[nyy2fandeb]

I would like to make some extra money as a Pet Sitter - going to peoples homes while they are on vacation and taking care of their pets - is it necessary to be bonded to do this? I have seen this noted in some ads - this is basically an insurance plan of some type? What does it insure against? Thanks

[JudyKayTee]

This answers your questions - although it refers to cleaning and not in-home pet sitting.

What Does Bonded and Insured Mean? | Insurance.com

[excon]

Hello NY:

If you're going to their house, it protects them from you being a crook.

excon

[JudyKayTee]

Bonding for pet sitters refers to protecting your company against employee theft. If you do not have employees, you do not need to be bonded. Many sitters do get bonded just as an advertising technique.

What you do need is liability insurance. There are many specialty insurance companies out there just for pet sitters. You can go to Start a Professional Pet Sitting Business to learn about each of those companies available.

Good luck!
Stacy

Bonding also means that the person entering my home has had a background check, Police check, whether it's one person or employees. You can get insurance but have an arrest record.

I believe a prudent homeowner verifies the people coming "in" to do work - petsitter or someone else.

[HBF]

You can get a background check done through your local state government. You don't need to be bonded for that.

[HBF]

It is the responsibility of the homeowner to ask those questions and get the background check and insurance certificate to be sure they are secure with who they are hiring. If you don't want to spend the monthly bonding fee, you can get the insurance and background check done and that should suffice for most people.

[JudyKayTee]

The OP asked if it's necessary to be bonded. It is not (of course).

There are a lot of people out there looking for work - I don't think the "average" homeowner has the contacts, means or experience to get a background check done on someone nor do I think the average homeowner when interviewing people would hire the person when the homeowner had to provide insurance and/or bonding.

If the OP is looking to start a business these are things she has to look at. I'm a liability investigator; these are things I look out when a problem arises.

I do notice the advertising in your signature line - is that your website?

[Clough]

Hi, HBF!

Please do not use this site to advertise or promote another site where people will have to pay money. It's not allowed here. I've already deleted a number of your posts where you've done that.

What you have to offer, seems to be really valuable as well as helpful. But, please be mindful as to not use this site for advertising.

Thanks!

[excon]

It is the responsibility of the homeowner to ask those questions and get the background check

Hello H:

Or, they could just look for another pet sitter who DOES have that stuff so the homeowner doesn't have to mess with it. When you call a plumber, do you do a background check, or do you call one who advertises that he already did??

excon

[HBF]

Per the TOS, I can put my link in the signature:

"Do not advertise or spam. You are welcome to include information and links in your signature to a reasonable extent, but do not refer or link to your products or services in the body of posts."

I did not advertise or spam in my response. The site I directed the poster to was a site that is free to use and has a lot of valuable, free information.

[JudyKayTee]

Per the TOS, I can put my link in the signature:

"Do not advertise or spam. You are welcome to include information and links in your signature to a reasonable extent, but do not refer or link to your products or services in the body of posts."

I did not advertise or spam in my response. The site i directed the poster to was a site that is free to use and has a lot of valuable, free information.

As a long-time member of this site and an Expert I disagree - I found almost no free information on you're the site; instead, I found any number of "offers" to sell packaged info.

I would not advertise my business in this fashion nor would I seek leads or clients in this fashion and find your advertising, however subtle, to be inappropriate.

Your response in this thread is even more blatant - https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/indust...ml#post1693535

Many of "us" have our own businesses; we do not choose this type of advertising.

Perhaps this is a question for the moderators to examine - I am aware that a person who advertised legal forms was not allowed to post his/her website.

[HBF]

The information in the post I was referring to was free and applies directly to the poster. I have been in the pet sitting field for 9 years now and would consider myself an expert as do many of the business owners I help.

This has all been twisted around either by my poor sentence structure or just misunderstanding of what was said.

My signature has products for sale, yes, but that was not in the body of the post. As I understand the TOS, that is allowed. It doesn't go into detail about any legal forms advertising or such. Just what I stated above.

I have also been a member of this forum for many years and have provided lots of help to many people.

That post you were referring to was more blatant because that is precisely what the person was asking for. There is no way around that one.

Ease go help others with their questions. There is no need for this harassment. Please move on.

I am happy to help people out and will continue to do so. I have people email me and call me asking for help all the time and I do so for free. All I sell is the business forms and if people choose to buy, that is great. If not, that is their choice as well. How I advertise is not any person's business but my own.

I apologize to nyy2fandeb for this mess above. I was only trying to help you out. I hope you were able to get something out of this to help you with your business.


Well, now since it was deleted, you don't even know where to go to get the pet sitting insurance and bonding information. Petsitllc.com (not my business) offers pet sitter insurance and bonding (although they call it special coverage). It works similarly.

Good luck!

[JudyKayTee]

Or OP could call any insurance agency in her City - I would recommend someone who handles multiple lines.

[HBF]

I agree. It is best to shop around and make sure you are getting the best policy and the cheapest. Your local policy carriers such as State Farm are usually the most expensive for this type of business.

There are a few companies that are dedicated to the pet sitting and dog walking field and that is what most pet sitters use.

Pet Sit, LLC
Pet Sitters International
And
NAPPS (national association of professional pet sitters)

Are the most common ones.

However, petsitllc is the cheapest at $174 (I believe) a year.

The other two you have to join their association first in order to purchase the insurance, but depending on your insurance needs, they may be the best route as well.

Best Wishes!

[Clough]

Original poster hasn't returned.

Thread has been sufficiently answered.

Thread is now CLOSED.