Policies and Procedures

Payment

We do require payment before service begins. The only form of payment we accept is credit cards. We do accept all major credit cards.
Payment is due three days prior to the first visit for vacation visits. Our weekly dog walking clients will be charged on Friday after the visits. Holiday visits will be charged 7 days in advance

Cancellations

Most of our commitments are made weeks in advance. Several days before your
visits, the sitter picks up your key from the office and reviews your profile. Therefore we have set the following guidelines regarding cancellations for vacation visits.

  • If you cancel visits more than 3 days in advance, other than holidays, there is no cancellation charge.
  • If you cancel more than 24 hours but it is 2 or 3 days prior to the first day of your scheduled service period you will incur a fee of 15% of the total service provided you are cancelling
  • Within 24 hours of services: Cancellations will be charged full price for the first 24 hours of visits, then 15% for the remaining visit.

Holiday Visit Cancellations: Please understand we are very busy for all holiday visits and have to turn down some people and if visits are canceled in the last few days prior to service, we can’t fill those spots. Any cancellation within 1 week prior to the first scheduled visit, will be charged a 50% charge and within 3 days 100%.

Mid Day Dog Walks: A 24-hour notice is required prior to the next scheduled visit.
Otherwise payment is due for the time originally agreed upon. However, we do understand that our recurring clients will occasionally need to cancel for sickness, please let us know by 9am the day of the visit and you will not be charged.

* OVERNIGHT STAY CANCELLATION POLICY: Due to the exclusive nature of overnight bookings, our pet sitters must decline all requests for overnights that coincide with the dates you have booked. Therefore, we charge a $30 per night cancellation fee, if the job is cancelled 2 weeks or less prior to the job start.

Keys3d rendering of a two house keys

We ask for 2 keys at the time of the consultation. Most people want us to keep the keys on file as part of our Ready key program. This ensures we have the key for future visits and avoids key pick up and drop off charges . We will not leave a key inside as your trip could be delayed. Hiding keys outside is also not an acceptable solution.

We require 2 keys so we always have a back up in the office for any emergency situation that may arise. If a garage code is offered to gain entry to your home, it must be followed up by a key to your home in case of malfunction or power outage. In the event that Four Paws is required to employ a locksmith to gain entry into a client’s premises due to the malfunction of the lock, or failure of Client to provide a functioning key to Four Paws, it shall be the responsibility of Client to reimburse Four Paws for all costs incurred.

Trespassers

For the safety of your four-legged loved ones and home, no other person should be permitted in your home during the service period. No other person is permitted to care for your pets during the service period. We do not share duties with other persons and will not be held responsible for problems arising with your pets or home when someone we do not insure is involved. Our liability insurance will not cover both parties. Only pet sitters with Four Paws Pet Sitting Services will be covered. Please keep this in mind if and when you decide to share duties or allow other people in your home during our service period as this constitutes breach of service agreement. This is done for liability and the security of our pet sitters.

 Minimum Visits

All dogs will be visited at least twice a day, no less than every 12 hours, although we do recommend three times for a day for crated dogs. All cats will be visited at least once per day, no less than every 24 hours. No exceptions will be made. This is for the health of your fur baby.

Click here to Download Four Paws Policy Agreement