Frequently Asked Questions

Do you personally do day or overnight care. We do both, the coverage needed depends on what the clients have in mind for their critters.

Why did you choose to become an animal caregiver? To help and care for the voiceless. Because animals have unconditional love and that’s what we at BACS crave. The animals keep us grounded.

What qualities do you have that make you a good caregiver? Love for them all, wanting to be near them, to help them and understand them. Pet CPR classes to ensure their safety.

What do you enjoy abut taking care of pets? Their energy and love that we get when we take care of them. It is a mutual respect between the human and the animal. They sense the goodness in humans and the bad also.

How many years of experience do you have with pet care?  15+

Do you have any pets/ If so, how do you care for them while you are on a pet sit for a client.  Some of the pet sitters in the group do have animals and have others care for them while they are on an assignment. Others do not have any pets at all, due to not having coverage for them, so they get their pet fix pet sitting.

Describe your average day/night activities when day and night caring for a pet. Taking the dog(s) for walks, usually more than they already get, playing with them (i.e. having then chase us in the back yard, playing find the snack game, tug of war, and playing with balls and any other toys. Sometimes (I Gina the owner of BACS will play ukulele for the critters) these are just some of the things.

How often do you communicate with photos and updates? We start a text message string at the beginning of your sit and send pictures as soon as we arrive and all trough out the sit until the end when we leave. Some of the sitters will send many pictures. So, you will need to instruct your sitter on how many contact you feel comfortable with.

What strategies do you have for retrieving a dog that runs out the front door? How would you make sure the critter was safe? First, we would make sure that the harness or collar they have on is properly fitted to them to ensure that the dog does not get out from under us. We would also attach their leash to ensure they can only go as far as we will allow them to go under our care. We would do all of this before opening the door. If the dog could be picked up and had good recall these methods are good also.

Do you allow dogs to sleep with you?  We hope so!

What do you find the most challenging or interesting part of working with pets?  Most challenging is behavior issues. The most interesting is when they do tricks or commands. Each dog is very unique and that’s why we love them.

 Sometimes are dog gets a soiled bottom, would you be willing to clean them while we are away? Yes, this is part of our job to take care of your critter and this means all types of care.

Are you comfortable brushing my dog? Yes, that is something we do if you need us to.

My dog sometimes uses pee pads in the house, will you clean those up while we are gone? Yes, we will clean up after you dog and pickup Poo too!

Are you experienced in administering medication to a pet? Yes, we have given, eye drops, ear drops, pills, insulin shots, Sub-Q fluids, diaper service and more. We have a vet tech on our team to help out with small emergencies.

Are you trained in Pet First aid?  Some on the team are and we share this known with the rest of the team.

What would you do if my dog was choking? First, I would scan the house for items that could be a hazard and put them away. There is pet hemlock maneuver to get the object out of the airway. You can also turn the dog upside down for gravity’s help and massage the item out of the airway.

 What would you do if my dog got hurt under your care?  We request that the owner give us written permission to have your pet treated under our watch. The first step is to get them to your preferred Vet. BACS will pay for the first $1500.00 to start treatment until we can get a hold of the owner. The amount that BACS would pay out to a vet would be settled up upon the return of the owner. Most owners have a credit card on file at their vet.

 What is your cancellation policy?  2 weeks before travel time ¼ of the fee. 1 week before travel ½ the fee. 48 hours before travel or early return full fee.

 Do you have references with phone numbers?  Yes! Many Just ask!

Explain how your insurance covers other sitters.  Sitters are covered under one policy held by BACS. However, BACS has a Co-op agreement with other pet sitters in the are who carry their own insurance.

We prefer no other pets or people come to our house. Are you ok with that?  Yes, we do not commingle pets together and if someone needed to come to the house of any reason you would be notified of such. However, if the owner of BACS is on a pet sit, other pet sitters may come to your property to get keys and instructions for an assignment.

 Do you bring your own bedding? Generally, no. Some may bring their own pillows.

 Do you clean the house before you leave?  Yes, we will clean up after ourselves and your animals, but we are not going to scrub toilets, wash windows, etc We clean up anything that we have created.

 If you have an emergency that may conflict with your caregiving, do you have a back-up pet caregiver? Yes! This is why BACS built a team of profession critter lovers to give you peace of mind and ensure that no dog, cat or any other critter will go without anything. They will always have someone to care for them if the pet sitter has an emergency.

 May we meet your other pet sitters?  Yes, you can. If a pet sitter is going to be assigned to your sit, you will meet with the owner of BACS and the sitter who will be taking care of your critters.

 How do you handle my dog if other dogs approach it while out walking? If we are walking your dog and we see another dog approaching then we will cross the street to avoid contact. We do not take dogs off leash. We do not take dogs to dog parks (unless requested by owner) We do not want dogs to get into fights under our care or contract RSV virus. Your critter acts different with us then they do you, so we need to ensure your critters safety and the safety of our pet sitter.

How does a Meet & Greet Work? This is a meeting to introduce ourselves to you and your critter(s). We like to see your critters to find out if our sitters are a good fit for your critter(s). We go over the types of care you are looking for and if everyone thinks its a good fit, we move forward. First M & G is FREE, all M & G needed before the travel dates start has a charge of $45 per M & G.

Do you have a contract? Yes, we have a contract for our pet sits. We send a sample over for your review before the pet sit.

Do you have insurance? Yes, we are Bonded and Insured.

How do you communicate  when I am away traveling? On the first day of you pet sit, there will be a group text message start that all parties will communication through, sending pics and text updates. You can receive these messages daily, several times a day, whatever you the pet owner determine is the right amount of communication for you.

What happens if my pet sitter gets sick? We have a team of professionals to help if something were to arise such as someone getting sick. Also, some of our clients request we call specific person to come and take over the pet sit if there happens to be an emergency or sickness with the assigned pet sitter. Just know we have you covered if this were to happen

What information do you need for me? We like it when our pet parents write out the feeding schedule and amounts, vet info, wi-fi codes, anything quirky about the home. What day is trash day, what do you want to do with your mail? Are there plants to water?  For safety concerns, we like to know where your electrical breaker box, gas line etc, are located. Are your animals chipped? Writing information down makes it easier for the pet sitter to do their best job as your instructions will be the foundation of the sit.