Horsesitters – Who can you trust?
Dec 19 2009
I read a story once – it might even have been a reader of this blog’s comment – where a young lady found the man of her dreams and headed off on a European honeymoon with him. She entrusted her much-loved cat to her best friend, who promised to come by and care for him. Confident that kitty would be loved and provided for, she got married and headed off for a wonderful two weeks.
She came home to…a dying cat.
Yes, Best Friend had completely failed to do as she had agreed and stop by to care for the cat. Without even water, he was too far gone and could not be saved. The newly-married girl, who should have been enjoying one of the happiest times of her life, was plunged into deep depression and guilt over the entire incident.  It brings up a great question – really, who CAN you trust to care for your pets? With so many of us heading out for holiday trips, it’s a timely topic. Here are my thoughts on ensuring a similar train wreck never happens to you.
1. Backup. Even the most responsible person may have a crisis of their own. Ensure that whoever is watching your pets has several numbers to call of people who can come by in a pinch and provide care. Discuss whatever system will work for ensuring those people have the access they need – keys, gate codes, etc. If you are using someone you have not used before, having someone else make some visits to ensure all is well is a great idea.
2. Site-Check Yourself! Look at your property like you are a rescuer inspecting it to see if it is a safe place for an animal to live. Check for places in the fence where an animal could escape or get injured, loose nails, loose wire and other hazards. The last thing you want to have happen is an escape or a horse get hung up in fence when someone is only stopping by twice a day to feed.
3. Plan and Prepare. Have plenty of everything – hay, grain, etc. And label things! One friend came home to find that her non-horsey hubby had fed the horses straw the whole time she was gone. It is always best to have a real horseperson care for the horses for just this sort of reason, but if you are trusting a non-horsey family member, make it easy for them with clear signs, labels, and measuring cups/scoops.
4. Plan and Prepare for ANYTHING. What happens if the power goes out? Do you have a generator? Does the sitter know how to use it – for sure? Any chance the pipes will freeze and getting water will be a problem? What then?  We ALL know how often Murphy’s Law applies around animals…odds are if you’re ready for anything, it won’t happen, but if you’re not, you can bet on it taking place.
5. Hire like a H.R. Director! Actually check references, and ideally use someone that someone you know has used before. Look them up in your local court’s web site, if they have a search feature. This is not an invasion of privacy. I don’t care if someone does that to me because I know there’s no animal cruelty case with my name on it.
6. Consider commercial boarding for your dogs and cats. Commercial boarding is not always bad. I would particularly recommend Petsmart, which offers 24/7 supervision at their Petshotels. Commercial boarding is a great choice for (a) animals that pose a high risk of escape – door dashers, etc. (b) animals that LOVE to socialize, like the dog who loves to play with other dogs and is lonely alone. (c) animals that are destructive – the chewers, the stress-pee’ers, the diggers. Stick with in-home, if possible, for kitties unless they’re social and outgoing, and small dogs that are always cold and are very upset by change. Check out the facility that you use and find out how often the animals get out of their cages, what the standards are for cleanliness, and what the standards are for disease control. Don’t use a place that lets anyone in the door without all vaccinations, or a place that does not have a quarantine area that is totally separate for an animal that comes down with kennel cough or an upper respiratory.
7. Inform! You know that Levi and Buffy will kick the living shit out of each other if turned out in the same field, that FluffyPony doesn’t straight tie, that Shadow can’t go anywhere near the goats or he’ll have heart failure and snort all day, and that Champ has been known to kick if you try to clean the stall with him in it. Your pet sitter has no way of knowing information like this unless you tell her. Barn stuff too – the hot water won’t come on unless you switch the valve 5 feet higher up the wall on, etc.  Sit down when it’s quiet and write down everything you can think of.
8. Be accessible. Most likely you are not going to some remote corner of the world where there is no way to contact you. Make sure everybody has your cell phone and your cell phone is always on, loud enough to hear at parties. Give some backup contacts like good horsey friends who have the authority to make decisions about whether or not to call the vet in your absence. And make sure everybody knows which vet you prefer. This information should always be posted in the barn. Vets enjoy the holidays, too, so list at least 3 choices in case some of your vets are out of town.
9. Don’t leave your petsitter a problem. If an animal needs to go to the vet, get them in there early this week before you take off. Don’t think that maybe it will be okay ’til you get back – that almost always goes bad!
10. If you have pets that are elderly or in some way in a chronic precarious health condition (including pregnancy!), pay the money and get someone who actually stays at your house and is there almost all of the time. Someone dropping by twice a day to feed and water is just too risky – what if something goes wrong and the animal suffers for 8 hours, or worse yet, your pet sitter arrives to find a dying pet? Just among my circle of friends this holiday season, I’ve seen a mare – that was ultrasounded without this being discovered – turn out to be carrying twins and abort them and prolapse her uterus. If they had not been home, she would have died. Can you imagine coming home to that scene? Just pay the money – you won’t regret it.
What experiences can you share about petsitters that worked out or didn’t? Who was great? Who was a nightmare? How do you make sure your animals are safe and cared for without totally giving up any ability on your part to travel and have a life?
116 comments to “Horsesitters – Who can you trust?”
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i always leave the veterinary contact information, and a signed statement giving the caregiver authorization for euthanasia if it is in the best humane interest of the animal, based on veterinary attendance and administration and if i cannot be reached for consult. backup caregivers always, a list of 3 in order of animal care experience.
We left our dog with a petsitter once for vacation. They assured us that he would be fed and watered everyday and could roam the back yard. We got back and he was tied to a tree on a leash (about 3 or 4 feet long). Wrapped around the tree, shivering, drenched in mud (it had been raining all week, supposedly). Water bowl was empty/upside down and way out of reach, and the food bowl had about a handful of wet moldy food in it, also way out of reach. Even just within that one week, our dog lost a ton of weight.
From then on we didn’t trust strangers who were supposedly “pet smart”, we left our dog with our cousins who we can trust!
BTW, this I found hilarious: http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/grd/1492533231.html
Is that Larry the Cable Guy??????
As a young teen, I was almost responsible for a petsitting disaster. The neighbors hired me to feed their big outdoor dogs; they also left me a key so that I could get into the house and feed their fish. They left for two weeks.
On Day 3, I dropped the house key down a crack in the porch. The raised porch with the completely boarded-up crawlspace into which I could not get without ripping pieces off the siding. I had no emergency contact number for the couple. No backup. No way to get into the house without doing damage.
I took the best care I could of the dogs and showed up at their door on the day of their return, waiting for an angry tirade about the fish. Instead, I got a check and a hearty handshake. “I don’t know what you did, but our fish look great!” the couple told me. “So perky, so alert! And the water is so clean!”
I winced and confessed. “Wow,” the husband said thoughtfully, “my mom keeps telling me that I overfeed those fish and I guess she was right!”
Whew. It could have been SO much worse. Please, leave your petsitter a way to contact you, just in case, and have a backup in mind.
On this subject, I am offering horse and farm sitting this winter (or anytime,really), I do have references, good ones to boot, and have experience with almost anything that can go wrong with a horse. I live in North Snohomish County (WA) and will travel to south Skagit, Camano, and as far out as Monroe. Have my own reliable transportation, and I’m even willing to pick up feed if needed (before you go). I’m even available last minute
If you’d like to contact me directly, my e-mail is fishingirl89@yahoo.com.
We are lucky in that we have a hobby farm, but we still manage to travel a lot. We ALWAYS pay someone to stay at the farm when we’re gone on holidays — usually $50/day for two horses, three goats, four dogs and three cats. It’s a bargain compared to boarding out, and so much easier. We’re currently in Australia for 6 months, but have left our place in the hands of a responsible 19-year-old 4Her in exchange for (1) free board for her horse, which helps her save money for school, (2) the opportunity to learn what it is like to manage the kind of property she dreams of owning one day, and (3) a chance to get out from under her family’s wing for a while. She came highly recommended from someone in the horse community that I know and trust, and it has worked out like a dream. My best advice is to consider young people. They often need the money (to support their own horses, their cars, their education, themselves), have flexible living arrangements, and many of them are completely capable and responsible adults.
Also, she teases me about how hyper organized I am, but it really does help to think of all the things that could go wrong and how I would deal with them — then write it down! She’s got a 20 page manual for the property and pets, but once it’s written you can always have it handy.
I don’t have to worry about my horse, thankfully, as he is boarded. I completely and fully trust my coach and his wife, and my vet, to make emergency decisions for me if I am gone and they can’t reach me. They’re all friends in addition to people I simply pay bills to. I do have 3 cats and am fortunate to have my parents and brother who can come take care of them when I’m gone – they’ve all had cats, so they’re experienced. My oldest cat gets sub-cutaneous fluids injected every other day for kidney failure and my parents have learned how to do it. We have family friends whose cat also got sub-q fluids and I was the designated fluid-giver when they went out of town. They didn’t trust their neighbors with the task so I was happy to do it for them – it’s so vital for a cat in kidney failure to get these fluids – so a neighbor kid would feed the cat, and I’d just come for the injections. I know I could always ask them to come to do fluids for my cat if my parents would happen to be out of town at the same time as I am. I suppose I am very fortunate!
I do pet- and house-sitting on the side and as the person that NEEDS those tips about Muffy and Star and Rover, this list is great!
When I worked at a professional doggy daycare kinda place, we had contracts for every “pet parent” to sign. In addition to emergency contact information (for the owners, a trusted contact with authority to make decisions, and vet names and numbers) we also had a sheet to authorize emergency vet care in the event that we could not reach ANYONE. They had the option of giving us either a set limit (such as $500), or for us to do whatever it took to treat the animal. I don’t know what would have happened if a dog with a limit of $500 would have ended up needing $800 in immediate care, but thankfully it never happened while I worked there.
After witnessing Murphy’s Law in action a few times, I’m getting a similar contract written up for my clients in the future. It’s something that you hope to never use, but it’s indispensable should you NEED it.
Also, this is a good reason to stay on good terms with your vets and have a credit card (or two) on file with them; I have backup funds for my pets, but couldn’t afford to cover someone else’s animals out of pocket and trust that they would pay me back — even long-time clients I know very well.
My favorite clients always give me a written list of responsibilities, even if I’ve watched their animals before and know the routine, plus an itinerary of their trip and hotel phone numbers. (They also stock the fridge with yummy, nutritious goodies and frozen dinners when I’m staying over, which makes my life that much easier!) Putting it in writing is good insurance for everyone, as there’s no he said-she said if things don’t get done.
OT but way to scare kids out of every wanting to be involved in riding…
Another parental FAIL
But they’re FINE, they just got the breath knocked out of them. Did you hear the “I wanna ride the horsee” whine after the big wreck? Sometimes kids don’t know enough to be scared….
Don’t know if the sarcasm came through……
I don’t trust anyone!! I worry every minute that I am gone – for my cats and my horses. The cats go the the vet – and I have had 5 different ones in the last 11 years because they keep messing up. One put the two together even though I specifically told them not to – and PAID for separate cages. The last one didn’t notice that my cat had caught his lower jaw in his collar and handed him back to me with the elastic embedded in his lower jaw!!!!! She then proceeded to blame it on me – “Must have happened in the 2 minute trip on your way home” Uh – no it didn’t. The blood had long dried on his jaw when I took him out of the carrier when I got home from the one mile trip. At another vet, they mixed up the cats and gave medication to the wrong cat – they had them labeled wrong even though they had on ID tags with their names. I worry the most about them. The vets really don’t care, but home care is even worse in my area.
My one horse has an unlimited hay supply and I purchased a timed grain feeder. I know it is $$, but it is worth it. The neighbor comes over to make sure the water is OK. I use a 100 gallon tub that has a heater in the winter. I never leave her for more than 4 days. I leave every number imaginable and call to see how things are going. My other horse is at a friend’s house. When she is out of town, I go over several times a day and spend several hours with all of the horses – and dogs and cats and chickens and guineas and ferret – oh my!!
Horse sitting and cat sitting are the reason I do not take too many trips. NO ONE can take care of them as well as I can because no one cares about them the way I do.
uniquehorsetrailers.blogspot.com
I used to pet-sit quite a bit when I was a teenager. The most amusing charge that I had was an absolutely ancient parekeet named Rocko. I had to give him all kinds of vitamins, supplements — even Gatorade. The best part was that, every time he came to my house, his owner brought one of those large, hard plastic soap containers that come with Clinique soaps. I was instructed that, were Rocko to die, I was supposed to put him in his Clinique “casket,” put that in a plastic bag, and stick it in the freezer at the owners’ house. Thankfully, he always pulled through when I was caring for him!
I get to see both ends being that I have a farm and that I am a house/ pet/ farm sitter. It is rare that everyone is gone from my farm (my hubby’s parents and brother live there), but if I need someone to take care of them I am very fortunate to have several people that I can 100% trust to take care of things (esp because a lot of my for fun traveling includes things like hiking the Appalachian trail where I am inaccessible). One thing that I have worked out with a couple of friends and family members is that I take care of their places for free if they do the same in return for me- works out great and they all know my horses pretty well to begin with.
As a pet sitter- one thing that I’ve actually had happen to me over the years is pets dying while their owners are away (nothing I did and nothing that was predictable or preventable). Its really scary, but having knowing what an owner would want you to do with the animal if that happens is really helpful. Also, have the owners not only leave the vet/ farrier numbers, but also numbers of people like the plumber, electrician and oil/ gas guy.
One of the craziest things that I had happen to me was when a long time client went to Europe for a month in January. We had a huge snow storm (I wasn’t staying there) and the roads were impassible (state of emergency, drifted over the hood of my truck impassible). I got as far as I could driving and then walked the rest of the way, a good couple of miles, and then ended up staying at their farm for the next couple days while having hubby take care of my guys.
Has anyone else noticed that your animals invariably get sick right before you go on vacation? And you have to trust someone else to treat them?
Thereby ruining your vacation because no one knows your animals like you do? And all you do, the whole vacation long, is worry.
We only trade pet care with family. Too many issues otherwise. We do take care of neighbors animals if they ask, because we are right here and we have a zoo ourselves, so why not? But we don’t ask them to petsit unless absolutely necessary. They are willing, and responsible, but I am a control freak!
Re: the opening story, honestly even if I have someone I trust coming over to check on things, I *always* make sure that there is plenty of water for the cats and more than enough kibble to last for the time I’m gone. Cats (except those that require medications) should be *easy.* When I used to travel a lot for work, I had only cats because they could be safely left for a few days. I find it hard to believe that a cat should run out of water. If nothing else, you can leave the toilet lid open and kitty should have a good supply of water! Anyway, I have trusted friends who will come by and stay when I have to travel, and I will take in their pets when they have to travel. Usually money doesn’t change hands–we figure it all evens out and sometimes one will take the other out to dinner or bring back a cool gift from the trip….
Well I’m going to be busy pet sitting over the holidays.
I have friends going away and we have all had bad boarding or pet sitting experiences. I honestly don’t know what we’d do if we couldn’t rely on each other. Including my pets I’ll be looking after a rabbit, a horse, 2 ponies, 3 birds, 4 cats, 5 dogs ‘and a partridge in a pear tree’. lol Thankfully the cats all get along and the dogs think it’s a special treat to all get together.
The best part is we all know that in an emergency we only need to make a call and our pets will be taken care of.
Good advice–I once left my very precious dog with my (ex) friend –she stayed at my place–she got offered another shift at work and did not come home for over 20 hours–she worked two blocks from my place– and left my dog all alone for almost 24 hours–her only comment–oh yeah he was really good he did not make a mess–I truly thought this woman had a brain and my dog was in safe hands…..this was 25 fears ago and I am excruciatingly careful now–I learned my lesson–people who seem kind, thoughtful and responsible just aren’t ..sad but true.
I would go further than Fugs— don’t leave your horses with a non-horsey person EVER–they might think rolling stretching, and checking out their belly to be a cute sort of game….
If I pet sit for someone I insist on being allowed to spend nights there. If everything’s fine and the drive isn’t that bad I’ll go home at night but I’d rather be able to sleep there for a week in case someone gets sick or the weather turns bad. I’ve also had much less trouble with social animals who are used to having their humans around all the time, they don’t get anxious and mob me nearly as much.
For horses, my barn had a rule that said that self-care boarders must pay extra for their horses for the days they were out of town. That way if the sitter turned out to be useless, the barn would take care of them without having to recoup the losses afterwards, if they didn’t have to do anything, the money would be deducted from the next month’s board. Very few people had problems as the boarders mostly traded off during peak vacation times. I always made up everything in advance, plus extra in case we got delayed or food “disappeared.” Grain and supplements were measured and put in ziploc bags that went in a tupperware box with instructions Sharpied on the lid. Hay bales got apart and retied with baling twine so that there was no arguement over how much two flakes was. I also (and this saved me thousands in vet bills) xeroxed all my vet records and put them in my tack trunk in case anything happened and my regular vet couldn’t be reached. Sure enough, I went out of the country for a month and Memphis colicked. Sitter called my parents but they know nothing about horses so when the vet showed up she gave them the records and the vet was able to go “Ok, this is colic even though he’s not doing x, y, z because he’s doing exactly what he always does.” Much more helpful for him to know that than to try and guess why a horse he’s never seen is eating and drinking but refuses to get up.
The worst story I ever heard was from one of my dad’s friends. The lady’s trainer went out of town to a show and there was massive flash flooding while she was gone (nothing she could’ve predicted), the working students who lived on the property were told to check on the horses if the weather got bad and to let them out with the neighbour’s cows if the water started rising. The girls didn’t want to go out in the cold to see if things were ok and they had a mare and four foals drown and another two mares that needed euthanizing because they’d been badly injured by the flooding. All because two silly girls couldn’t be bothered to go check outside and open a gate to let the horses onto higher ground.
Apaprently it wasn’t even necessary to lead the horses out, the mares knew they were safe there and would’ve gone to the high ground on their own, the horses that did get out were found up by the dairy barn the next day, perfectly happy and enjoying their breakfast.
I house sit and baby sit quite a bit and MOST of the time I have happy stories.
By far the worst, and the one I fume over was my last job. I work for a animal rescue and one of our major foster homes was going on vacation, and by major, I mean at no time does she have less then around 15 fosters at a time, sometimes more. Tough her ‘soft’ limit is 20 or so, you know how it is when you get that call and its “you take it or it dies”… yeah
Plus she has a BIG house and wanted someone in the house while she was gone, to lighten the work on me, she moved all her personal cats to her mother-in-law. So I would only have her dog, and her fosters, plus my dog.
There where a few major things that went wrong, in the first two days one of the fosters, a cat that just had an amputation crashed, I spent all night up with her giving fluids and was on the phone with the vet when they opened to get the green light to rush her in right away (she was crashing, hard, temp non-responsive, both ends leaking, bad). Ran in rain so heavy I couldn’t see the road, but because of it that cat lived. Turned out she broke with distemper, and took twice a day to three times a day fluids, plus heavy meds to save her, that and full quarantine from the kittens.
That’s the GOOD news…
One of her cats, a botle fed she raised, and nursed though hell and back in illness as bottle feds can be prone to, right before she left was breathing heavy, almost like a light asmatic. We could find nothing to cause it so I told her to see a vet, well she told her mother in law if it got worse to call us. That I was in the house, and gave many numbers to get me or my mother.
She called, but she called the rescue’s number and rather then leave a message she hung up… 2 weeks and 5 days later I get a frantic call from the one I was house sitting for. Her mother-in-law has just called, the cat has not eaten in the whole 2 weeks, and when she tried to force it, he bit her (he was NOT a biter). She thought we needed to see him THEN, and right then. She never called me, never showed UP even (she knew I was living in the house) didn’t even call the house where I was picking up messages!
So we called her, gave directions, she walked in the door and I pulled him out of the kennel. He was gasping, it was worse then any asthmatic person I’ve seen, he was dehydrated, and what part of his gums that whern’t white where the “oh my god I can’t breath” purple. I started fluids as my mom chased her mother-in-law out, and we mad a frantic call to his owner, not asking, telling her that he was going to the ER Vet but we feared we where going to have to put him down. He looked like death and hell collided head on. The reason he was biting? anything that even got close to him when he was mouth breathing choked him!
Scared he’d suffocate in the kennel we loaded him in my lap on a towel, the ER vet that was maybe 10 min drive, we made it in 5 or less. I’m not sure I can say my mom did not break any laws that night.
As we parked I grabbed him to lift him and he went limp.
He died, in my arms, in the vet’s parking lot.
Worst phone call we’ve ever had to make, because it wasn’t a foster, it was her pet, her baby. I’m sure it ruined her last 2 days of her vacation for her whole family.
It was 100% preventable, and he should have been a vet much sooner then that state, to this day I think she has problems talking/sitting next to/being around her mother-in-law. I only wish we could have done more (years of vet tech work and working with the rescue means we can handle minor emergency/shock to stabilize to get to the vet, but he was so far gone we didn’t think twice other then to start sub-q fluids to rush him to a vet).
I made her swear next year, she’s leaving her pets with me AND the fosters… I don’t care if I have to bring in a friend to help clean/keep up. I never want to see her babies die due to to stupidity.
Other then that the most minor other issue I had was a dog I was baby sitting jump my fence and take three people chasing him though yards, to catch, but at least it was around 6 am when there was no traffic on a weekend, just made me late to work.
and yes it’s true anytime you leave expect the worst, I’ve had to make so many vet runs, or start meds/ect while people are gone so make SURE the person isn’t just ‘pet friendly’ but KNOWS how to act, in a bad situation, and who to go to (vet, friend, call you?) and isn’t likely to panic at say, the sight of blood and puke, and babble at the vet who will not have a clue what is wrong!
We show quite a bit and someone has to stay. Most of the time, it’s me because I just don’t trust others with my babies. But for the major shows like the Regionals and Nationals, they aren’t local and we have to have someone come in to feed. I worry the whole time.
My dogs ALWAYS come with me. They are obedient and quiet, no problems there. Only barn cats, and I have guinea pigs. Easy to care for.
Last year, we had a colt who choked and had to be fed wet food only. No hay, just Equine Senior soup. TOLD the sitter this. SOUP. WATER WITH SENIOR. She made it too dry. He choked while we were at Regionals. Made her take him to the vet’s and leave him there. They cleared it. Three days later, he died. Did the choke cause his death? I don’t know. But I’d bet it contributed to it. Add one $500 vet bill for a dead horse.
Another time the sitter didn’t close the gate to our 26″ stallion’s field and he got in with our open mares (where’s the hair-pulling smilie when you need it?) FORTUNATELY we had no unplanned foals. She said when she caught him he was exhausted… you don’t say? The best part- there was NO REASON to go into his field. All feeding was done over the fence!
So yeah, I’m paranoid.
We have had a series of sitters over the last 20 years. One poor guy, nice bright kid, had a garage break-in, a cat seized, and the basement flooded all in 2 weeks. None of it his fault of course. One guy reassured me that “my wife was raised on a ranch and knows all about horses.”. After 2 weeks, we come home to find when they mucked, they only took away the peed shavings they could see from the top, you know, the 3 inch spot over the 16 inch spot under the clean shavings. Total stripping of stalls, the ammonia smell was gagging, luckily the horses were out 12 hours a day at least. We used a lovely experienced reliable young woman for years, but darn it, she grew beyond house sitting! Our daughter is 19 and does it now, resentful of the pages of instructions and calls to check. One thing our prior regular sitter asked, if we had an elderly pet, was if we wanted to be notified if the pet died. A considerate point to iron out in advance I think. One story she told was caring for a herd of horses, going out in the field and finding a horse with a serious chest wound. Much worry until the vet arrived, and explained the horse had a permanent tracheostomy! No one had told her. I dread the day our daughter outgrows this, my husband loves to travel (with me included, oddly enough) and I worry the entire time about the 9 cats (+ 4 ferals), 4 dogs (2 if which try to kill each other so must be separated at all times), and 5 horses. But I will find someone good (word of mouth at work, lots of pet owners) when daughter no longer wishes to sit. Then leave detailed instructions, call often, and pay with tip.
I had a petsitter about ten years ago that was a high school girl in the neighborhood. She loved animals and was better with them than most people three times her age and ‘years of experience’. Once, I gave her the wrong key – she knew where the extra one was… so she crawled in through the doggy door at the top of my basement stairs! I bet she got a LICKIN from the three Airedales I had at the time, welcoming her into their home!
After moved to FL and married my husband -his two Airedales and my TWO (by then) made quite a foursome. We had to board all four of them a couple of times. One of his acted like she was going to a spa weekend. One of mine thought she was in prison. The other two just bided their time happiliy, and celebrated when we came to take them home.
10. If you have pets that are elderly or in some way in a chronic precarious health condition (including pregnancy!), pay the money and get someone who actually stays at your house and is there almost all of the time.
I use an in-home sitter because I have 2 dogs and 2 cats and a rabbit in the house so it is more economical for me to pay an in-home sitter rather than to board. If you do use an in-home sitter make sure to set rules and boundaries up front no matter who you use, friend, relative, professional, etc. I had a relative animal sit several years ago while our family was on vacation, I thought that I had covered all the bases before I left but never thought to set rules and limits as far as the house was concerned. She is older, single, doesn’t smoke or drink so I didn’t really think about her having company that might not respect my house as she did. When I returned home I found that someone had not only searched practically every inch of my bedroom but I had clothing and lingerie missing and someone had slept in my bed. I was certain that the relative had not done it as she could not fit in to my clothing and she had animal sat for me on several occasions with no problems, however since nothing else was missing I knew something was “fishy” so I confronted her about it and she admitted to allowing her daughter and a friend to visit and spend the night. Had I have even thought she might have someone in the house that I didn’t know I would have told her no and no overnight guests period. So if you are going to use an in-home sitter make sure you tell them exactly what you expect not only pertaining to your animals but to your house and personal space. You can also ask a friend or neighbor to drop by unannounced a couple of times, people are less likely to do anything questionable if they know someone might be dropping by.
I always asked the homeowner, “Where is the main water cutoff? If it’s strange/complicated, please show me how to do it.” Everyone I’ve house sat was surprised and pleased, and some realized they didn’t know where it was or how to turn it off themselves. But trust me, if you need to know, you really NEED TO KNOW.
How to turn off the alarm system if it’s accidentally tripped. How to reset it if different from normal ops. Giving the alarm company the house sitter’s password, and letting you know what that is. Preferred vet, preferred backup vet, other contact person if desired.
Everyone I have house sat has told me where a spare is hidden, or the best way to break in the house if you have to. I am a well loved and trusted house sitter =D
I’ve been lucky and never had any pets perish, although there was one dog, from the first day I met him, I was convinced would die on my watch, at any moment. He lived another year and half after I had moved away… tough old guy!
Some pet owners are great and really let you know how to take care of their babies… mix the medicine this way, “code words”, sit right next to him so Mickey doesn’t eat Mouse’s food (not kidding), the valium if Daisy Mae gets upset by storms is in this cupboard. Idiosyncrasies are nice to know, too. Mickey and Mouse are Italian greyhounds, they will sleep with you under the covers. One nervous Aussie would always have a nice bile vomit puddle for me the first day the family left. How to deal with their seizures if they have them often. If Bruno’s nose is bleeding, it’s just the cancer…
I’ve watched places with 4 or 5 horses and a few dogs and cats that took longer than the 30 horse, 8 dog, 2 goat, 10 cow, 2 cat, and 2 parrot place, strictly due to organization (stalls not included on that time tally ;~)
Also watched lizards, snakes, fish… A chicken that always flew out of the run the other chickens were in, and you had to catch her and tuck her safely back away.
I am Boyfriend
Oh, and not strictly related to house sitting, but when I rode on the equestrian team in college, there were “certain horses” that if you were assigned that one in your lesson, you made sure a trusted friend knew what your evening responsibilities were at other horse farms in the area and have a good contact number for the owner: feeding, bring in and feeding, full house sitting, just stalls, etc., so she could call the owner, or take care of the chores herself if she also worked at that barn
Some of the TBs we rode were kind of flaky at times… like the one we nicknamed Flipper.
And it’s not fair to hungry horses elsewhere that you had “a bad ride”.
We have one cat that the vet recommends we NEVER board anywhere, because of his health conditions. We’ve had one bad petsitter experience — a professional who had always been reliable just didn’t turn up one time. We’d confirmed with her beforehand, but when we got home, she clearly hadn’t been by in at least a few days. I tried to get in touch with her to find out what had happened, but never could. Still don’t know what happened.
One thing we always did — and I’m sure glad of it, after that! — is leave the toilet lid up. (We don’t use bleach tablets or anything like that in the tank.) That way, we KNEW our cats would get water, no matter what. Our current petsitter is a friend, but my mother and a neighbor are there for backup.
The dog boards at her vet’s. She’s a great favorite there.
I worked for a professional doggy day care/petsitting service for almost a year, being a horse person, I was most often taking care of horses and other farm animals. The company was bonded, licensed, and insured. Being with a professional group, there were backups if something happened to me and we had an emergency situation. I could also call my boss about certain things (she was a vet tech) and we would decide together what to do.
We had a contract with a vet release, all animal information, information on where the electrical box, water shut off, etc were located in the house, emergency contacts, etc. If it was an overnight we were to wash the sheets and put them back on the bed, trash taken out, everything as we found it (ie I ain’t cleaning up the mess the owner left behind..). It is extremely helpful to get those tips about fluffly does this in thunderstorms, this horse likes to escape if you don’t put the snap on the door latch, etc. We had a free “pre-visit” where we saw the place, took notes, etc.
My biggest pet peeve was that my boss would give them an estimate when they called… and when I got there, it would take twice as long to do chores, OR there was 30 chickens in the back that the owner “forgot” to tell us about. OR they would also ask me to come at 11 pm or something like that- when they weren’t paying for overnights- OR they would ask me to make an extra visit in the middle of the day. Sorry, this is not the neighborhood teenager, I have to get paid for EACH visit as this is a source of income, and I would like to be asleep by 11 as I have another visit at 6 am, thank you.
As someone said, if you have a special needs pet, like an older dog that needs to pee every four hours, it is best to board them. If you do choose to board them, if they will not let you see the kennels and play area, even on an appointment, don’t leave your dog there. must require vaccinations, etc. The places that I love are the ones that let dogs play together. The nicer ones even have a “trial run” to make sure your dog is social and well behaved.
If you do choose to go with the teenager a friend recommended, make sure they are over 18, the person who recommended them has used them more than once, and that they have at least 2 or 3 references, and check them. I would be leery of the people who advertise as pet sitters, if they are not insured. I thought about advertising myself, but thought I could get into a heap of trouble if I am not set up as a professional business..fyi… word of mouth and friends of friends is one thing, but if something were to happen, and someone could prove that I was advertising myself as a professional…yikes!!
My old neighbors hired me to take care of their dog and cat while they were away for two weeks. The cat I can understand, but I have no idea why they didn’t board the dog. Two weeks is just too long. I went over twice a day to feed them and tie the dog outside (it was summertime) and again to bring her inside and put her in her crate. I felt so bad for the dog… for the entire two weeks, she was either on a chain in the back yard or in her crate. I made the mistake of letting the dog out of her crate for about 45 minutes (because she started loosing her marbles after about the first week), and she chewed a whole the circumference of a basketball in the front of their sofa. Luckily, it was a really old sofa and they weren’t mad about it.
I don’t go on vacation very often, but when I do, I have two barn friends whom I trust completely. One of them is my trainer, and I know that she’ll look out for my guys and she’ll know if anything is wrong and what to do if something happens. I still worry, naturally, and that’s why I don’t go on vacation very often. I spend the whole time missing my beauties. ;D
My sister’s boyfriend has a roommate who keeps his dog in a crate whenever he’s not home. And the boyfriend isn’t a dog person. His roommate isn’t home most of the time! That poor dog, my sister takes him out when she’s there. It’s possible the dog lives like that all the time.
When I was 9, I got a kitten from the animal shelter. He was technically my cat, but when I moved out of my parents’ house, he stayed there. When my parents were on vacation one summer I was pet-sitting for them. I let my cat out one morning, and that was the last time I ever saw him. He was 14 and mostly deaf by then, so his time was probably coming, I guess. I’ve pet-sat and farm-sat for other people and fortunately never had a problem, but the fact that I lost my own cat while pet sitting does make me feel guilty. I think what makes it worse is that he usually wanted to go out first thing when I came over in the morning, but that day I actually had to wake him up to let him out. If only I’d let him sleep…
When I was 10 we took a family vacation and my grandparents stayed at our house to pet-sit the cat and my baby brother. They brought their two cats with them, and one of them ate my goldfish. I was kinda miffed.
That’s about the extent of my horror stories, though, so I’ve been fairly lucky.
We were just talking about something like that to my trainer tonight, actually. A friend of ours, many years ago, had her own barn and it needed some construction done on it. Well, she left for a trip to Hawaii- and came back to find out that a construction worker had left a space heater running overnight, and it had set the barn on fire. Luckily one of the neighbors saw the burning barn and got the horses out, but two of the horses had their manes and blankets on fire. I think they got one of the fires out, and the other horse had the intelligence to roll in the snow the minute she got outside and put it out. But if she didn’t have a diligent neighbor who knew to get the animals out, all the horses would have probably died. I don’t know who was caring for the animals at the time, but obviously the constuction worker was at fault.
Of course, even in the hands of people you deem as capable things happen. My trainer was going to Europe and left her stallion (Very nice Dressage horse- Definitely stallion quality) at a local boarding facility for the time. The place wasn’t run down or especially poorly managed- But she got a call saying the barn had burned, and they hadn’t been able to get her horse out.
Personally, our horses live out, and none of them have any medical issues- We have our neighbors come over and take care of the chickens and cats at least daily, and our farrier comes by often to give hay and check water. It’s worked out pretty well, but we make sure they all have our numbers and we usually call the farrier mid-trip to make sure everything is going well.
Luckily I board my horse, so leaving him while I am on vacation isn’t as big of a deal, but our cats and dogs however we always have to a sitter. One Christmas we hired a highly recommended girl to care for our cats and dogs. She was there more to watch and make sure they were o.k. than to feed and water, as we leave extra out cause we are only gone for about 3 days. Not only did she not refill the water or food, she stole all of our jewelry, diamonds (including my moms engagement ring and cradle), sapphires, amethysts etc. My mom was devastated and the girl actually skipped town and the cops did nothing! Needless to say the cats get left extra food and water and the dog comes with us anytime we leave.
At my old barn the BM left for a day trip and left one of the boarders in charge of watching/feeding the horses. One of the horses started to colic, and the boarders didn’t have a CLUE what the horse was doing. They watched the poor thing fail and thrash about for a good 30 mins before the owners came by to ride for the day. The owners recognized right off what was going on, but by then it was too late. By the time the vet arrived the horse had to be put down. I ended up leaving the barn because the BM kept leaving these idiots in charge when she was away, I certainly didn’t want anything happening to my horse while a dumb ass in charge!
I just saw this horse rescue story on my local paper’s website.
“Together, a Crafton woman and a New Jersey vet save a mare and restore her dignity.”
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09353/1022003-62.stm
What a terrific story, Jacquez. Thanks for the link. At the time of year and with all the angst going on in the “great big world out there,” happy stories are always welcome. The more the merrier
D
I had to leave my two horses and several dogs in the care of a family friend while my family and I went away for my father’s funeral. My gelding has a heart murmur, and even without his heart condition he’s a hard keeper. The friend fed every other day and then only hay. So my gelding lost a lot of weight very fast, and after we got back, Animal Control was called on us. It took us a month and two seperate vet reports to convince them that the skinny gelding in with the normal weight filly wasn’t being neglected. Funny thing is, we were busy fencing more acreage for them when AC showed up. But that’s a whole different rant.
In addition to all that has been mentioned, the coolest things I have seen are at a place my friend cat-sits. At one time they had 13 cats, all of them rescues, in varying degrees of health. (As an aside, my friend can give meds and sub-Q fluids, and the peace of mind she gives this owner is WELL compensated.)
First of all, since the cats are separated (locked in various rooms or areas of the house based on how they get along), there are pictures of each cat, labeled with the cat’s name, on the door of each room. It’s great when counting noses to know that you’re looking for two black-and-whites and a grey.
Similarly, the owners leave a folder with large, clear pictures of each cat with descriptive info, plus a generic printed template stating “Lost Cat” and “Reward” with all of the applicable contact information. If a cat ever were to sneak out of the house, it would be simple to find the cat’s picture, put it on the template, and get copies made for posting in the neighborhood.
My friend had six cats that got separated into 6 different rooms at feeding time, and their pictures were on each of the cat food plastic containers (4 different kinds for 6 different healths/ages) in the “staging area”, along with a detailed written account.
I like the idea at that 13 cat house of photos on room doors so you could do a good ID and head count. I find it sad about the “Lost Cat” posters, as perhaps they had learned from experience, but that’s an excellent idea, too…
My uncle experienced something similar as to the story in your post. He asked his cousin to come over and check on the cats and feed them daily while he was gone. She accidentally trapped one on the third floor when she shut the door to the stairs, not knowing he had followed her up there. Unfortunately, she didn’t think to look for him when she couldn’t find him. He died of dehydration before my uncle and his wife returned.
My husband and I don’t travel often, but I am terrified of something like that happening. We have a friend who usually stays at our house while we’re gone, and if he can’t my mom does. I am in contact almost the entire time via text or cell phone — I check in with our housesitter every day or every other day, just to make sure everything is going okay.
I will even ask a friend, family member, or my trainer to look in on my horse while I’m gone, even though I board him at a full care facility. That’s how careful I am!
finding a petsitter can be a logistical nightmare. I have several people “trained” to take care of my zoo while I am away. Which because I tend to worry isn’t very often. Besides our 3 horses (shire, pinto, and one of the 3-strikes mustangs), I also have goats, rabbits, chickens, dogs, cats, ducks, geese, and I run a full time rescue/ breeding aviary for parrots. There are probably about 200 animals total here. I have a separate sitter for each group. I have a credit card on account with 5 vets, a separate instruction manual for each sitter, and a general manual kept hung up at the house so each sitter can be fairly familiar even with animals they are not watching. I make sure each pet sitter knows the next. Every parrot cage/ flight is labeled with their name and a photo. All cages have a travel kennel next to them with the birds name labeled on it as well. The horses names are on their individual stalls. Hay is measured out in advance and put in the barn with instructions as to who gets what. The shire’s special mineral is labeled as well, the grain is listed and measured. There are several copies of each set of instructions. All our medications are labeled. I have a marker board in my kitchen the size of my refrigerator with a check list of ALL the daily chores. I have one person stay at the house (whichever one is caring for the birds). I save up money during each year in order to afford to pay these people to take care of things while I am away. In all the years I have kept animals, I have never come across a petsitter that could do it all, and that’s fine. In fact, after a vacation I am so relieved to be home. Fugly’s list is a great thing to think of ahead of time. Last year I had an accident and was in the hospital for 3 days, my darling husband was lost… I just had him call for help, and it really does pay off to have people familiar with your home and animals!
Ive done a lot of pet and horse sitting. The owner of a private barn I used to board at as a teenager (and also good friends) were retired and left a lot for extended periods (upwards to three weeks) and would leave their 8 horses (including my one), 4 sheep and 2 goats, two dogs, and one black cat in my care. They paid 50/day and let me stay at their house, even bought enough food to last me! I LOVED it because I got to take care of all the animals (I LOVE getting up early and feeding and turning out horses). Plus, I liked being able to stay away from the family for a while and feel all responsible
the bus stop for school was only a block or so away so all I ever did was go to school for a few hours, and come back.
One time though, they had an elderly dog, Clara, and she was having some medical problems before the couple left. They were always great about leaving vet numbers, and back up numbers (thank god because I didnt have my license then). One night I woke up about 1 am and she was throwing up and pacing around (very unusual). I called one of their back up friends and she was so great – drove us to the only 24 hour vet around (about 45 minutes away) and stayed there with us for nearly two hours that night. I called the owners straight away. They came home early but were so appreciative for us helping. Thats been my only scare…
Ive since done a few pet sittings (just feeding, turnout, and second feeding) at another place I boarded at – again, I LOVE doing it! I should really consider doing it professionally…. anyway, I find that when the owners leave it is SO helpful to write EXACTLY what EACH horse gets, horse owners’ numbers and vet numbers.
Another story about finding a horse neurologically messed up out in the pasture while the barn owners were out one day – even the stall cleaner didnt notice anything cause her headphones were on – turns out he slipped in the pasture and mustve banged his head on the ground. He sadly had to be put down, but it was good I had the number to the BO CELL PHONE and the horse owners’ CELL PHONE, and then once calling her getting her preferred vet’s number as she couldnt get off work yet. Goes to show you, that even experienced staff and retired and experienced barn owners arent always there to let you know when your horse is in trouble!!
I forgot to ad, when I leave on vacation (my horse is boarded) I still have other boarders (they are also good horsey friends) check on my horse: take him OUT of his stall, walk him around or longe him and look for lameness, and give him turnout since Mom isnt there to do it. Its good to know someone is actually checking on him and not jsut throwing his feed to him, I worry so much as it is when Im gone!!
(check out my blog at ahorsenamedmilo.blogspot.com!)
I’m very fortunate with my horse; he’s boarded and the friend I board with is very knowledgeable. Which came into play this August when my horse got sick — naturally the weekend I was putting on a competitive trail ride! The ride was luckily only 15 minutes from the farm, so I was able to be over there when the vet came, but I knew the vet was needed due to a phone call saying that Akela was not right, and if I hadn’t been able to be there my BO would have handled it for me. Turned out to be Potomac Fever (rare in this area) and without an observant barn owner and a very perceptive, proactive vet I might have lost him. And if I had not been home or reachable, my friend had the authority to call the vet, and to make any decisions needed. We have discussed what to do if I’m not reachable (I do go camping periodically where cell phones don’t work), and she knows that if the horse can be saved at the farm, do it. If not, at 26 I won’t put him thru a lot so if the vet — who I trust implicitly — thinks euthanasia is best, do it. In return, when we lost her WB, I was the one who made the final call, and I was with him at the end (she was home and said good-bye but couldn’t bear to watch the end).
My dogs are pretty simple, as I live with my mom so she will feed them while I’m gone. The older dog has sometimes been on allergy shots, and if one would be needed while I was gone I have several friends who would do them.
My barn owner is happy to have me there too; for the first 12 years that she had the farm she never took a vacation longer than overnight. With me there she can go for a week if need be. If she goes away for the weekend, I just stay and we call it even as she does a lot for my horse. If she goes away for a week she gives me free board for a month and it’s worth it for her to have peace of mind, especially when she had the 30 year old WB who needed fairly specific care as he was a bit opinionated! I move in, dogs and all (the farm is their second home anyway), and take care of horses and dogs and cats and chickens.
On a related note, it’s also very important to have a contingency plan should something catastrophic happen to you. I’m the contingency for several friends, and my barn owner is for my horse and dogs (and she also gets the truck, so she can keep it and sell her older one to pay for the vet care for the dog with allergies!)
I keep reading more comments and thinking of things…I promise I will stop soon!
The eldery retired couple I before mentioned with their dog, used to joke with me that everything would always go wrong when I house sat (not that I didnt do a good job, they always said how great I did during time a crisis!) For example: the power went out almost every time I was there, so I always had to know where their flashlights and candles were. Once time we got an unexpected freeze, and I had to lug buckets for 8 horses from the neighbors to their farm. Another time, they forgot to leave me a key but I remembered how to get into their back garage door. Im sure there are others…
I also used to dog sit for a neighbor when I was about 12. I would stop by and feed/water them and give them daily walks.
No to denigrate the grief of the girl in your story Fugs… but I own cats and I don’t know how that could happen. Mine drink out of the toilets if there’s no other available water. Did she put the toilet seats down or close the bathroom doors? And it’s simple to put out some HUGE bowls of feed if you’re going to be gone a while. Cats are much easier than dogs really.
But there was something else that happened, and not that far from where I live either. A family had left their cat at home for the Christmas holidays and three teenagers broke in and… microwaved the cat to death. I’m not kidding. It was disgusting and highly disturbing to me. I hate leaving my cats alone. Two of them would be perfectly safe because they hate strangers but the third is a sweetheart…
Something similar to your post happened to my husband’s ex-wife. Or rather, would have happened. For ease of storytelling, we will call her Z.
Z was getting married in Vegas in July, we all live in Oregon. It was a really, really hot July almost 2 years ago. Z’s mother was supposed to be staying at her house for the weekend and taking care of Z’s 3 pugs, one being elderly, blind and deaf, one fat and middle-aged, one young with health challenges. Now, her mother had done this for her several times in the past for various reasons. It was only for the weekend, then the pet sitter would come take the pugs from her Monday night and she could fly to Vegas herself for Z’s wedding.
However, that’s not what happened.
Z’s mother called us to come collect any perishables we might want from Z’s fridge because she wasn’t going to be there to use them up. In fact, she was leaving back to her house, about 4 hours away. So, knowing we had a spare key, she locked up and left.
SHE LOCKED UP AND LEFT.
She left the house locked tight, no windows cracked, no fan running. She left all 3 pugs in there crates, without food or water or a way to relieve themselves outside of their sleeping area. Had we not gone over that evening to clean out the fridge for Z, she would have come home in a week to dead pugs, if the smell hadn’t alerted the neighbors first. As it was, the 3 dogs were quite dehydrated from baking inside their tiny house on a hot, hot day. We took them back to our house (which we were renting at the time with a pet limit we had already met with our own dogs), got them watered, fed and cooled down. We then let Z know who was both shocked and livid that her mother did this.
Apparently, her mother was upset about the wedding and this was her passive way of taking a stand. Oh, and she also “forgot” the slip for Z’s wedding dress. It was still hanging up by the front door when we took the pugs home with us. Z’s mother didn’t bother to even go back for it or bother to pop in to check on the pugs again.
From the horse sitter’s point of view, this makes me feel like an amazing house/horse sitter! I’ve house/pet sat some really difficult places that so were not worth it. The worst one stands out to me as a small horse opperation with about a dozen horses, but no water line to the barn, in the middle of winter. The owner was gone for a week. There was a hoze she used to water the horses, but she had left it outside the morning she left and it was at least -10, so it froze solid to the ground. I spent 1 hour in the morning (before school) feeding and pouring hot water into their (smallish, muckbucket sized) waterers, and at least 2 hours after school (mostly while it was dark) packing 2 10 gallon water buckets at a time from the bathroom tub in the house to their individual paddocks (did I mention non of the horses were stalled???) over the barn yard that was sheer ice, for 10-12 horses. Every day. During the school year. I was 16. Never again. I was so tempted to say to hell with it, and was so mad at the owner, but felt so horrible for the horses. It was dry, windy, and cold. I’ve also had several places with really poor fencing where horses (and other live stock) get out or get into the wrong areas, and I’ve had to fix the fences.
But most people make it pretty easy for you. They bring down enough bails for you, fill up their water, and clean up the place before they go to make your job easier.
my horses are taken care of since i board and am personal friends with the people who run the facility. they even gave my dogs a stall once when i had to go out of town unexpectedly to visit my dying grandmother and attend her funeral. we took my dogs and their food and food bowls to the barn where they had a stall all to themselves. it was a familiar setting since they’ve been there many times, and i trust my friends to take care of them since they have three dogs themselves. during the day my dogs were allowed to run and exercise and they were safely up in their stall at night it worked out beautifully.
many years ago, i had to go out of town for something and at that time i only had a golden retriever and a parakeet. two of my friends volunteered to take the critters home with them, which was fabulous. the parakeet didn’t do so well in his temporary home and my friend thought he missed being in his own home, so she took him back to my apartment where he perked right back up again. she stopped by twice a day to feed him and he did great. the friend who took my golden home also had a golden puppy of her own. she said my dog would play with hers during the day, but then he would whine and cry all night long, which made her cry. she was an amazing temporary mom.
there was another time when i was in high school that my dad and i had to go out of town so two of my best friends agreed to look after my golden for me (it was during the summer). i’d been gone about two days when one of them called and said my dog seemed sad and would it be okay if she just took him home with her, her mom had already said it was okay. i knew there was a reason they were my best friends!
I have left my horses to adults to care for a few times…The most responsible one so far has been a little 8 year old girl that lives below us. I put food in pillow cases, 3 per day, all measured out and at her home so she doesnt have to open any gates. If no gates or barns doors are opened then none are left open catch my drift. I fill tanks buckets barrels , with enough water that incase something happens the horses will be ok on their own. Most importantly, I never go more than 2 days at a time…Nope , never , wont happen… In the winter when its -20 c I never go on vacation, its too complicated with animals , and bad things could happen too quickly. When I got my animals I knew that it would mean no more vacations, its all part of the deal.
The first time I left my horse to go abroad for three weeks, he managed to partially tear off a shoe and step on the toe cap… that was loads of fun for the poor girl I had asked to look after him. Instead of looking him over once or twice a day and feed him treats, she got to call the farrier and spend a considerable amount of time looking after his hoof. Sigh.
He (the horse) was on vacation at the time, but grazing in a field nearby his usual barn where knowledgeable people were close by and easy to get a hold of, so I knew (and had talked to a few of them before I left) that there were other people keeping an eye on him in case anything should go wrong.
If he had just avoided that toe cap, a lost shoe would not have mattered in the slightest. Oh well.
Also, an OT note about horse meat in France: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091215/od_nm/us_horse_meat If this trend continues, there might soon not be a market for US horses over in Europe. I’m not from France, but from another European country, and horse meat consumption here is very low as well.
There was also an article a few months ago about how after April Europe is going to stop importing most US horsemeat because of all the chemicals we feed or put on our horses..Canada claims they will abide by the 180 day “detox” but we;ll see how long that lasts. Interesting stuff.
I’m surprised the linked article did not mention the health/safety aspect of eating horsemeat at all. I’m sure that rising awareness must also have something to do with the declining popularity?
I have to agree with you on this issue.Europeans are horrified by the amount of chemicals in our beef chicken and pork as well. Its the first thing the Swiss talk about when you tell them you are from the US, Obama being the 2nd. There is still 3 or 4 shelves dedicated to horse meat in the “Cash and Carry” wholesellers. Southern Switzerland still eats a lot of horse meat, and I am guessing Italy as well, I know they still eat a lot of Donkey sausage. I was horrified at my last show in Tessin when the hotel offered me horse meat for dinner, my trailer being parked right outside, and they knew I was in the show across the street. *ç”+/(%%ç ??? When their horses get old here most people call the Metzger ( butcher) and he shoots the horse and sells the meat. Its only the true animal lover that pays the bucks to have the horse euthanized and burried. In Zurich Canton its about 1600. Swiss Franks to euthanize the horse.So you Americans can stop complaining now about a pittaly little 300. US dollars .It was 400. to put down my Chihuahua , and having him cremated was even more.
Fortunately, my horse is boarded, they have my cell number at all times, and it works no matter where I am. But years ago, I left my older dog in the care of a good friend while I spent Christmas with my mom at the other end of the country. My dog knew this friend, knew her dog, had been to her home and the dogs had hung out together in her yard with no issues, so I figured nothing could go wrong. Stupid me for assuming that just because my friend’s dog had never escaped from his yard and the two dogs were friends, that my dog would not try to escape.
On vacation, 3000 miles away, I got a call on my cell phone from some stranger that she had my dog, who was currently hanging about on a warm blanket and eating treats. I gave her the address of where my dog was supposed to be (my friend’s house) and also called my friend and let her know where my dog was—a neighbor only a few blocks away. My poor friend had been sweating bullets after she discovered my dog was missing from the yard, driving all around trying to find my dog and dreading what she might have to tell me when I got back from vacation.
Everything turned out fine–my friend picked up escape-artist Cubby from the neighbor and my vacation was not spoiled—all because Cubby was registered and always wore her registration tags and rabies tags from the vet–and because there are still a few good people in the world who will bother to call the numbers on those tags.
Present days, our border collie Oreo (who is licensed, wears his rabies tag and is microchipped) always goes to “camp” whenever we go on a vacation and can’t take him. “Camp” is a boarding kennel run by our local vet hospital, he gets a large kennel with his own toys, two playtimes per day with active dog companions, and as many potty walks as he needs. Plus, we fill out the form so that if he becomes ill or injured, the vet hospital has carte blanche to call us and treat him.
Having backup that also comes to check on your animals regularly is EXTRA important. I remember reading on a bird forum earlier this year about how a caretaker got into a car accident on her way to take care of the animals and was DOA and nobody else knew about the animals. Where she was headed was the last thing the caretaker’s family was thinking about, so the animals went without food or water for a week (they survived though).
The big joke in my family is that I’m never allowed to go on vacation again. Both times that I went to Florida last year my gray horse coliced. My parents care for my horses full time so nothing changed while I was gone. Both times it was pretty serious and I was on vacation crying my eyes out thinking he was going to die.
During those same vacations I boarded my dogs. We loved the first place we boarded but they were booked up for spring break so we had to choose somewhere else. We did not have good luck with the second place. I wasn’t as happy with them as I was the first place from the get-go, but it seemed decent. I needed a place that could kennel both of my dogs together because they were closely bonded and many places wouldn’t do that. I took mats for my dogs because they were both 12 and I didn’t want them laying on concrete and my one dog will eat any fabric that is put in with him. He previously had 10 inches of intestine removed from eating a dog bed. I let them know this upfront and they helped me carry in the mats, I also told them to put them out alone because my male tends to go after other dogs if they bother him. Well I come back to pick them up and find out my male has wagged his tail into an open sore (it’s happened before) and they put a sock on it so it wouldn’t bleed anymore. They didn’t want to call and bother me with it while I was on vacation. Seriously? I want to know if my dog is bleeding! BUT–big shocker here–the sock has disappeared and they don’t know where it went. Yep–he ate it. They proceeded to tell me that it wasn’t written on the kennel card to not put bedding or cloth items in their kennel. So I took him outside and gave him peroxide while we were still there and he vomited up part of the sock. While we are outside waiting the guy begins to tell me how much fun they had playing with the other dogs. I KNOW that instruction was written on the card. I’m just glad my dog didn’t go after someone else’s dog! I was so PO’ed I could barely contain myself as I left. We will never go back to that kennel even though it was clean and well kept–there is a lot to be said for lack of common sense!
I am super picky and we toured places before we decided where to send them. Which leads me to another suggestion–tour kennels during prime vacation times if that is when you will be boarding your pets! One kennel we went to had an overwhelming number of animals stacked in CRATES all over. I’m sure this isn’t the way it looks during most of the year and I bet many of the owners didn’t know that was how they were being housed. They showed us their kennel runs but seeing the conditions many of the pets were kept in made me cross them off my list immediately. Another kennel we called wouldn’t even let us come visit because it was a holiday and they were “too busy” which again was a bad sign. The kennel that we liked was clean, smelled nice, the dogs seemed calm and happy, and they only had the amount of animals the kennel could properly house.
Hubby and I have not taken a vacation together in 10 years. There is NO ONE you can ever truly trust. But we do have a group of friends where we all “help” each other out when the need arises.
Even good horse people don’t always do things the way you do it. They may not adjust the routine to account for weather. Will they bring in my 21 month old gelding and my two TB’s when it is sub 30 degrees?? Will they bring in all my horses when the temps hit below 20??? Will they……………..????? Too many questions!
Nope, can’t take the chance. Won’t put MY responsibility onto another person. The horses, cattle, sheep, dogs and kitties are OUR life, not someone elses.
And not all Dog/Kitty Daycares are what they purport to be….Check them out, ask questions, even references should be interpreted loosely, because everyone has different standards.
I did leave my 5 month old puppy with my Dog showing friend while I went on a one week vacation. It was great for both of us, as I did not have to worry about my puppy and my puppy would have someone who knows dogs keep up with her multiple feedings and potty breaks. She even posted photos of my puppy playing with her puppy on facebook, so I could see her. Hubby went to check on her and she was all wiggles. It is good to have such good and knowledgeable friends!
Carrie Giannandrea
Dances with Horses
Formula One Farms
As a kennel operator for over 30 years I would like to clear up some misconceptions. Kennel Cough. If you have not had your pet vaccinated for it DO NOT DO IT under 15 days before going to the kennel. All kennels have had kennel cough. By itself, other than sounding terrible it really is not a problem We treat it with Buckley’s cough syrup. The symptoms should clear in ten days. If there is blood or other problems, of course Vet attention is immediately required. Kennel cough is also known as Park cough, Vet office cough, any place that dogs meet cough. Few private kennels will have a quarantine separate building. Vet clinics do not have it either. By the time the symptoms have manifested the contagious stage is already over. Vets have made a fortune treating these COLD symptoms. Sorry…it s a waste of money. Only if it moves onto pneumonia can it be treated. If a pet comes down with it we also give Pedo Lytes for hydration and a bit of honey to sooth the throat. Rarely do we have a case.
Kennel inspect before you leave your pet. HOWEVER, do not demand after hours, and let the operator pick a quiet time. Also, just because you are going by the kennel on your way home early, at 2 am DOES NOT MEAN you can ring the doorbell and have your pet checked out. The reason..when one animal is checked out in the middle of the night ALL pets must be turned out for a pee break. This may take additional hours. And is distruptive.
Inform the operator if your pet has EVER bitten someone. Let them decide if they will take your pet. Most will. Some won’t. You won’t have a problem if you book early.
No shows….. don’t think…ahh…Christmas will be busy so they will have a waiting list. We can not call someone on the 24th and say…good news…we can take your pet so you can have your holiday.
Do NOT leave your cat for a week with lots of food and water thinking they can just fend for themselves.
The higher the charge does not necessarily mean better care. Generally if you are “buying oats” there are two prices…fresh and clean tend to be more than the ones that have passed through the horse. Kennels are the same. Indoor and outdoor runs should be cleaned regularily and feces should NOT be stored inside the building.
Just because it is a commercial kennel with 24 hour attendant on duty does not guaranty anything. Many times the food you bring in is just dumped into a general dog food feeding bin. Ask about food storage for your food for your pet.
ASK ASK ASK….. does the kennel have insurance? How many times are they turned out? How many times are they fed? Is there an extra charge for giving the guests medication? What is the temperatur of the building maintained at (summer and winter)? Does the kennel provide sleeping blankets? If the kennel says your pet can have ONE TOY..do not bring thirty. Do NOT bring your own bowls unless the operator asks you to.
House sitters can be wonderful and very expensive. Neighbors are wonderful however a recent case..the elderly neighbor died while the family was away for a month. The three dogs and two cats destroyed the house before they perished. Most kennels have a group rate. ASK.
Very good points. I like the idea of a quarantine room because, hey, a dog with a cough could be numerous things. I’m not saying a separate quarantine facility but a quarantine room – even if it were someone’s extra bathroom – is a good idea.
And separating feed – absolutely! Petsmart has separate “cubbies” for each room where feed is kept and the instructions are kept in a computer with labels printed off for each feeding. Only senior employees and managers are allowed to give meds. It’s very controlled and well-done – mistakes are hard to make.
p.s. WE ARE NOT A RESCUE. Do not assume you can ditch your pet and we will find a good home. We are usually required to turn them over to the pound. You can be charged however by the kennel operator for any fees. Any disputes.keep all of your contracts and notes. To stop payment or reverse a c.c. payment may result in fraud charges.
Should you choose to travel with your pet on your vacation check with the hotel/motel/campground and see what they charge for your pet. Many hotel/motels are now 50$ per pet per day resulting in individuals leaving their pets in the car or back of the truck even in freezing weather.
Rarely would a quarantine room be required for a pet for the following reason. They should have had all of their vacines up to date before they were accepted. By the time any symptom manifests itself, the damage has been done. A separate room (with the same air transfer system_) is not going to make any difference.
When you are checking your pet in, take a recent photo of your pet for the kennel and also a BRIEF description and their likes and dislikes. Be aware your vet may be too far away incase of an emergency. Ask the kennel who their vet is. If you do not like that vet please offer to sign a waiver and state you will agree to any additional costs transporting your pet to your own vet.
We also have an overnight horse board facility as we are located on the Canadian U.S. border. We offer clean paddocks with shelters. Sadly, the horse folks sure can be dishonest. They have stolen halters, water buckets, generators, … if it is not nailed down or locked up it is usually gone. And, that includes feed. Anyone who offers overnight facilities is of great benefit. We have spoken with many other operators throughout Canada and the U.S. and they too, have had the same problems. If you can not afford 10-15 $ per night for your horse, you should not be transporting it anywhere. This is a small price to pay for safety and not having to exercise your horse by the side of a busy freeway.
I would certainly choose to go to a vet like Dr. Hogan.
Aren’t American horses often full of medicine and de-wormers? Doesn’t this affect the meat?
i’ve never gone away longer than overnight, except for once but my husband was home. So I don’t have any horror stories, thank goodness. If we’re going to be gone for too long during the day for the dogs to wait, my mom stops over a couple of times and lets them out.
When I boarded at a self-care place, I was kinda the designated horse-sitter. It was pretty common for me to show up and find a note on the whiteboard to feed a certain horse. And I never just fed, I always dumped/scrubbed the buckets, picked the stalls, and brushed/picked hooves. Which is probably why I was always asked!
I board and do mostly self-care but the barn owner feeds morning and night since he’s there much earlier than I am to feed his, so I’m not worried about my horse if I need to go away.
So this is almost three weeks late and off topic, but can anybody with Jockey Club searching capabilities tell me where a horse is? Her name is Road Not Taken bred by Joe Weir, dark bay and I believe she would have been foaled in 2002.
Also, if anybody is in need of AQHA searches, I just found out my membership is still current so please feel free to ask!
Thoroughbred ownership does not transfer through the Jockey Club. Therefore, they do not know WHERE horses are. They can only tell you WHO horses are if you have a tattoo or a partial.
This is the single thing AQHA does well (that I wish other breed registries did), transferring all papers through the central office rather than just “Here is the horse, here are the papers, and thanks for the check.” AQHA has a lot of issues — their computerized system enables them to make mistakes faster, for one thing.
TB papers are often left at race tracks, I’ve heard, and duplicates are available through The Jockey Club. As for where the horse is, if you can find out who had the horse last and see if they know where the horse might be.
I learned about my horse’s background because he was tattooed for racing. TJC sent me his race record and pedigree, I contacted the breeders and got information about his dam and a foal picture (weaning age ;o), and the rest I have found out through a fellow who was part of the bloodstock agency that brought him to California from Paris, Kentucky.
I was fortunate. (So was he ;o)
Oh, ok, thanks for explaining that! I have never had any experience with the JC, so I appreciate the info. I will head to the track where I heard she was raced and see what I can dig up. Thanks again!
Papers only get left if the trainer was lazy AND failed to transfer them–because you must have their foal papers to race them (plus they staple the bleeder certificate from the vet to the papers when the horse is certified to run on Lasix) usually they get passed from owner to owner–UNLESS the horse leaves the track. Sometimes the racing owner withholds the papers to make sure the horse can’t race, sometimes the new nonracing owner never asks.
Duplicates are sort of available from the Jockey Club. You need a certified letter from the last owner to have them explaining how they were lost or destroyed and if the explanation’s acceptable you have to pay a fee of something like $150 for the duplicates. You also need the tattoo and markings to prove the horse is who you say it is. Remember, the Jockey Club doesn’t care so much about who owns the horse–they care that the horse is the horse it’s purported to be. Honestly if you aren’t racing a horse, it’s not worth it to get lost papers unless you want to breed.
Oh, and equibase.com is your friend– Road Not Taken, 2002 filly, had three starts, all at Thistledown in 2004. Her last start was a Maiden Special Weight in November 2004, finishing second from last, and her chart describes her as “outrun”. Last trainer of record is Joseph Shuman, last owner Joseph L. Weir. In the start before that she was dead last and described as “no threat”, and in her first start she managed fourth of seven horses over two described as “no factor” and “no thread” and one who stopped to a walk. Her name still occurs in the Jockey Club name book, but check next year when it’ll have been five years and see if they clear it. She’s okay bred–dam is a Pleasant Colony daughter. They might have decided she was a total bomb and retired her to the broodmare band before she broke down, or she might have been sold off. She certainly showed absolutely no aptitude whatsoever for racing.
I basically just don’t travel. Or i only travel to places close enough for me to run home daily and check the animals myself. My daughter is almost to an age where she can pet sit so that will be very very nice. It will be nice to be able to go places farther than an hour drive away without worrying myself sick. i mean i WILL still worry myself, but not as bad.
I always label everything and leave detailed instructions for EVERYTHING. I keep a note on the fridge all the time with the location of this info packet just in case something happens to me unexpectedly and someone has to take over my animals long term due to a car accident or something.
I petsit for the neighbors and have and a couple bad experiences.
I was taking care of a large tank of fish and watering houseplants for one neighbor. They told me I only needed to come every other day, which is what I did. Unfortunately, something on the tank broke some time after I left one day- when I came back, all but one of the fish were dead. It turns out that the tank had a habit of cutting off- if they had told me that I would have come more frequently to check on it! Thankfully, they weren’t angry and understood that if I could have done something to prevent the tank from breaking I would have (especially since I had to get rid of dead fish that had been sitting for 24 hours in August in Georgia!)
I had another fish die, but the owners had had it for years, so not unexpected. I try to avoid fish now.
When I was 15, I agreed to look after my neighbor’s dogs- one of which was elderly and in poor health. My mom came to pick me up from the barn one day and told me that she had let the dogs out to run in the backyard and couldn’t find the elderly dog when it was time to come in (the backyard has a very steep hill and my mom walks with a cane, so she couldn’t look everywhere). It was dark by the time we got home and I had to get a flashlight to look. I found her at the bottom of the hill under a bush- she had gone off by herself to die. It wasn’t unexpected, but it was sad; they had had this dog her entire life. The problem was, they weren’t expected back for a few more days, we couldn’t get in touch with them and we didn’t know what they wanted us to do with the body. We ended up finding one of our old jumbo coolers and putting her in there on top of an ice bag (it was a Yorkie, luckily)! So if you’re leaving an old or ill animal, PLEASE leave instructions as to what we should do if they pass away and we can’t get in touch with you.
Thankfully, those are the only bad experiences I’ve had.
This is SUCH a timely post! Some dear friends of my father were caring for his 4 horses last week as they’ve done a dozen times before. They have their own horses and years of experience caring for them. well, this time after an evening feed, they left without closing the gate. The horses all wandered out and down a revine and off into the valley.
Luckily all of them were found within 24 hours but it could have been disastrous as there is a major highway nearby. His friends felt absolutely awful as you can imagine.
So who can you trust?
All of us are capable of error. I think a checklist would have helped perhaps in this case – but who knows?
OMGoodness great topic!
Now that we have horses I dont know if I could ever leave home LOL.I do have great horsey friends to rely on.
Years ago hubby got me to go camping and I was so anal about our critters I actually drove 30 minutes back home morning and night to feed our several pigs and chickens.I just knew one of our older kids would screw it up.
Two years ago I went on a 2 week trip. I used the same pet sitter I had used 5 previous times. Left plenty of food and credit she could use at the feed store, Vet was aware, neighbors, kids, etc. I thought everything was covered for my 4 horses, 2 dogs, 2 cats and 2 birds – was I wrong. She was to feed and clean AM/PM and I left instructions and I had also had her come to show her how to feed everyone. I called daily to check how all the critters were doing, she said fine. First mistake I should have checked with neighbor also. I got home at around 1:00 AM with snow flurries. First problem dogs were outside running around. I went to the barn and when I opened up the door the ammonia smell about knocked me over. I could tell the stalls had not been cleaned in 2 weeks. Water was maybe one inch, no hay anywhere and I could tell I had 3 sick horses. I called her at about 2:00 AM I was so mad, naturally she didn’t answer her phone. To this day she has never returned my phone calls, emails or letters I have written her. I called the Vet first thing in the morning. After testing I have 3 IR foundered horses! My one mare got a staph/ecoli infection in her leg from the filth (I almost lost her) I never added up my Vet bills but it was into the thousands and thousands (I didn’t want to know too upset). I found out from my neighbor that she was coming every 2 to 3 days filling water buckets up with grain (total grain overload) and giving them a little hay. I don’t know about the dogs and cats if they had dry food available or not. Dogs were never put in the house at night in the dead of Winter. My neighbor thought it was odd about her schedule but never thought to call me. I now have 3 ruined horses (they had been foundered too long) my Mustang mare no problems, one old tough broad. My daughter is a licensed pet sitter and I used her knowledge to pick the “best” pet sitter but it didn’t make a difference. Everyday I tend to my 3 horses whose lives were ruined by a horrible pet sitter. I looked into suing her for Vet expenses but attorney said it would be almost impossible to prove and would cost more than I had spent.
I love this post! I have the most wonderful pet sitter, who also happens to be a good friend. She always leaves a written report that includes things like the time/date she came in, what kind of mood my dog seemed to be in, if he ate or not, etc. She brings in the paper, gets the mail, turns a light on in the house when she leaves in the evening, and even scooped the yard one time when I didn’t have time to do it before we left. The great thing is that from what I hear she does the same thing for all her other clients. She has really built up a loyal following, so much so that she now turns down business so she can provide the same quality of service for everybody.
My backup is my best friend. I’ve known her for around 25 years. I’d trust her with not only my life, but my dog’s and my son’s lives.
I am so lucky!!
Hello, long time lurker, rarely a poster.
I think you forgot something very important on your list. ALWAYS leave detailed instructions on what the sitter should do if a horse needs to go to the vet. My mother and I left for 2 weeks in Europe (dad and brother are not horsey people and they have broken just about every horse care rule in the past) and we wrote out instructions for the sitter for how much care each horse should receive if needed. Example: we had a 25 year old mare who had colic surgery in January and we decided then that if she colicked again, she would not have surgery. She was too old, and none of our horses are insured so we worried what would happen if then another horse got sick. We said that our other 3 were allowed to have colic surgery as they were all younger. We said what to do for an injury for each, and we told her that one horse was prone to chocking. We signed the papers and told her where this info was.
Lo and behold, the mare colicked while we were gone. She immediately informed my dad, took her to the vet with the papers. At the vet they found that even if we would have allowed surgery, it was too late (they pulled blood from the stomach) and that she needed to be euthanized. Between the sitter, my dad, and my godmother (who taught us everything about horses), the decision was made to put her down. However, if my dad had not been available at the time, and it were not for those papers, the vet COULD NOT have put the mare down until they were able to get ahold of us, which could have taken a day at least. I am forever thankful that we had written that letter so that the mare didn’t have to suffer until they could reach us. It also gave my father confidence in the decision because he knows he doesn’t know horses, but he knew she was in pain, and it let the sitter do what she needed to do with confidence that we were not going to be upset with her.
HAYA!! Great thread!!
I have always been a very relaible, caring, over protective “pet sitter”. Tho’ I mainly preferred to take care of horses I also take care of dogs and cats.
I currently cat/dog/chicken sit for some friends: I have a key to the front door and the code to the garage. I love their animals like they were my own and Lorena knows she can trust me!! 2 1/2 years ago they were in Maine for 2 weeks and I came over to find their old dog “Sam” dead in the bedroom. He was in rapidly failing health and I was told not to be surprised or upset if he died while they were gone. I HATED making that phone call. Lorena was so unhappy that I had to deal with that. She still apologizes to me for it! I knew he was old and sick but it still broke my heart that he died.
For over 10 years I was the “horse nanny” at a local show horse farm. Had free run of the place, rode anything on the place and even lived there for 3 years. I had the owners complete faith and trust. They left me with sick animals a few times knowing that they were in good hands and that I would never hesitate to call the vet if needed. I was left with pregnant mares, tiny babies and sick old horses, a happy crazy retriever dog and an old blind Dachsund. Even a small herd of cows one summer! There were boarders horses there and I was always dealing with their owners. Fortunately nothing there ever died on me!!
It IS possible to find good reliable caring “pet sitters”!! Do your home work and a couple of “trial” periods.
On the other hand: I damn near had *MY* horse starved by a “friend” that was supposed to take care of him! I was gone for a month: she only needed to go over once a day and make sure he had a full water trough and throw him a flake of hay. He had a 2 acre pasture, the hay was just a treat. She locked him in the dry lot and fed him when she “remembered”. Thank God another friend of mine stopped to check on him and turned him out in the pasture again. I cut my trip short and came home. That young lady NEVER would answer my calls and when I went by her parents house she was never home. I imagine she thought I would kick that shit out of her when I caught her.
I have always treated other people’s animals like they were my own. That is how I want MY animals treated. I am very careful who takes care of animals now!!
MANY happy nickers!
Patti~
So my story is about my cats. This happened maybe two weeks ago. I don’t live at home anymore, so I don’t have as much control over this as I would like.
My aunt told me this, so I don’t know all the facts. So my mom was going to Vancouver Island to visit my grandparents for a few days/for the week. She had asked the neighbor to come and feed and water, and if possible, clean the litter box. We’ve asked before, the litter box was never done, but the cats usually had food (sometimes the dish was a little low when we got home late at night, but neighbor knew we were returning that day and thought we’d be home sooner, or she fed early in the morning, or maybe the stray got in and helped itself – stuff happens). My mom and I had no reason to not trust the neighbor, she took better care of her cat before his passing than most people.
Well this time, I don’t know if my mom actually talked to the neighbor, or just left her a voicemail (I’ll give my mom more credit than doing that, though), but when she came home, the cats had no food and no water. 3 days without food and water is a highly dangerous situation all animals, but cats can go into diabetic shock so easily, especially if they’re already on the verge of being diabetic (my one cat is 16). I don’t know how long they went without, but 1 day is enough to make me turn into the paranoid owner.
Since my mom is going back to the island for Christmas, I’ve already contacted a friend (who I met in college when we took a vet assistant course together, and she has since taken the vet tech course and gotten a job as a tech) to see if she’s staying in town and wouldn’t mind swinging by to feed/water them while my mom is gone. She may only stop by once a day, but she knows my cats well enough to notice if something is wrong. She knows who my vet is/where the vet is, where their food is, how to work the cats water fountain, how much to feed, how many treats, etc.
Well, if you live near Boston, I HIGHLY recommend boarding at the Cat Tail Inn At Muddy Creek (above the Muddy Creek vet clinic.) Two-story glass front kitty condos that take one or two cats, optional TV time and window sun-box time, Poland Spring water, feed choice (I would have them feed their kibble and brought my own wet, including “Christmas dinner” Fancy Feasts to be fed on Christmas), no contact with strange cats, four-poster kitty beds, private litter box the cats can use in peace…really, my cats didn’t want to leave when I’d pick them up. I never had occasion to board a dog, but they did have that service downstairs. (The sun box windows for the cats overlooked the outdoor dog runs.) They even have a special row of boarding cat condos for special-needs kitties.
I board my horse precisely because I don’t even go down there every day, especially in winter when it’s pitch-black by the time I get off work. I picked the one farther from home precisely because I liked and was more confident in the people there. Plug-in heated water buckets for winter (always at least 3/4 full when I’ve gone out, even in the middle of a Sunday afternoon), as much hay as I want Lucky to get (all he can eat; the manger’s never been empty yet when I got there, and I can toss another flake in if I want), the BO rearranged her turnout so my horse had a paddock to himself while he adjusts (and while he still has back shoes on). The owners can look out their kitchen window and see him in his paddock, and they do the barn chores themselves (three of the six horses in the barn are theirs). I’d rather have a longer drive and less barn time and know that the people doing the daily stuff are reliable.
http://www.petsit.com – after moving to another state I found this site. They have search criteria and you can locate a selection of qualified pet sitters. They set thier own rates, so they vary. I found someone that is a former vet tech – bonded, insured, animal first aid certified. Before scheduling to take care of the animals for the first time, she came to the house and met all the animals – people can’t fake it if they don’t like animals – she made copious notes, location of the breaker box, shut offs for everything. She has a form to sign that allows a locksmith to give her entry into the house should the key get lost – she keeps everyones keys on a ring – each one identified by a number, so if the keys are lost or stolen, no one would know your address. They keep several alternate phone numbers of people they can call in an emergency – nearby friends that know the animals as well as vets. She has detailed notes on feeding routines, times, favorite toys, habits – the whole deal. Before each trip, she sends me a confirmation, detailing everything. I could not be happier. We have been out of town when bad storms hit and she has gone back to the house to check on the horses/dogs/cats at all hours. If we run short on anything for the fur kids, she picks it up for us. On the occasions that we have gotten a call from her while we are gone, it always starts out with “Everyone is FINE, just calling to check on….” This kind of peace of mind is priceless to us.
OH, and they water plants, alternate lights to make the house look occupied, bring in the mail, take out the trash cans on garbage day…..what’s not to love??
I house/pet sit quite a bit. Horses, cats, dogs are of course the most common animals, but I’ve also cared for fish, tortoises, rats, mice, turkeys, chickens etc.
I know how I would be, if I was to hire a sitter for my pets. A pain in the ass is what I would be. Checking and double checking references and no teenager would be hired to take care of anything.
Most often I stay at the house so I’m there morning and evening, which I prefer so I can tell if somethings off with one of the animals.
The basic information I require (and what I think any owner should leave with a sitter) is:
1. Individual feeding schedules for each animals on the property. I don’t care if it’s a horse or an lizard I don’t want to loose either and need to know what they eat and at what time.
2. Vet contact info. Preferably a 24/7 number.
3. Emergency contact person. Someone who can make the hard calls if necessary. Sometimes I’ve cared for animals for months at a time while the owners have been abroad and should a bad situation occur (knock on wood I have not had one of those yet) I need someone close to the owner to make sure everything is done right.
4. I want to know whatever little odd behaviors the animal might have. If Fluffy drinks her water room temperature from a saucer looking out the west window in the upstairs bedroom I want to know ( Not too far from a true story btw ) Yeah, I know some of these behaviors are human inflicted habits and Fluffy might be perfectly fine drinking cold tap water out a bowl from the floor, but that’s not my call to make. Fluffy will drink her water the way she’s used to while I’m there.
The owners are always more than welcome to call me anytime and I would prefer a contact number for them if possible.
My advice to the owners is to follow that gut feeling we all have. Make sure you feel comfortable with the sitter and more importantly make sure your pets are comfortable. Most of my jobs have been by word of mouth so I come recommended from one owner to the next and I try to meet at least once or twice with new clients and their pets before they leave.
Yes, a good sitter cost more than the neighborhood kid, but your vet bill and loss might be a lot smaller, if you spend some time researching and getting someone you can trust.
When I travel I go a long way away for a couple of months at a time, so reliable animal care is paramount. My horses are boarded in two different great barns, so no worries about them. The dogs go to a professional kennel: not an in-home ‘day care’ where everybody sleeps on furniture and wears party hats for birthdays (I mean, they’re DOGS), but a real old-fashioned kennel where the phone is answered professionally any time of the day or night, and there are always half a dozen workers cleaning kennels, cutting grass, mixing medicine, etc. The dogs stay in concrete runs with heated sleeping areas, and my guys LOVE it there. Something about being able to run around barking whenever you want for as long as you want without being yelled at, and forgetting you were ever housebroken, I suspect…. When we pull into the parking lot, they go berserk with excitement (“The kennel! Look, Tigger, we’re going to the kennel! Mom, you didn’t tell us we were going to the kennel! Yay, the kennel!”) . They fly out of the car and race in and jump on the workers, who greet them by name, and know which two to put together. When I get them back they are fat, shiny, and smell good. If there is ever a problem they have my daughter’s phone number, and I can email for updates if I want.
This peace of mind is pricey: they are all 50-80 pounds, and I pay about $75 per day for the three of them, but that’s far less than the party-hat places, and far more reliable – especially long-term – than a home visitor or live-in. Too many things could go wrong.
The worst horse sitter I ever had was a man who kept telling me he had an IQ of 180. He, too, fed straw instead of hay, and did not water (fortunately, a neighbor came over and watered). I thought I’d explained everything carefully. I didn’t have a complicated routine. I think he MAY have been very bright, but he didn’t listen to anyone.
The best sitter was an old man and his wife, who lived nearby; they knew nothing about horses, but they loved my gelding. They were always coming over to pet him and talk to him. It really helped that I visited them with and without my horse, talked with them, helped do little things for them, and so on. We weren’t close friends, but we were very friendly. They kept an eye out for my horse even if I was just gone at work or shopping for a day. When I did ask them to feed and water, they always did it right.
I’ve found that any time someone tells you their IQ, it means that they believe (a) they are smarter than you are, and therefore better than you are (b) that their intelligence is the only thing they feel secure about at all. This makes it surprisingly (and somewhat delightfully) easy to puncture their pride. (Successful methods include scathing remarks about how come they didn’t use those brains to change the face of physics, “ooooh, [whatever]-th percentile, that means there are only xx people in this town smarter than you”, telling them something they have said is patently stupid, or telling them they are too dumb for you to talk to because your cutoff is [5 points higher than the number they just named].)
(Can you tell I went to university with a lot of people who insisted on telling me their IQs?)
Also, I’m doing pet sitting these days myself. I would like to mention that a pet sitter needs to be willing to go out of her/his way. If you’re trying to hire one, ask them what they’d do if…(give some possible situations) and make sure they’re very observant and will really look at the pets with a careful eye. My client was fostering a litter of 5 kittens and their mom; one foster kitten fell off a couch (we think) and broke her jaw right before I arrived. She was sitting subdued and had her mouth slightly hanging open; a lot of people wouldn’t have noticed, in the middle of all the kitten hullabaloo. I had to take time off my regular job to drive the kitten to the vet, and then leave my job early to go pick the kitten up. My supervisor didn’t care for that, but there was no way I was going to leave the kitten like that, even til the end of the day. The Human Society vets were really appreciative and so was my client.
One year I went horse camping and my son was to check in on the 2 cats, 2 parakeets and a 10 gal fresh water aquarium. I even had a backup person to check mid week, I was gone 5 days and when I came home I found no one had checked on them AT ALL!! No losses but very PISSED OFF CATS, one had jumped off the balcony (they were inside/outside cats) I had doubled up the food bowls on the birds and cats, even the fish survived but what a shock. I was in a rage. The backup person had a “dead battery”. My son was in deep shit for a LONG time. The thing is, I was only 45 min away and would have come home if needed. There was even a phone at the camp site and they had the number. I think I’m still pissed and it was years ago. As for the horse, when I went away, she usually got MORE attention and was spoilt rotten. Could always trust my barn friends.
Now to go back and read the stories!!!
Within the last week we ended up with a horsekeeping emergency. The neighbor girl was supposed to feed for us one day after school. Her dad was trying to load up some cows that day and was injured to the tune of a trip on a life flight helicopter, emergency surgery and 12 screws and 2 plates in his leg. So, she didn’t feed. Fortunatetly, we have another neighbor who fed for both of us.
I use two big food hoppers and a waterfall style water container for my cats. They have enough food and water to last them several weeks, but we don’t usually leave them more than a couple of days.
My dogs, well, we try to take them with us. We went on a road trip a couple of years ago for a family reunion – 6000+ miles, 10 states and 3 weeks – and we took the girls with us. Two German Shorthairs, and a cattle dog. Great traveling buddies even though one was bit by a rattle snake and we had to make an emergency vet stop. Last year we went to Texas for T-day and we flew so we couldn’t take the girls with us. We spent a ton on a great kennel, and it was worth every penny. If you are anywhere near the Portland area, or are flying out of PDX, I highly recommend the kennel out of Sauvies Island. They train bird dogs, but are awesome with the dogs in their care, regardless of breed.
While we were on the road trip with our dogs I had a girl who was supposed to stay at my house to keep my cats company and water my plants. I also had one of my sons friends taking care of the outside stuff. When I got back I found out that, not only had she not stayed at my house, she only came by once a week. One of my cats (my inside cats who are never allowed out) got out and was not seen for over a week! Fortunately, we found her pretty quick when we got back, but it was the only animal I own who is not microchipped, so she is now! Several of my plants were dead, too.
Hi, while we all know we need to be responsible when we leave our horses with others, I want to ask that you treat your horse sitters and barn help with courtesy and respect when you are away. I have been caring for a families very expensive jumpers for 3 years now. They have started to leave on a days notice (not asking if that is good for my schedule- and we are talking 2 or 3 week trips to shows) and recently left me to care for 3 horses with bad eye infections requiring 3 times daily treatment. Not a problem, except that the mare is never handled except for farrier, the 3 yr old 16 plus hand warmblood filly is barely halter broke (cant halter or lead without a fight and she is difficult, bites and strikes) and the rising two year old filly had hardly been handled at all. Trying to clean eyes, medicate and get washed (at my house, daily, bought extras) fly masks on was a nightmare. Before we cared for the horses they constantly complained that the mare lost weight, the gates were open etc. We have done a great job and now it is expected without a thanks or a kind word. We also care for the dogs, cats, arrange farrier and tack up for riders who exercise while they are away. Haven’t missed a 6 am feed in 2 years, and yet, never a smile or a thank you. When you find someone who loves your horses, goes that extra mile and truly wants the best for them – let them know they are appreciated. Also – please, please, please arrange credit with vet(all animals), farrier, feed company or leave cheques. Leave correct contact info, including the show office, and clearly mark all medications. Fill your feed bins (don’t expect me to run to the feed store out of pocket, please) and it is a great idea to leave a number of somone who I can call in an emergency for more info!
I have tags on my cats with their name and a contact phone number on one side, and ‘My Vet’ and the vets number on the other (it helps that the cats have unique names, so if the vet gets a call they can figure out who they belong to!). It gave me a lot of peace of mind when we lived in town and I worried that they might get lost or injured and whoever found them couldn’t contact the right people. This way, they can either ring me or my vet, and chances are much higher that the fur babies will get the care they need and back home. You can do this with any animal wearing a collar, and is well worth it just in less worries.
I also have a permanant file on my computer detailing the cat care – must have’s, nice to have’s, etc – who gets what, when and where and why, if’s / but’s / maybe’s, quirks and other useful information, what food to get and from where if it should run out, the vets number, where they sleep and hide, toilet habits, even down to how each one likes to play (if the sitter has the time), and so on, that I can give to the pet sitter. If I got called away suddenly I could print it out and leave it for whoever is available without having to explain every last detail (luckily this hasn’t happened so far) and all I have to add is how to get hold of us. I also used to use a whiteboard pen to write the basic info on the fridge as well as an easy reference but can’t do that any more since we now have a stainless one.
I really need to do this sort of thing with the horses too – a system of individual hard copy files set up with each horses pertinent information out in the tack room (I do have this info on file, but it is inside the house where most of the horse people couldn’t get it easily – I need a better system). A file system listing general health care, specific conditions/issues, plus details of past health issues and medications, worming, hoof care etc would be very useful. A general white board listing of who gets what feed etc would also be very useful – a simple grid with each horse listed down the side and each feed component along the top, and how much of each item in the grid would make life much easier for a sitter.
I do have a farm map drawn on a large whiteboard in the feed room, showing what horses are in which paddocks etc, which is very useful for someone else checking the place – they can very quickly see who ought to be where, etc. (Hint – find your property on Google Earth, and use that to draw up an accurate map). I also have a general ‘Who’s Who’ list on the wall – each horses name, age, breed, colour, markings, owner etc – so that someone can figure out which horse is which. All the boarders, vets and farriers contact numbers are on the same list so in the event that I’m not around in an emergency, the right person can be contacted.
Although I have a grazing contract that states that the boarders are required to check their horse daily unless otherwise arranged and I’m not responsible for them, I still do a quick check any time I’m going past, and if I see a problem I either deal with it or call them right away. All 3 of the boarders get along well and have an informal reciprocal arrangement to do this sort of thing, so each horse is checked several times a day if they’re close to the house and horse facilities.
I’m very lucky that a good friend of mine keeps her horse on my property and visits him every day; she knows all my horses well and has a wealth of animal experience, and will happily check my horde and feed as necessary, including staying over and feeding the kitties as well. We have a very similar philosophy when it comes to animal care, and I know I can trust her implicitly to do everything I would and do it well.
If I’m going to be away more than a day or two, I leave detailed lists, pre-make feeds if possible or label each container clearly and make sure they’re full, etc- sure, my friend knows the basic arrangement on who gets what but if I’ve changed something it helps, and also if something should happen to her she could hand over to someone else without a major hassle as well. It may be overkill, but better to have too much info than not enough! I also try to make it as simple as possible – move the horses so they’re in easy to reach paddocks, adjust the feeds so they don’t need feeding or it’s very basic and easy, etc.
Another thing I ought to set up is details on what should be done with the horses in the event that I’m severely incapacitiated or killed. I know that family would happily take the 2 cats (if something had happened to hubby as well), but the 13 horses would need to be adopted out, and that sort of thing ought to be detailed for their best interest. Even if it is just a general guideline on the type of home I’d prefer and some notes in each horses’ file on their specific needs / circumstances, it would be one less thing to worry about. I know hubby would do his best, but he’s just not horsey and would need lots of help to get it right.
Claire Vale
Kahurangi Equine Rescue
New Zealand
Luvredponies, I agree about the Sauvies Island kennel. Coming back to the US from Korea several years ago, I shipped my four dogs directly to them; they picked them up at the airport, cleared them through customs, took wonderful care of them for four weeks, then brought them back to PDX in time for our onward flight. The dogs had clearly had a fabulous vacation, and so had we without worrying about them at all.
I’ve just started petsitting – these horror stories make me very nervous! I’ve lost one of the clients I was meant to have over Christmas because the dog died – I would rather lose the job than have found the dog dead on my watch.
So far the worst thing that’s happened is the theoretically elderly, sedate cat leaving a decaptitated mouse on the rug for me on the first day, then pooing repeatedly in a cupboard rather than in the litter tray. But if that’s as bad as it gets, I’ll survive
I’ve done a couple bouts of farm sitting. The owner leaves a ‘novel’ which is usually about 10 typed pages complete with individual personalities for me and I read it at least once a day. It’s super handy.
The one week I was there for, two horses cast themselves in hay feeders. This had never happened on the farm and it happened twice while I was there. Luckily, both times there were people there to help me un-cast them and they both turned out just fine.
Another week the outdoor water pipes froze and I had get my non-horsey bf to hand bomb water to fill two bathtub sized water trophs…that was good times.
There was also the time that the dog had a cast on the whole time which he kept chewing and I had to re-tape with vet wrap on an almost daily basis as well as shove pain pills down his throat.
Those are pretty much my bad experiences. For the most part it’s really nice to be all alone on a big property with a nice view with a whole bunch of horses.
The cats – at this point – are self-governing. They are all in excellent health and we free feed when we are gone. My daughter or my next door neighbor will stop in every day to check on them, to refill their water or food bowls. If my daughter and neighbor cannot come, we have a friend who pet sits and she is available at a moments’ notice.
Our Lab goes to the kennel. It’s a place that is not fancy, but it’s clean. And the owner (my husbands’ second cousin) loves our dog like it’s her own. He is allowed free rein in the place and she leaves the door to his sleeping kennel open at all times so he can walk around, help her with her chores (you know Labs love to help) or take a nap when he wants. ‘He’s just so good!’ she always tells us. Yep…we know!
We always leave an information slip about feeding particulars, our itinerary, both of our cell phone numbers, the hotels we will be staying at (including their phone number and name on the room reservation), vet phone numbers and location, and a separate paper that is a ‘permission slip’ for the vet should any emergency arise. One is at home for the cats and one goes in the dogs’ ‘bag’ to the kennel.
When I get my horse, I will leave the boarding facility with the same information and paperwork.
I walked dogs and pet-sat quite a bit as a teen, usually for friends of my mom. Someone who is a responsible adult and a responsible parent will usually have responsible kids as well – and will bug their kid if they think they’re late to take care of the animals! (I wasn’t, but she’d check anyway.)
I really appreciated the owners that brought up end of life issues – one lady told me straight up that she’d had pets die while she was on vacation before, she knows that accidents happen, and if her dog met with a fatal one while she was gone, she wouldn’t be upset with me for it. Other owners left good vet information, but I was usually too shy to ask ‘well, if something goes horribly wrong, and I can’t get in touch with you, at what point would you prefer that the animal be put to sleep?’ If I were pet sitting now, I’d definitely ask.
When going on vacation once, I called the neighbor across the street and asked him to stop in and feed the birds while I was gone – he was a good family friend and had done so before, and had a key. Well, we thought he had a key… He couldn’t find it, didn’t have a way to get into the house, couldn’t get in touch with me, and the birds went unattended for a weekend. Everyone was fine, fortunately, but it was a bit of a scare. Make sure your friend/neighbor/relative/etc has the key IN THEIR HAND before you leave!
Finally had to set up to comment on the new blog! How about the viewpoint of a horsesitter? I’m a lifelong horseman that currently boards and frequently trades out board for horsesitting at my small barn. Barn neighbors were gone at the same time as barn owners, so what’s 2 more horses to babysit? Neighbor is a trainer, slight acquaintance, and I made sure to get the tour and instructions. It gets cold here. Owner was quite specific as to amount of hay and grain; horses were light to my eye (not skinny!) and not blanketed, but being used /shown regularly and I assumed owner/trainer knew about food and heat production.
Rule # 1 — don’t always assume professionals know nitty-gritty horsekeeping.
‘Bout 3 days in, temps dropped to well below 0 and at feeding time one horse was shivering, the other borderline with clamped tail. Looking acoss pasture at my barn, 11 horses on 3 round bales and not a blanket or shiver in sight. Dig out blankets, layer up, double up hay, add a little extra grain, and spend the next two days slogging over there every four hours round the clock to make sure there is hay and warm water in front of the little darlings and graining 2x day. Freaking out the entire time about colic, hypothermia, and anything else I can think of. Did I mention the contact number didn’t work and the vet bill was so far behind that they didn’t even want to talk to me when I mentioned whose horses I was calling about?
Horses survived, although I didn’t dare take the blankets off for several days until the temps warmed up. Owner got home and promptly laid into me for ‘wasting’ all their hay and grain over my feeble protests of shivers, hypothermia, how horses generate heat, etc. I was informed ‘they never shivered before’ and that I ‘must have been doing something wrong.’ I tried to point out my barn’s herd all fat, furry and happy and was told those horses are different, these are show horses!
Rule # 2 — don’t babysit those horses again. You want your horse to go down with hypothermic-assisted colic? You can do it without my help. The part that really scared me was when I figured out if I had lost one of those horses, you can guess who would have been sued.
And I think I got paid about $20 for the whole thing. Does this sticker on my forehead say ‘stupid’?
No good deeds go unpunished!
One time, and ONE TIME only I left my cat without a sitter… I was going to be out of town for 2 nights (leaving on a Monday, and coming back on a Wednesday). I set out a TON of food, and put out several bowls of water in each room. I figured he was a cat… how much trouble could he get into?
The very first day I was gone, my cat (out of loneliness) broke out of the house through a window, and was bitten by either a racoon or another cat. The bite was directly on his elbow, and the joint became immediately and very severely infected, the whole leg swelling up to 4 times its normal size. He couldn’t walk, let alone jump.
All the water I left for him was up on a table, or a counter, or with the toilet seat up (I was paranoid, and left 2 sources of water in each room). Unfortunately, I didn’t take into account that he might be injured.
When I came back, he was frail, and limp, and barely hanging on. I’ve never hated myself quite as much as I did on the way down to the vet’s. He almost lost the leg. I still don’t like to think about it. I’m only sharing it here because it might help someone.
As far as bad petsitter stories, I once left my horse in the care of my “friend”. I paid someone else to clean, and all she had to do was show up and dump food and pre-made buckets of supplement in front of him once a day (I fed him about 5-6 flakes of hay a day, so it only had to be done once. He would completely devour it, too. My next horse is going to be a fat, easy keeper!)
When I got home after 3.5 days gone, he was ribby and nervous, and for the first time ever rudely pushed me out of the way to get the food. As I watched him inhale food while barely chewing, I returned back to the hay barn, and counted, and…..
Yup.
She didn’t even show up once. He hadn’t eaten in almost 4 days.
I called her on the phone, and (in a fake, calm voice) asked her how my horse had fared (I came home early). I heard her pause as she realized she’d forgotten about him, and then she replied, “Oh. Uh, he’s fine. He did just fine.”
I blew up. I don’t remember much about what that conversation was, but I do remember her trying to defend herself by saying, “it’s not like it was that long. You’re home early, and he had lots of food when you left. Horses in the wild go hungry all the time. It’s not THAT bad.”
I worked at a boarding kennel and grooming shop for six years. Our standards were very high. Dogs were let out every 2 hours starting at 6am until 10pm. Kennels are cleaned everyday, and sanitized between dogs. Everyone had their own notes attached to the kennel and were fed according to owners instructions. We have had dogs that were on medications, and special needs. Only once during those 6 years did we have an issue. While grooming a 12 year old poodle, he stopped breathing. He was resucitated by the kennel owner and the owners contacted immediately. We had a record of vet and emergancy contact information for every dog to ever walk in the place. Rabies, DHLPP, and bordetella were all required. Currently, I am grooming at a Petco and we follow a lot of the same practices.
While I go away, I know I can count on our next door neighbor for the dog and cats and mother-in-law to take care of the horse. I keep my mare at my my mother-in-laws house and will often go over and find that she’s done things that I don’t ask her to and was on my way over to do. I can count on her even when I don’t ask to. Last night I bought a wormer for the mare I used to own and brought home this weekend. I wanted to wait until she settled in again to give it to her. When I went over today, she said she saw it and figured she’d do it. She was bored and was going out to brush her anyways. I am thankful for having her.
It goes the opposite direction too. If you are a pet-setter, don’t assume because you have ridden with someone at your barn a couple times that they are sound, sane people!
I farm set and pet sit a lot for my friends, mostly former camp counselors, a former instructor, and my neighbors, as well as a friend who is a dog trainer. I thought nothing of it when a girl at my boarding barn a few summers ago asked if I would stay at her apartment and take care of her 3 dogs.
She had left me with one sick dog (diarrhea, and vomiting up the pepto bismol she had given her), with nothing to clean it up with. The “apartment” was the downstairs of a psycho lady’s house, seriously. Crazy. She called this person and told her I hadn’t stayed the night and the dogs were barking all night, when I HAD BEEN THERE ALL NIGHT and left in the AM to go to work. The next day she ran out of dog food and was unreachable to find out even what they eat, to go buy more. I had no idea. The dogs were unruly and unobedient and got into regular blood-drawing fights with the upstair lady’s dogs.
She then called me, chewed me out for not staying, told me her ex boyfriend was coming to get the dogs and not to come back. She did not pay me, and badmouthed me to others at our barn. Luckily, has no contact with my regular clientel.
At any rate, if you do pet sit or farm sit, know who you are dealing with!
It’s sad to say.. but right now, we stay home, there isn’t anyone that we know, who can take care of my animals..It would be a great gig for the right person…I would hire someone reliable to just stay here with them..but there are so many horror stories about pet sitter/ house sitters here.
OT, but a nice “just in the nick of time” rescue story former racehorse Keystone Wallace -
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09353/1022003-62.stm
I only trust the professionals. We hire a vet tech from our vet’s office to take care of our pets while we are away. Yes, we pay them more than most, but it is worth it. They do an excellent job and they work at the vet’s office for heaven’s sake. We’ve had friends offer to do it for free, but we polite tell them no thanks. I would not trust them to do a thorough job or be able to identify if an animal is in distress.
I’ll never board with family again. I’ve sent a full bag of food with our dog only for it to still be full when I got him back, he supposedly preferred the cheap crap they had? I’ll only board at vet for dogs and cats. Ponies go to pro barn with turnout.
I was dog sitting for a friend who went to New Jersey (I’m in Georgia) for christmas. When I went the first morning to feed her dogs, three skinny guys in one 6 X 10 dog pen, wow, and no shelter, another wow. She had left an opened 5 pound bag of food (cheap crap) and one bowl, the same bowl for water!
I went to the store bought good dog food and a feeder, dog house and water bucket, put hay in the dog house, hung to feeder filled with feed, filled up water bucket. I checked on the guys everyday, cleaned their pen, let them so they could play.
She cursed me out when she returned, mind you I didn’t even expect her to pay for the things I had bought for her dogs!
She said “now they expect to be fed more, that bag of food should have lasted 8 days! How dare you feed my dogs like that.”
She is not my friend anymore.
I fill sorry for her poor puppies.
This girl I know asked her roomate to feed her cat while she was away. When she got home he said the cat wouldn’t stop meowing so he held it under the water in the bathtub till he drowned and told her her cat was in the freezer. At least the future serial killer that was her roomate didn’t hold her under the water, so really it could have been worse and she ended up calling the cops and finding a new roomate.
Don’t use a place that lets anyone in the door without all vaccinations, or a place that does not have a quarantine area that is totally separate for an animal that comes down with kennel cough or an upper respiratory.
Gotta disagree here. So many people are chosing to not vaccinate and with good reason. All 26 vet schools now say that a 3 year protocol is more than adequate for vaccinations for dogs, and rabies should be given as required under state law. Rabies is being studied now for a 7 year protocol. I look at this way. I require rabies. The other shots are totally up to the owner. If the dog is not vaccinated and gets sick, it’s not my fault, they chose to do it this way. If it is vaccinated and gets sick, still not my fault. I have a vet call and ream me because two of her clients got kennel cough. They had been vaccinated. Dogs got it long after the incubation period for being exposed here. I inquired exactly how was this MY fault…perhaps she should be talking to the company that manufactured the vaccine and ask for her clients’ bills to be paid. Also, a quarantine area in a boarding kennel? Honest to gosh, I have never seen one. They don’t even have quarantine areas in most vet clinics. If an animal starts coughing here, it goes to the vet. That’s about as good as it gets. I’ve been boarding pets for 26+ years and been very successful at it. I tell people it’s a good idea to be vaccinated, that I do require rabies but so many pets are coming down with vaccine mediated immune problems that I just don’t “require” them anymore. It’s up to the owners to make those decisions and I am not the vaccination police.
Whenever I take care of anyone elses animals I double check everything. I go over the list of thing to do twice, and make sure I do everything EXACTLY as they want me to. I look at animals for injuries or being sick. I treat those animals just like they were my own, cause I know the worst thing is to come home to seeing your animal worse than when you left.
Great topic…from the perspective of a pet sitter its nice to see a list like this
Please be prepared to pay for what you expect…If you hire someone to feed your cats that does not include vaccuming your house every 2 days …a friend of mine once got a job feeding and medicating two cats, but when she arrived at the house the first day there was a long list of chores to be done as well…If you want a HOUSESITTER you must be clear about this from the start, bringing in mail is no biggie but when you add an hour on to each visit you need to realize its not ok to try and pay for just “feeding and medicating 2 cats”
also live the note about going to the vet before you leave..i once took care of a cat that had cancer wouldn’t eat and thus required force feeding 3+ times per day and fluids inder the skin…and the lady wouldn’t pay extra even though she never even told me the cat was sick until they had left…not cool!
Having liability insurance under a petsitting organization (like petsit.com) is a big help when you’re asked to do stuff above and beyond. “Sorry, but my insurance doesn’t cover housecleaning/babysitting/staying overnight in your filthy house that even makes your dogs gag or stuff that a vet tech should be doing”. I charge $25 per visit, minimum once per day, so someone with a sick animal can do the math and decide to board the animal at the vets, where it probably should be anyway!
I just found your blog, am working my way through, loving it and learning much. Two things; I’d send an e-mail but you are or were behind, as am I.
1) All comment threads in Jan 08 are GONE. I hope it’s not the whole year.
2) All interior links you’ve made to other posts of yours flash on my screen for a moment, then revert to the most recent.
And, of course, all Craigslist links don’t last. Most other links to bad guy activity are eventually moved or removed. Quote, copy, take screenshots pleaseplease, and keep on keeping on. Your archive has value.
Cheers
I too am working my way back through the blog (just found it a week ago – and am loving it). I have to admit I’ve cried several times so far, and the video of the auction I watched the first half minute and had to stop it. Just seeing those lovely horses…
Regarding this post, I wanted to say that I’ve always used good kennels when it came to my dogs, and I always had a Word document that I could keep updated with any last minute changes for them. It’s easy to keep up once you’ve started one!
This post in particular, I’d like you- and everyone else – to know what I’ve done with it. Since I last kenneled my dogs, I’ve married, moved half way across the country, TO the country, and acquired three horses. I realized (thank you all) that I need to create an entirely new document. I found several things I needed to add to my doc, and had a list going as I read the blog AND all the comments. My list is long and will take a while to complete the whole doc. I learned so much from ALL of you!!! Not the least of which is “in case something happens to BOTH my husband and I, what to do with the pets.)
Thank you, Kahurangi, for the idea of the grid, LOVE it.
Thanks again everyone!
PET SITTING STORY: I had a friend in the city I used to live in, who (at the time) had four dogs and three cats (at the time I had one dog and one cat). We “traded” pet-sitting. If I needed it, I dropped my dog at her place. If she needed it, I lived there with my dog and hers (my cat was pretty self-sufficient and I never went away more than 4 days). We got to the point that we’d call each other if we got held up at work, and the other would go “let the dogs out”. What killed me was I would go to her house late at night (she was a nurse) to potty-break the dogs (she’d been gone 8-10 hours by this point) and I would find CANDLES lit in the house!!! OMG. I’d call her and tell her “you left candles on again…you’re gonna burn down your house WITH your dogs in it!!!” But inevitably I’d go back again another day and more candles were left burning. In the bedroom. With THREE cats wandering around. God help them all.
And that makes me think of one last thing… I “pet sat” her 11 year old (at the time) Chow for 6 months… which turned into a year… which turned into 1.5 years… which now I own after 3.5 years!!! She’s 15 and her health is failing, but I’m glad to have her as she’s a lovely dog.