Leaving Your Family Pet with a Pet Sitter

A new member of the family joined us 5 months ago.  Mickey is a Miniature Schnauzer mix and the sweetest puppy ever.  We have taken a few trips since having him and have been blessed to be able to take him with us.  However, we took a trip out-of-state and he could not come with us.  So we talked to family and friends and looked into kennels/pet boarding locations.  But, I was just too worried about leaving him in an unfamiliar place with strangers.  Besides, we would prefer to have him at home where he feels safe and comfortable.  So, we decided to find a pet sitter to come by a few times a day to let him run around the backyard and feed him.

The first people we thought of were our babysitter!  She lives just across the street and recently mentioned that she is saving up for a car.  Also, they have always had a family dog that she helps look after.  So, a familiar face for our puppy and she is close by, so coming over a few times a day wouldn't be too much to ask.  We were so excited when she agreed to watch him for us.

We had spoken to a kennel and they were going to charge us $10/day.  So, that's what we paid her.  Before we left, we let her know his routine.  We also wanted to leave her helpful information in case of emergencies.  So, I hit my keyboard and found the perfect downloadable template - Pet Care Instructions.  What I like most about it is that it includes all the areas I wanted to cover for my pet sitter but, I was also able to download the form and change it to fit my needs exactly.  I filled out the Pet Care Instructions form and was sure to leave a copy of his up-to-date vaccination records - just in case.

After being away from our pup for almost a week, when we returned I think he was disappointed that he wouldn't be seeing our pet sitter every day.  But, that made me even more confident with my decision to have a pet sitter watch him at home.