Need To Know

Rates:

Rates are non-negotiable and are subject to change without further notice.

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Administration Fee:

In order to keep overall rates low and to maintain excellent service, a 3% Administration Fee is added to every invoice to cover a portion of business costs. These costs include, but are not limited to, liability and bonding insurance, pet education and safety courses, pet sitting software, etc. 

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Payments:

A 50% non-refundable deposit is required to secure all approved requests. This deposit cannot be applied to future bookings should you cancel. The remaining amount will be automatically charged to your payment method on file 48 hours before pet sitting services begin. If the entire invoice is paid upfront, 50% will still be considered a non-refundable deposit. For last-minute requests that are approved ("last-minute" is defined as less than 4 days from the first day of service), a 100% non-refundable deposit is required to secure the booking. This deposit cannot be applied to future bookings should you cancel.

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Office Hours:

Phone messages left on our voicemail are responded to Monday through Friday from 10 am to 2 pm. Emails and online requests are handled Monday through Sunday from 9 am to 6 pm.

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After-Hours & Emergencies:

While we strive to accommodate our clients to the best of our ability, please keep in mind that we are not open 24 hours. Therefore, please follow this protocol for after-hours: If you must contact us after office hours for an emergency while we are scheduled to pet sit for you, please send a secured messaged through Time to Pet up until 8 pm. We will call you to determine the nature of your emergency. If your emergency is after 8 pm, please call your designated emergency contact for assistance. We will be unavailable. 

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Booking Requests:

All booking requests must go through Time to Pet. We do not accept requests via phone, text, or email. We are a first-come, first-serve business; therefore, we are unable to "pencil you in" or "hold a spot" for any request. The only way to truly secure your spot is by paying your deposit!

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Cancellations:

You must submit your cancellation request via Time to Pet no later than 24 hours before pet sitting services are scheduled to begin in order to be eligible for a partial credit towards future bookings. Otherwise, no credit will be issued. Credits will expire 6 months from the date they were issued. We will not offer refunds for cancellations. We will not offer refunds or credits for early returns and/or late departures. While we understand that life happens and sometimes last-minute cancellations occur, please keep in mind that we have organized our schedule to make sure your pet's needs are met at your requested time and we don't overbook. Therefore, you will be required to pay the full amount of your booking regardless of the time you depart or return home.

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Visit Hours:

We do not guarantee specific appointment times. We operate within time blocks only. If we are unable to visit your pets at your requested time block, we will inform you and make arrangements to visit them during an alternate time block. 

 

We require homes to be vacant of humans in order to provide pet sitting services. If we encounter someone in your home while we are scheduled to pet sit for you, we will promptly leave and you will be charged for the entire visit, regardless of whether it was completed or not. 

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If a friend or service provider must drop by, please inform them of the time frames we are expected to be in your home pet sitting and inform us of when to expect them to avoid any unnecessary confusion.

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Job Sharing:

We understand that your friends or family may want to lend a hand by coming by in your absence to take care of your pets too. However, we do not accept job sharing for several reasons:

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1) We want your pets to receive a consistent, reliable standard of care. Friends and family, although well-intentioned, may forget to come by when you ask them, they may not follow your instructions regarding medication administration, or they may simply be uncommunicative. After all, pet care is not their career! But it is ours. Hiring SBCCG as the sole provider of pet care is the best option for you and your pets.

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2) For liability purposes, if other people are allowed to enter your home while we are scheduled to pet sit for you, we cannot and will not be held liable for anything that may happen to your pets or home. 

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Job sharing is a breach of our service agreement and will result in termination. 

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Minimum Visits:

Indoor cats must be visited at least once each day. We will not accommodate requests for every other day or twice a week. As a professional pet care business, your cat's physical health, safety, and emotional well-being come first. 

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Medication Administration:

We will only give medication to indoor pets that allow us to safely administer it. We will not attempt to administer medication to pets that are aggressive, run and hide, or are otherwise uncooperative. We do not assume and have no liability for illness which results from a pet being unwilling to take medication. If you have an outdoor cat that requires medication, we kindly ask that you contact your vet or a local boarding facility instead.

 

PILL POLICY: We will not pill your cat. If their pills cannot be crushed in food, we request that you contact your vet to see if your cat's pills can be compounded into a liquid, ear gel, treat, or chewable tablet for easier administration.

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Meet & Greets:

Initial Meet & Greets are complimentary. They allow us the chance to meet you and your pets, go over expectations, pet routines, and determine whether we will be a good fit for one another. However, if you move, welcome a new pet to your home, or implement significant changes to your pet's routine, an additional Meet & Greet will be required and a $15 fee will apply.

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Key Exchanges:

We require at least one working copy of your key (or keyless entry codes) at the initial Meet & Greet. We offer several convenient options for key exchanges. You may choose to allow us to hold onto your key for future visits, purchase a lockbox from us (for a one-time fee of $20), purchase a lockbox yourself, or request a separate key pick-up/drop-off visit (each trip will incur a $15 fee). Of these options, we strongly recommend the use of a lockbox. We do not accept hide-away options. This is for your safety as much as it is for ours. 

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Inclement Weather and Medical Emergencies:

We will make reasonable efforts to maintain service during inclement weather but reserve the right to adjust the schedule of service based on our discretion. We require all clients have a local emergency contact on stand-by (like a neighbor) in case an emergency prevents us from providing pet care. We reserve the right to deny service to any client without a local emergency contact.

 

If your pet falls ill, we will take all reasonable measures to reach you or your emergency contact. If we're unable to reach anyone, we will use our discretion whether a trip to the vet is necessary. Please inform your veterinary office that we'll be caring for your pets in your absence and leave a method of payment on file at their office in case emergency care is required. We will not be held responsible for any medical expenses.

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Indoor Cats with Outside Access:

Whether your cat is "indoor only” or has access to the outdoors, it will remain indoors for the duration of our pet sitting visits. We cannot be held responsible for any illness or injury sustained by your cat while roaming outside. For their safety, they will not be allowed outside while under our care.

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