Find Neighbors for Pet Sitting Services
April 9, 2007 by Mary Jo Manzanares
Filed under Air Travel, Travel Tips
It’s spring vacation time, and there are lots of families on the airplanes. More and more families are realizing and appreciating the experiences that travel add to life.
Just the other day I was chatting with a family who were getting away for a little beach vacation: Mom, Dad, three kids, and their two dogs. Two dogs? Yes, it seems that as more and more hotels are accommodating pets, families are bringing them along on vacations.
I’m an animal lover myself, but quite frankly have never considered bring my cats along with me on a vacation. I’m not sure who would be more traumatized by the travels, my cats or me. Cats are self-sufficient enough to be left alone for short periods of time, and that’s important when you have a job like mine. When I’ve been gone for longer periods of time, I have some resources to call upon for cat-sitting.
But what if you don’t? Are pets and traveling exclusionary choices?
That premise was what led to the start of the PetWatch Club, a website that matches up pet owners who need sitter services, with pet owners who are willing to provide those services. You can find a pet sitter for your next vacation via PetWatch and its database of thousands of pets and their owners.
This isn’t a typical boarding/sitting arrangement, which is frequently impersonal and expensive. This is a match up of pet owners who live in the same general neighborhood. Visit the site, type in your zip code, and meet Fido who lives down the street, and Fluffy who lives in the next block. (I typed in my zip code, and found several people and their pets in my neighborhood.)
PetWatch Club members use the service to match up with other pet owners for pet play dates, information, and exchanging of sitting services. If you have to leave your pet behind when you travel, you can do so knowing that a trusted neighbor is caring for them.
You can make traveling work — even when your family consists of four-legged members.
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Tags: b5media, travel, vacation, Flyaway Cafe, flight attendants, pets, traveling with pets, PetWatch Club
I know, I’m a little biased here — but I want to be sure that if you’re going away for a long time and leaving your pet — you make sure that all possible emergencies are taken into considertion.
I care for pets for a living – - and I take the job really seriously. It’s obviously a little different from this service — which can be great — as long as the people caring for your pet know what to do if there’s a medical emergency (4 weeks ago, no one would have suspected that national brand pet food could KILL your pet while you were away!); Also ensure that pets get along — and what the contingency plan is if pets that seemed to get along during a trial meeting suddenly are at each other’s throats. Whose responsible?
There’s just tons to think about. I know that when I go away, I can’t wait to see my furry ones when I get home.
Best,
Peggie
Hi Peggie. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
I would NEVER trust just anyone to take care of my guys, and I hope that I didn’t give that impression.
The PetWatch Club matches people up based on geography, and makes good recommendations about how people and check to see if it’s a good fit. There’s even a list of thing to ask and discuss when looking for a pet sitting arrangement. This is more of a family stay, than a true sitting arrangement. Like most things in life, you need to do your homework.
I always leave a number (or two or three) where I can be reached in the event of an emergency, as well as who my vet is, and how she can be reached.
Nice concept, I posted a link to this article at http://doggiemeow.com/tips/Finding-neighbors-to-look-after-your-pet-while-you-are-away/
Please feel free to post pet related information that might be useful to others at DoggieMeow. Thanks for the tip.