FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS REGARDING OUR PET SITTING, HOUSE SITTING AND DOG SITTING SERVICES?

Why do I need a Pet Sitter? - Safe Hands Sitters provide a unique pet and house sitting service, which takes the worry out of holidays, business trips weekends away or spells in hospital. Your pets can stay in their own familiar environment and surroundings and be guaranteed the same exercise, feeding and grooming routines and loving care they normally receive. Pet sitting is the real alternative to boarding kennels and catteries.

What Makes Safe Hands Sitters service different to other Agencies? - We specialise in the care of animals and we only employ people who love them. We do not cover house sitting assignments without any pets; our service is focussed 100% on the care and well being of your pets.

Our aim is to give you an individual and personal service tailored to meet your individual needs, and then we select the most suitable pet sitter for your requirements. Many new clients come to us on recommendation and most of our clients re-book with Safe Hands Sitters year after year.

What’s more, there is nothing to pay until you have met your house sitter and are completely happy with the arrangements.

Who are our Pet Sitters? - See the "our Sitters" page

Are you and the Pet Sitters insured? - Our pet sitters are bound by terms and conditions that are agreed when they are accepted; they are therefore covered by our comprehensive insurances which include Public Liability. These insurances work alongside your own policies to ensure all parties involved have complete peace of mind. If you would like your pet sitter to drive your car, you must arrange fully comprehensive insurance for him or her to do so.

Clients should have normal house and content insurance in force. Any valuables should also be insured against accidental damage. Please note that your pet sitter will not be held liable for breakdown or damage to equipment due to normal wear and tear.

How do I book a pet sitter? - See our "procedures" page

Do I have to provide the pet sitter with food and bed linen? - Our pet sitters buy all their own food, there are no additional daily food allowances. It is normal for clients to leave items such as bread and milk for the pet sitter, he or she will then leave the same at the end of the assignment for your return. Although clients are happy for the pet sitter to use basic food such as sauces, condiments, tea, coffee etc… clients normally provide bed linen and can expect the pet sitters to strip their bed at the end of the assignment as well as leaving the house clean and tidy.

What does the Pet Sitter do whilst I am away? - Using the information obtained from you at the preliminary meeting, the pet sitter will fulfil your requirements. This will include feeding, grooming and exercising your animals, maintaining your home and garden and any other special instructions you have given and agreed with your Pet Sitter. Your Pet Sitter is allowed four hours away from your property at any one time to explore the local countryside, do a spot of shopping or whatever they wish. They have to be back in your home during the hours of darkness.

What happens if my dog has an accident in the house during the pet sitting assignment? - In the unlikely event of your dog becoming unwell with sickness or diarrhoea your pet sitter will obviously clean as required. Occasionally pets sometimes have accidents due to not being able to go outside in time and in this situation the pet sitter will clean as required. However, if your dog is not entirely housetrained or suffers anxiety problems and as a result he may wee or pooh indoors on a regular daily basis, there will be an additional premium for the cleaning work involved. We would advise clients to contact the office for a quotation.

What happens if there is a problem during the house sitting assignment whilst I am away? - Our Pet Sitters are chosen for their ability to handle household emergencies, but should one arise when support is needed Safe Hands Sitters provides a 24-hour emergency help line, 365 days a year, where pet sitters can obtain advice and assistance. Furthermore, at the initial meeting the pet sitter would have completed a comprehensive checklist with you, which contains emergency numbers relating to the care of your home and pets.

If expenses are incurred due to an emergency e.g. breakdown of central heating, your pet sitter will inform your chosen emergency contact first and Safe Hands Sitters immediately after. If the emergency contact is unavailable, then Safe Hands Sitters will advise the house sitter on the course of action to be taken. The emergency contact will then be notified as soon as they are available.

What if I am delayed? - Most of the time our pet sitters do not carry out back to back bookings so are able to stay until your return. If your pet sitter is not able to stay then we will use our best endeavours to supply another pet sitter.

What happens if the pet sitter has to leave during the pet sitting assignment? - Occasionally due to sickness, family emergency, injury etc.. the house sitter may have to leave the job. The house sitter will immediately contact head office and another house sitter will take over. Your home and pets will not be left unattended and we will inform you or your emergency contact as soon as possible.

What happens if I am not happy with the pet sitter suggested? - It is highly unlikely because of the procedures we follow, but we appreciate that you must be comfortable with the pet sitter staying in your home. If for any reason you should reject our choice of pet sitter, we will use our best endeavours to offer an alternative without any fuss or embarrassment. It should be stressed that problems of this kind are very rare as our pet sitters are meticulously selected for their character, temperament and integrity. If we are able to supply an alternative, you will need to pay travelling expenses to the pet sitter who will attend a preliminary meeting.

What happens if I have to cancel my holiday prior to the pet sitting assignment? - In the event that you cancel your booking within 20 days of the start date, we kindly ask you to pay a cancellation fee to your pet sitter to recompense him/her for the time they have committed to your booking. If you cancel between 20 and 14 days prior to the start date we ask you to pay 25% of the pet sitters fee, if you cancel within 14 days we ask you to pay 45% of the pet sitters fee. The agency fee will not be refunded under any circumstances.

IN CONCLUSION
Safe Hands Sitters’ aim is to care for your pets as if they were our own and to provide a first class, professional and caring pet sitting service at all times. We seek to fulfil our obligations to our clients in a manner which encourages a long-term relationship with our growing pet sitting organisation.

We follow up the beginning of every house sitting assignment to check that all is well and at the end of each house sitting assignment we always telephone you on your return to make sure you are happy with the pet sitting service provided.

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