed instructions should you so wish.

What time will my visits be?

Our working hours are 8 am – 6 pm**.   As a general rule of thumb, our twice-a-day morning visits are generally done between 8.00 am – 10.30 am and our afternoon visits between 3.30 pm – 6.00 pm, and our dog visits between 10.30 am – 2.00 pm.   Once-a-day feeding visits are usually done with our morning rounds but as we cover a large area they are worked into the day geographically so they may be done anytime during our working day.    We do our best to accommodate your timing requests so if you prefer a particular time of day do let us know and add to your client notes when booking.  Upon special request, if your fur baby needs a visit outside of our working hours we may be able to accommodate, there will be an additional charge for out-of-hours. **Please note during our peak season/busy periods visits may be slightly outside these times**

How long are feeding visits?

Visit times may vary. But up to a maximum of about 20-25 minutes for our standard feeding visits.  If you require longer we have extended visits for 6+ animals or our more complicated visits.

Do you charge for each animal?

Our feeding visits are charged on a per visit not per animal rate, but we do have a maximum of 5 animals per standard visit booking as we find that anymore than this does not allow us enough time to perform our tasks adequately.  As long as we can provide our standard service in our 20-minute timeframe you should not have additional costs.  Our dog visit prices are based on one dog, so any extra dogs do incur an additional charge.

What if I need to change my booking? or come home early?

No problem at all, we understand that plans change. Each of our services has its own individual booking and cancellations policy, all of which can be viewed on our bookings and cancellations policy page. 

How do you access the property?

The safety and security of your property and pets are our primary focus, and as such to ensure the utmost security we have found that lockboxes on-site are the best option to safely hold keys and ensure we can streamline our services for clients that need keys for access.

After years of providing pet-sitting services, we’ve determined that the most effective approach for both our team’s and clients’ security is to use an on-site lockbox system for those who require access keys. This ensures the safe storage of keys on your property. As such we urge clients without them to consider acquiring one, or alternatively, to designate a secure location on their property for our staff to retrieve and return keys between visits.

For those unable to acquire a lockbox of their own, we will have a limited supply of portable company lockboxes we may be able to use for the duration of your visits.

As always there are on occasion exceptions to the rule where this is not feasible, we’re happy to explore personalised options with you on a case-by-case basis.

How and when do you require payment?

We will send you an invoice before your departure with our details for online banking.  This allows you to confirm that your dates booked are correct. Payment is due before the start of visits. Except for Xmas time, when we require a deposit to secure your booking.

Can I meet with a sitter?

Absolutely! you can schedule a meet-and-greet visit with one of our team members through your client portal when making your booking. Mornings do tend to be our busiest time, so we usually offer afternoon time slots for client meetings.  You will meet with the sitter who is rostered on the day that you book your meeting for, and they will contact you that morning to confirm with you a more precise idea of the time they can be with you. Please keep in mind that our staff operates on a roster system, so there may be occasional variations in the assigned sitter due to leave or sickness. If you have a specific request please contact the office, and we’ll do our best to work with you to accommodate your request as our sitter aren’t able to adjust scheduling or take bookings.

Can you medicate my pet?

With the exception of diabetics, yes administering medication to your pet is included in our standard pet feeding visits if it’s a necessary part of their care. We understand the importance of ensuring that your pet receives its medication as prescribed to maintain their health or assist in recovering from an ailment.

Why can’t you take bookings for diabetic pets?

We understand how crucial it is to maintain a consistent schedule for administering insulin, which requires precise, time-sensitive care. However, due to our frequently and often unpredictably changing daily schedules, we cannot guarantee specific visit times. As a result, we are unable to commit to any time-restricted bookings. 

Why do I need to keep the portal updated?

Our sitters operate on a roster system, so your sitter may vary between visits. To ensure seamless service, your client portal serves as the most efficient platform for keeping sitters up to date with any changes or additional information they may need to complete your visits. The more details and information we have access to, the better we can service your pet’s needs.

In the interest of preparedness, we also require an alternative contact number for emergencies. This could be a companion traveling with you, unless you anticipate being out of reception range. Having another reachable number ensures that we can quickly reach someone if we’re unable to contact you.

Regrettably, we’ve encountered situations in the past where significant time was spent attempting to reach clients who were unreachable and had not provided alternative contact numbers. To optimise efficiency and ensure the best care for your pets, we kindly request your cooperation in providing this information for our staff’s use in case initial contact attempts are unsuccessful