Pet Sitting Service Description
Animal Care Center of NH & Professional Pet Sitting Etc
Service Agreement
Pet Sitting PRODUCT AND SERVICE LIST
Our company is a pre-pay company since 1990.
All services are pre-paid. Please see our page on Payments.
ALL pets in the home must be included in EVERY pet care visit for the entire reservation when you are away on a trip. We will not care for dogs on all visits and the cat on just one visit. No animal will be ignored and will be included in every visit.
The ONLY time we will NOT include ALL pets, will be when we are walking dogs or playing with kitties at a Mid Day Visit while an owner is at work and the owners will be home morning and night of that day.
We are a Pre-Pay company. This means that ALL reservations will be prepaid before services start.
We charge per VISIT/service NOT by time. See Price List for Prices..
Time is used as a guideline. See below Under Visits Explained at the end of this page.
All prices are subject to change at any time without notification and everything is prepaid.
Holiday surcharges will be applied to all services on all holidays and weekend surcharges will be applied to all weekend services on saturday/sunday. Peak surcharges are added to each day in a reservation that includes the week prior or the week after a holiday. Peak will also be added to the days in a reservation for school vacations for NH/MA for February and April Vacations.
The prices are on our fee schedule.
A difference in prices can be due to longer than 10 minute travel, number of pets in home, time needed, more care then our normal service, holidays, etc.
YOUR price will pop up when you make a reservation in the estimate. These estimates will not include holidays, peak, weekends, etc
Most people with 1-3 pets, located in the middle of our service area will fall on the price shown.
Our services below can be a combination, you don’t have to have all 30 visits, you can have a few 30 visits with 60 or 90 visits for more playtime or whatever you choose.
WHAT SERVICE SHOULD I CHOOSE WHEN MAKING A RESERVATION
Our services are by time 30, 60, 90, 120
- 30 – 0-30 minutes
- 60 – 31-60 minutes
- 90 – 61 – 90 minutes
- 120 – 91 – 120 minutes
When you are making a reservation, there will be a drop down menu with alot of choices. Below is a few examples of what you may need for a service. The services are further explained in this article. As always, feel free to call, if you have any questions.
If you are away on a TRIP
- Choose
- Pet Care 30, 60, 90 or 120
What if I only need a SUPPER VISIT
- Choose
- Pet Care 30, 60, 90 or 120
If you are at WORK and will be home Am & Pm
- Choose
- Dog Walk/Mid Day 30, 60, 90 or 120
- Feline Fun Time 30, 60, 90 or 120
If you have a DIABETIC pet or your pet needs FLUIDS
- Choose
- Medical Visit 60, 90 or 120
PET CARE VISITS
We provide our pet care services 365 days a year , 1 to 3 visits per day, for all confirmed reservations whether our office is open or closed.
ALL pets in the home must be included in EVERY pet care visit for the entire reservation. We will not care for dogs on all visits and the cat on just one visit. No animal will be ignored and will be included in every visit. The ONLY time we will not include ALL pets, will be when we are walking dogs while an owner is at work and the owners will be home morning and night of that day.
Visits are generally scheduled daily from 6am – 9pm.
We at PPSE, try our best to keep to any agreed time(s) but in our business of pets and etc., we reserve the right to use our best judgment in all aspects of how & when we do our visits, in the best interest of employees, ALL pets concerned and to conserve time & gas.
All visits include all travel time to client’s home from a pet sitters home, time left will be used for pet care.
As a crime deterrence we may try to not do visits at exactly the same time every day.
Your visits could be done at anytime during the time periods below.
If you have a time preference, we will try to follow that but cannot guarantee any times due to unforeseen things, traffic, weather, pets needing extra care, emergencies, etc.
We will ALWAYS try to conserve time and gas by combining visits that are close or in the same areas.
This means that AM visits for felines with no restrictions maybe moved closer to Mid Day and Supper visits may be moved closer to PM visits.
Due to unforeseen circumstances (emergencies, traffic, accidents, etc.) visits may be done outside of these time periods without any notification to ensure that all pets are cared for.
Otherwise, these are the general approximate time periods we follow:
- AM/ Morning Visits 5am – 9am
- MID/Work-day Visits 10am to 3pm
- Supper Visits 4pm to 7pm
- PM/ Night Visits 7pm to 9pm
Maximum number of visits to one address in one day is THREE (3).
Remember that you are paying for a pet sitter’s time to come to your home, which saves you stress, time, gas and money.
All scheduled paid visits include up to a 10 minute travel time to your home and the time left will be spent for pet care (unless you live farther than 10 minutes, then all travel time round trip must be included).
The remaining time starts when the sitters exits the car at your home and ends when they return to their car.
During these visits pet sitters are required to check in with our office and will write you a short note, so you know a sitter was there.
Longer visits include all of the services as our regular visits with more time to spend with your pets or in some cases must include travel to your home.
Schedule well in advance for scheduling longer visits or custom time visit reservations.
Some visits or custom time visits may not be available on holidays and/or heavily scheduled days and/or in some areas.
EXTRAS
Keep in mind that if you ask for extra things to be done while we are at your home for pet care, such as keys that do not work easily, putting on/taking off collars, harnesses, pet jackets, wiping paws, taking off our shoes in your home/putting our shoes back on to walk pet, watering plants, all these must be done in the time constraints that you requested. .
If you want certain things done AND you want your dog to be walked for a minimum of 20 minutes, then you may need to schedule and pay for more time to get everything you want.
Online Registration – FREE
Phone Registration –
If you do NOT need help, you can do your online registration yourself for free, but if you do need help –
Have one of our office receptionists fill in your online profile with you while asking you questions via phone. Then all you need to do is go online agree to our service agreement and book your reservations for pet care whenever you need us.
House Check –
This service is for people who take their pets with them or may have no pets and want their home checked while they are away. Great for crime deterrence. We will do a quick room check and walk around outside. We can bring in mail and newspapers.
Key Lockboxes –
These are made of the same high quality that all real estate offices use. These do NOT go on door handles. Mine is mounted to my door frame in between my main door and storm door. I have had mine for over 10 years and no one even knows it is there. These are great for anyone who likes to go for walks but does not wish to have keys on them or for that unexpected person who may need to stop by your home and needs to get in. Codes can be changed at any time. No batteries, it uses a push pin system that is safe.
SERVICES
Pet Care Visits
This service is for pet care while you are away. We can schedule 1 to 3 visits per day. We will give your pets fresh food and water, take your dog out for a bathroom break, scoop litter boxes, bring in your mail and newspapers. Gives treats and lots of loving. All visits include drive time to your home with the rest of the time to spend with your pets. These visits are include arrival to departure. Time spent in your home will depend on travel time, traffic, emergency with other pets, keys not working well in your door, and if your pets are stressed having someone there. If you want a guaranteed amount of time, please choose a longer time.
Longer time periods will give pet care providers time for things you may want, like special food you may have in the fridge, we can brush pets if they enjoy that, if you want us to wipe feet each time they come in, take for a longer walk, etc.
CRATED DOGS & DOGS ONCE PER DAY PET CARE
All dogs that have access to the outside or have pee pads inside and are only scheduled for one visit per day, will require Pet Care 60, 90 or 120.
Pet Care 30 is NOT available for one visit per day for dogs.
All dogs that are CRATED while owners are away will require Pet Care 60, 90 or 120. Pet Care 30 is NOT available for crated dogs when owners are away. It is just too cruel.
Dog Walk/Mid Day
Discount Packages available
THIS SERVICE IS NOT FOR PEOPLE AWAY ON VACATION. We can walk your dog while you are on vacation but all pets will be included in all visits when you are away on vacation.
With this service, you will be home in the morning and again that night so other pets will be cared for by you.
This service is strictly for the pets who are alone all day while you are at work. We will take dogs for a walk, play with your high energy cat, talk with your bird. Just so they can get the exercise and human socialization that they cannot get while you are at work. This is the most requested service and the ultimate gift of love to your pet. Who wants to spend all day every day all alone being bored, schedule us today ! We can feed during this time, but we do not scoop litter boxes (unless you add it on) or bring in mail and newspapers. This service is strictly for exercise and attention.
If you want a guaranteed amount of time, please choose a longer visit of 60, 90 or 120.
Longer time periods will give pet care providers time for things you may want, like special food you may have in the fridge, we can brush pets if they enjoy that, if you want us to wipe feet each time they come in, take for a longer walk, etc.
Feline Fun Time
Ask for a discount package if you would like to indulge your kitty all the time while you work
Why should the DOGS have all the fun while owners are at work!! This service is strictly for the feline persuasion! We can come in and give your feline family the attention and playtime that they need.
THIS SERVICE IS NOT FOR PEOPLE AWAY ON VACATION. We can care for kitties when you are on vacation – choose Pet Care Service,
With this service, you will be home in the morning and again that night
This service is strictly for the pets who are alone all day while you are at work. We will take spend all of our time getting your kitties to play and burn off that excess energy. Just so they can get the exercise and human socialization that they cannot get while you are at work. This is a highly requested service and a gift of love to your pet. Who wants to spend all day every day all alone being bored, schedule us today ! We can feed during this time and scoop a litterbox, if you choose, but we do not bring in mail and newspapers. This service is strictly for exercise and attention. All visits include drive time to your home with the rest of the time to spend with your pets. Time spent in your home will depend on travel time, traffic, emergency with other pets, keys not working well in your door, and if your pets are stressed having someone there. If you want a guaranteed amount of time, please choose a longer visit.
Every Other Day Visits
This is our minimum level of service for healthy animals only (no medical issues). For cats, birds and small caged pets only. We will scoop litter boxes, give fresh food and water, bring in mail and newspapers, give treats and love. See Pet Care Visits.
We do NOT advise every other day visits for any pets because pets can go downhill VERY fast. We advise pets to be checked on every 24 hours as do Animal Welfare groups.
Choose more time if you would like extra care to include things you may want, like brushing pets if they enjoy that, more loves and hugs, etc.
Medications given orally or topically –
This will also include all herbs or supplements that are given
This is for pills and ointments that must be given during a pet care or mid day visit
Medical Visit (NO bronze level)
For diabetic pets or pets that may need fluids. This visit will include up to 3 pets, with 1 or 2 who may need insulin/fluids. We will also do everything in a regular pet care visit. If you need a medical visit for one pet, all visits must be scheduled as medical visits, whether we are giving medication or not, because we will schedule a special sitter for the full reservation. NOTE – we are NOT veterinarians, we are animal people who know how to give certain medications. All medical issues noticed, will be referred to the owner, their emergency contacts and veterinarian in file.
We will also do everything in a pet care visit. If you need a medical visit for one pet, all visits must be scheduled as medical visits, whether we are giving medication or not, because we will schedule a special sitter for the full reservation.
Horses and all Barn animal Visits –
For all horses, ponies, llamas, goats, etc. VERY LIMITED
We are not farm experts. Due to liability, Only sitters with this type of animal experience will be booked, which means that this service will not always be available.
Working water must be in barn with hose – Workman’s Comp will NOT let us lug water or heavy bails of hay. We can not chip ice, so water heaters will need to be installed.
Place any grain or hay on the main floor for sitter to feed to animals.
Access to feed and water all animals should be from the outside of the stall or fenced area. This is for the safety of sitters.
Workman’s Comp will not let us clean stalls so this will be for short times away, maybe a day or so.
Must have two or more emergency people available in case of any animal escaping, any malfunctions of water, heaters, etc or any other emergency.
Overnights Stays in a Clients’ Home –
Pet sitter’s will stay in your home to care for your pets while you are away. Sitters will arrive approximately 9pm and stay to approximately 6am. Arrival/departure Times will depend on sitters schedule, any pet emergencies, weather and traffic. Sitters will perform a regular am and pm pet care visit with everything included in a pet care visit above. Client to provide a bed with clean linen, internet and tv with instructions on use. Reminders and other requirements will be sent with confirmation of your reservation.
Pooper Scooping Yard – price to be determined by each yard
This service can be added on while we are there for a Pet Care Visit or Mid Day Visit
We can come in and scoop your yard for poop. This is for whatever we can clean in up while at a pet care visit.
Client must provide proper Pooper Scooping Equipment (not a shovel, etc) with bags and trash can for disposal. Yards must be safe, no ice or mud and easily accessible
Litter Box Service –
Do you HATE scooping your litter box, let us do it for you. We can come in and scoop it daily for you. Or do a one time clean, your choice. This is for whatever we can do within a regular visit of up to 30 minutes (includes travel time) Client must provide proper litter scoop (not a slotted spoon or spatula) with bags and trash can for disposal
Litter Box Clean/Scoop – Price to be determined on time
This is for a minimum of 5 times per week service, for 1 – 5 litter boxes
Client must provide proper litter scoop (not a slotted spoon or spatula) with bags and trash can for disposal
Litterbox Clean – Price to be determined on time
This is for anything less than 4 times per week service, this is for 1 – 5 litter boxes
Client must provide proper litter scoop (not a slotted spoon or spatula) with bags and trash can for disposal
Add on Litter box Scoop -Price to be determined on time
Do you HATE scooping your litter box, let us do it for you. We can come in and scoop it daily for you. This service can be added to your mid day visit.Client must provide proper litter scoop (not a slotted spoon or spatula) with bags and trash can for disposal
This is for whatever we can do within a 5 minutes.
Meet A Sitter –
Our reputation generally precedes us and most people choose to not meet a sitter, a few do. This is so you can put a face to our company. All of our sitters are 21 years old and older, must go through our interview process, orientation, shadow a senior pet sitter and if we all feel comfortable, then and only then, do they get to pet sit for us.
Meetings are very hard for us to schedule and may not fall in the route for our sitter.
Please keep in mind that we try every effort to keep one pet sitter coming and going every time you need a sitter, however, in 32+ years of being in the pet care business, we know anything can happen – Schedules are full, so you may need two sitters, a sitter becomes ill, has a family emergency, vacation, etc.
WE WORK AS A TEAM!! This could mean that any one of our sitters could come to your home at any time. Your pet care is our top priority and making sure all schedules are covered at all times. In light of this, we ask that whatever you want a sitter to know, must be written down in your pet care information. That way any sitter will know what needs to be done.
Credit Card Chargeback –
Any cancellation of charges to a credit card will result in this extra charge. Call us if you think there is a problem. We are in compliance with Credit Card company’s by letting you know, If you follow our cancellation guidelines, we will ONLY give credit for future services.
Key Return Certified Mail –
Unless you have a key lock box, we do require two sets of keys to be in our office, in your file. If ever, you choose to have your keys returned, we will only return keys to you certified mail, signature required, so we know your keys are safely in your possession.
Weekend, Holiday & Peak Surcharges –
Weekend visits will incur a surcharge
Holiday visits will incur a surcharge
Peak Travel will incur a daily surcharge
HOLIDAYS
We provide service 365 days a year including all holidays (our office is closed all holidays). There is a holiday surcharge. Days at the holiday fee are: New Year’s Eve (31), New Year’s Day (1), Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving Day AND day after (Thursday & Friday), Christmas Eve (24), Christmas Day (25).
Peak charge will apply to days a week before and a week after a holiday and for school vacation weeks
For example – If an reservation is on any day of July 3-4-5, you will pay a peak rate for each day on those days.
This is due to the HIGH demand around a holiday and travel time.
Visits Explained
We charge PER VISIT/service not by TIME
Our preference is to stay and spend time with your pet, THIS IS THE BEST PART OF OUR JOB, however, as you read on, it is not realistic.
Here is a break down for time for each Visit
-
- Any Service 30 – approx. 0 to 30 minutes
- Any Service 60 – approx. 31 to 60 minutes
- Any Service 90 – approx. 61 to 90 minutes
- Any Service 120 – approx. 91 to 120 minutes
What does this mean?
This means that your visits length can be any time in the range in minutes.
In MOST cases –
In most cases, visits will be the full time minus the 10 minute travel time
BASIC Care –
30 Level – Pet Care Bronze and Dog Walk Bronze are the very basic and the least cost effective with the least amount of time
Any service at the Bronze level is not available for any discounts
BEST VALUE –
The BEST VALUE in time and cost will be 60, 90 or 120Silver, Gold and Platinum levels.
The longer the visit, the less cost in length of time and most cost effective.
Most Requested Services –
Our most requested services are Pet Care 60 and Dog Walk 60
To ensure that we have enough time for all pets, all visits include up to a 10 minute drive time to your home, the rest of the time is spent caring for your pets. If you live more than 10 minutes away from the nearest sitter, we will need to add time to include this.
After the drive time, The remaining time starts when the sitters exits the car at your home and ends when they return to their car.
Remember to include enough time for the sitter to do what you want
There is A LOT to do in a short amount of time if you choose the 30 services
Time spent at a home, will include –
-
- Unlocking your door (make sure your keys work easily to make sure that time is not wasted here)
- Un-arming your alarm, if needed
- Greeting pets
- Finding leash, Leashing your dog, taking out for potty time
- Giving fresh food and water to each pet
- Scooping litter boxes, taking dirty litter out to garage
- Give any medications, herbs, supplements
- Bringing in mail, newspapers, packages
- If any time left, give each pet attention, love and treats
- Setting alarm
- Locking Up
- Plus add on any other things that will take time – taking off and putting on our shoes (if requested), wiping paws, etc
We are a FEAR FREE business and will not force pets to do certain things.
However, there may be times that a sitter may not be able to stay and these are things out of our control.
Here are a few examples out of our control that a sitter may not be able to stay longer OR we need to stay longer with YOUR pet –
A pet is extremely frightened of people –
In this case, we do not want to stress out the pet scared under the bed more then we have to. We will make sure there is fresh food and water, scoop litter boxes and leave, giving the pet the least amount of stress that we can
A pet got sick or had an accident and needed extra time for us to clean and make this pet comfortable –
If a pet before you were to have this happen, then we may need to shorten some visits to make sure that all the pets on our schedule are cared for in a timely manner. We do not want any pet uncomfortable waiting for a potty break or a pet who maybe diabetic to be late with insulin.
If your pet were to be sick or had an accident and needed extra time to be cleaned –
I am sure you would want us to make sure that your pet is cleaned up and not have a mess to stay in. If extra time is needed then the next few visits maybe shortened a few minutes. If there is a lot of extra time needed, then you would be notified and charged accordingly.
If there is a car accident, detour or any road or vehicle event (flat tire, etc) making the travel time longer than expected between visits –
then we may need to shorten some visits to make sure that all the pets on our schedule are cared for in a timely manner. We do not want any pet uncomfortable waiting for a potty break or a pet who may be diabetic to be late with insulin.
Any Weather Condition –
If there is any weather condition that may be uncomfortable to pets or employees, visits may be shortened, especially if any weather makes driving conditions hazardous.
Heat (temps or heat index over 80 degrees)
some pets have a hard time breathing, or pavement could burn paws or if a pet really is too hot to do anything. If you know that temps and humidity will be high, for pets to be comfortable, please have your ACs on. This will also keep sitters comfortable while they are playing with pets inside. Many pets, just like people just do not like hot humid weather, we will not force any pet.
Storms
If there is thunder, lightning or downpours, pets could be frightened and may try to run away, we will do quick potty breaks and bring in for safety. Many pets do not like to be out in the rain and we will not force them.
Any snow condition
may result in shorter visits to get employees home safe and sound.
Cold weather
We have been seeing very cold temperatures. We will not put pets or sitters at risk by staying out longer than necessary in very cold weather. If you know that temps will be low, for pets to be comfortable, please set your heat at a reasonable temperature. This will also keep sitters comfortable while they are playing with pets inside.
SAFETY
We can NEVER have any pet or employee’s safety in jeopardy and reserve the right to make any decision we deem necessary in order to do this, as well as making sure that EVERY pet is cared for which may result in shorter visits.
However, keep in mind that we LOVE all the pets in our care and really WANT to stay and love them.
We do have amazing people and they have always put the animals first.
So what would be a ZERO minute Visit as indicated above?
Well, that would be a visit not cancelled in the appropriate time or owners were home and forgot to cancel and the sitter showed up.
What if I want a certain amount of time spent at my home?
You would need to book Any Service 60, 90 or 120. Let us know what you would like and we will try very hard to accommodate.
Exceptions to minimums maybe needed, If there was a severe emergency, where a pet was rushed to the emergency hospital or severe weather, or any other emergency, we will try to make up time over the next few visits, however, it may not always be possible. In any event, we will do our best.
Any service 30 can not have a minimum time, we only have time to do basic care. It is the shortest amount of time and we can not guarantee or control that any of the above scenarios or more not mentioned above will not happen to require shorter visits.
In general, unless there is any problem, Any Service 30, sitters are there approximately 20 minutes.
Again, we CHARGE PER VISIT/service not by time