Policies
I only ask for deposits for pet sitting, boarding, and overnights if they occur over a major holiday or between Memorial Day & Labor Day. This is when I'm the busiest and any cancelation comes with a loss in revenue. These deposits are non-refundable and 50% of the invoice. Should you need to cancel due to a natural disaster (Hurricane, flood, earthquake, etc), an act of terrorism, or a death or serious injury/illness to an immediate family member, your deposit will be refunded minus any credit card fees (if that's how you paid). You would also be refunded if your trip is canceled at least 3 weeks ahead of time, which gives me time to book someone in your place.
The cancelation policy for dog walking is as follows:
Same day cancelations are billed at the full rate unless it's due to snow/ice. You have up until 9am on snow/ice days to cancel without penalty. If you see in your portal that I am doing your walk, you can cancel up until the point that I leave my house.
Cancelations made between 8pm and midnight the evening before are billed at 50%.
Staff is paid for all walks and visits that are in their confirmation email that goes out at 8pm the night before.
Scheduling:
I'm available by phone, text, or email from 7am - 9pm. If you think of something you need to tell me and it's outside those hours, go ahead and text or email me. My phone is on Do Not Disturb when I'm sleeping so you absolutely can not wake me up, I promise. I'd hate for you to wait and then forget to text me something important.
I think scheduling visits is fairly simple but if you have trouble with the app/software, you can text me to add visits in for you.
I do try to get staff schedules in by 2pm on Sundays so that I can let the team know what days they're needed and get a draft of their weekly schedule completed. This does not mean that you can't add walks or visits later in the week or even same day, this just gives my staff a better way to plan their week. Everyone on my team has other jobs and/or children so this is really appreciated.
If you haven't put in your requests and you are a regular dog walking client, you'll receive a text from me asking if you need walks for the week. I'm not trying to pester you but I wait until all of the regular requests are in before scheduling M&Gs and our clients that have me pick their days and times for them.
We use time windows for scheduling. I can't guarantee a certain time but if you have a preference, you can note it. Twice daily clients, puppies, and those on time sensitive medication have much smaller windows. All other visits are scheduled based on your location to avoid criss-crossing all over the service area.
We service all of Bel Air as well as parts of Forest Hill, Abingdon, Belcamp,Fallston (including the area of Joppa near Fallston/Benson), and Churchville. In general, the service area is within 17 minutes of my home off of 543 & 22.
We also offer cat visits and pet sitting services in Darlington, and parts of Street, and Whiteford. Our amazing sitter, Kim, lives in the area and does all the visits in those areas.
Additional Fees:
Holidays-:
There is a $5 charge for walks or visits that occur on the following holidays: New Years Day, Easter Sunday, Mother's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years Eve.
If you are a walking client with a regular schedule, there isn't a holiday fee charged if the walk falls on a day that you would normally have a walk scheduled (with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Christmas Eve).
Before or After Hours:
If you request a walk or visit before 7am or after 9pm, there will be a $5 fee added to your invoice and this is paid directly to your walker/sitter.
Weekend Requests:
There will also be a $5 charge for weekend requests made with less than 24 hours notice. This will be paid directly to your walker/sitter. If I'm doing your walk, this doesn't apply. I've had so many of these lately and it can be quite difficult to find someone available on short notice on the weekend if I'm unavailable.
Gratuities:
While not an additional fee, I wanted to take a moment to touch on how tips are paid to the staff. The total gratuity is divided by the number of visits on that invoice. Then it's split up between your walkers/sitters based on how many visits they completed.
Inclement Weather:
We will always make every effort to get to your pet but if road conditions are unsafe, we will have to wait until conditions improve. When temps are below freezing or excessively hot, we will walk your dog until they finish their business and spend the remaining time cuddling and playing with them. I don't walk in thunderstorms but will do a quick potty break. Please give instructions for walking your dog when it's raining and provide towels for drying.
Photo Policy:
All photos taken are the property of Your Pet AuPair and will be used on my social media, website, and marketing materials. I try to make sure the photos that I post are either taken outside or are cropped enough not to show anything personally identifiable. I never tag my clients in my posts for privacy reasons, leaving it up to you if you'd like to claim ownership of your beautiful pets.
If you would prefer that we do not post pictures please make me aware of that personally as well as noting in one of the notes fields on the software.
Payment:
Payments are accepted by cash, check, Zelle, Cash App, Venmo, and credit card. Just let me know which payment method you prefer and I'll give you the details for that platform. Zelle is my preferred electronic payment method.
********Prices subject to change based on demand*******