Company Employee - Independent Contractor
Solo Sitter - App Sitter - Boarding Facility
Choosing the appropriate care for your pet is essential and can become a stressful undertaking once you start reviewing all of the options available. It’s a given that the pet sitter you choose should possess a love for animals, but there are many other important considerations when hiring a pet sitter.
PROFESSIONAL IN-HOME PET CARE BUSINESS (that hires “employees”) - The Gold Standard
Professional pet care businesses, like Glad Wags, are owned and operated by a certified professional pet sitter through Pet Sitter’s International (PSI). PSI is the world’s largest and most respected authority on pet sitting and the leading association for professional pet sitters. They provide their members with the most up-to-date, on-going education and resources. This knowledge translates to exceptional, 5-star care for your pet. Benefits to hiring a professional pet care business, include:
The ability to leave your pet in the comfort of their own home without interrupting their routine, and where they feel safest.
In-home care means that your pet is not exposed to potential viruses often found in boarding facilities, such as kennel cough or influenza, nor the possibility of injuries associated with a group setting while boarding.
This type of premium care also includes one-on-one companionship for your pet and the ability to tend to their unique needs, such as administering medications or preparing their special meal.
A pet sitting company’s team of sitters are insured, bonded, background-checked, trained by field management staff, and accountable to the company for each visit provided.
A team of sitters allows for pet care 365-days a year. If one sitter is on vacation, or ill, or has a personal emergency, other sitters on the team who know and love your pet are able to continue care without interruption. Back-ups are key in finding reliable pet care; something a solo sitter cannot provide.
Long-term relationships are built between the company’s owner, sitters, the client, and their pet that are built on communication, accessibility, reliability, and trust.
Pet owners will enjoy the convenience and efficiency of sophisticated technology that enables online scheduling, payments by credit card, text-like communication feeds, real-time visit reports with engaging, quality photos through a pet sitting software program and mobile app.
While you’re away, your home will never appear that you’re not home. We will collect mail/packages/newspapers, maintain trash, water plants, rotate lights, and keep your home secure.
EMPLOYEE -VS- INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR
Hire a company with employees versus independent contractors. There is a major difference between companies that hire employees as pet sitters versus independent contractors as pet sitters. Namely, a business with employees is able to control the way their sitters perform their job, meaning the type of care they provide.
EMPLOYEES
Glad Wags hires employees only. We work closely together as a team when caring for all of our clients’ pets.
Lead sitter, Amanda, taking a play break with a wild pup.
We provide Workers Compensation to our employees in case of an injury on the job. This type of insurance cannot be provided to independent contractors, the contractor may elect to obtain it themselves, but most do not.
We contribute to social security, medicare, and unemployment.
We carry liability insurance and bonding.
We manage, train, coach, and mentor our employees for consistency of care. By law, this type of guidance cannot be provided to or required of independent contractors as they are essentially a hired 3rd party company.
Glad Wags field management is always available to our employee team for back up and emergency care should it be needed.
Pet sitting companies with employees show integrity. By law, a pet sitting company that contracts their pet sitting services is illegally misclassifying their workers as independent contractors when in fact they should be classified as employees, and the company is then required to contribute to social security, medicare, and unemployment taxes.
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS
An independent contractor hired by a pet sitting company essentially has their own pet care business. They are then hired to care for a pet sitting company’s clientele. Why is this an issue?:
Glad Wags sitter, Ann, giving love to a puppy client.
According to the IRS classification of independent contractors, they are not legally allowed to be trained or managed by a company hiring them. They can establish their own “standard”.
They are not required, by law, to follow the pet sitting company’s policies and procedures and are legally free to care for your pet however they please and whenever they please.
Contractors have little supervision and cannot be told how to handle your pet. They are not required to report to a visit at a certain time and can shorten or change visits that you have requested. They can even subcontract the visits and send another person into your house without notifying you or the company you hired!
BOARDING AT A KENNEL
When a pet owner considers going out of town, boarding at a kennel is a popular option they consider. At a kennel, pets are fed and housed (crated), looked after in a facility by various staff members that your pet does not know. Potential issues that arise from this type of care, include:
Parrot client calm and happy in his cozy home.
Various required vaccinations in order to stay at the facility. In-home care eliminates this requirement, owners can choose to vaccinate as they choose.
Even with vaccinations, an increased possibility that viruses and bacteria, such as kennel cough and influenza, may be transmitted to your pet.
There is an increased possibility that your pet will experience an injury due to exposure to many other dogs with free rein in an enclosed space with little supervision. Depending on the facility, there could be as many as 80-100 dogs with free rein on any given day, particularly during the holidays.
Increased anxiety for your pet is likely, and the possibility of a lifelong fear of other dogs is also possible due to exposure to so many dogs day after day. This is a particularly unpleasant environment for puppies and senior dogs.
The stress of a pet being away from their family, home, and daily routine often has a lasting effect.
Pet owners will be charged for “additional services” such as medication administration, a solo walk, late pick-up, and much more. In most facilities, you will even have to pay extra to have your dog petted.
Owners have the burden of transporting their pet and their supplies to and from the facility and are tied to the facility’s drop-off and pick-up times, as opposed to having their calm pet waiting for them at home when they return.
HOBBY SITTER/SOLO SITTER/FRIEND/NEIGHBOR
Known by many names, “hobby-sitter”, “solo-sitter”, “gig worker”, or even a friend or neighbor is a person who provides pet sitting services either in your house, or their home as a side job or for a little additional income. Although you might find comfort in choosing a person who you know well, there are many issues that arise when using this type of pet care, such as:
Senior client enjoying his walk through his neighborhood.
Likely that the sitter does not carry liability insurance, bonding or workman’s comp insurance.
The sitter may not be educated in pet care, and have little pet experience.
Sitters tend to have other jobs or obligations (i.e., husband, kids, parents), making your pet’s care not their top priority.
Sitter is often unavailable, especially for last-minute requests and holidays, because they are already booked with another pet or they are tied up with their own personal obligations, work schedule, or most likely they “don’t work holidays”.
In the event of a sitter emergency, injury, or illness, sitter does not have a back-up sitter to continue care for your pet if they are suddenly out-of-commission. This is particularly bad when you are out of town, or out of the country.
Sitters tend not to follow professional procedures, policies, and protocols that keep your pet healthy and safe and ensure the care that is being provided to them is exactly what you wanted.
Owner is unable to use professional pet sitting software, to schedule, communicate through a portal, and pay with a credit card if desired.
APP SITTERS
Perky Westies taking a post-walk rest on their favorite couch!
App companies such as Rover and Wag are well-known because of their marketing but they are not professional pet sitting companies. They are e-commerce websites where services are provided by multiple third parties (“Sitters”). These referral-type websites do not meet the actual “sitters”, they are independent contractors (not employees) and the App cannot control a standard of care. It is up to the pet owner to do due diligence for the safety and well-being of their pet and the security of their home, but sadly many do not.