We do not know a specific pet sitting service to personally recommend as we have only used our own employees over the years.
We are proud members (and have been since1996) of Pet Sitters International (PSI). We would recommend you visit their website www.petsit.com and use their pet sitter locator feature. You will put in your zip code and do a pet sitter search. Please consider using zip codes from surrounding cities. We also serviced zip code 91766 though we did not list that on Pet Sitters International's site.
Protection we offered to our clients - this may or may not be important to you. It is not required that pet sitters have these coverages to be in business. It was important to us that we had them however.
INSURANCE - We had general liability insurance as well as care, custody and control coverage, This covers potential negligence to your home and pets. Pets are not covered without CC&C. We also had worker's compensation insurance for our employees. If an employee was injured in your home, it would not have been your home owners' insurance to cover this injury. California law requires companies carry workers compensation insurance on employees. This is one of the reasons we hired actual employees and not independent contractors. We wanted to have a company with actual employees to whom we could require specific protocal to care for our clients' pets. If you want to see proof of any of these coverages, a pet sitter should have them readily available for you to review at the time of your meet and greet before you sign up for their service.
BONDING - We were bonded which covers potential theft.
LICENSED - We had a business license with the local city which enabled us to legally conduct business.
MAGNETIC CAR SIGNS - These were a "NO NO' to us. The car signs publicily advertised that the clients were gone as well as that the pet sitter was alone in homes. Not a win win for anyone. We highly recommend that if your new sitter has car signs, that they not use them while at your home.
SERVICE CONTRACT - We had a service contract that our clients received a copy of when the service was initially set up. It listed our responsibilities as well as our fees.
Keep in mind, this is a business. You are entrusting a service with your pets, your home, your yards, your belongings - and your identity. There should be a great deal of trust between you and the service.
You are not hiring someone to just feed your pets. It is so much more. This is why we highly recommend Pet Sitters International and not just anyone.
