Pretty much everyone loves to travel no matter if it’s just for a few days or a couple weeks. Who doesn’t catch themselves daydreaming about sunning on the beach or wandering through a national park? There are so many wondrous places to explore that your adventures can be never ending. However, no matter how strong your travel urges are, there are some pretty outstanding factors that create hesitation to book that next trip. Getting the time off can be one of the main obstacles, or the cost of the destination that you’d like to experience next, but with a little planning, these are situations that can be resolved with a little tenacity. One of the main reasons that people are hesitant to travel is because of their residence or too many even more importantly, their beloved pets.
If you are doing a short road trip and you are able to take your beloved Fido or Freda with you, then that is fantastic, and there are some great pet travel accessories, but most scenarios involve traveling long distances, flights, trains and destinations that bringing a pet along is just not realistic, safe for them, or a lot of the time not allowed. If you are a pet owner, then you know that the cost of boarding can be astronomical and always adds a layer of cost to any trip that you may not be ready for. More important than the cost though is the stress sometimes that many pets feel when they are not in the comfort of their own home and have to get accustomed to sleeping, eating and “doing their business” in unfamiliar surroundings. This is not only stressful for them, but just as stressful for you as that is all you are thinking about during your entire time away.
Luckily there are ways around this scenario now, and it’s one of the most popular options for pet owners. The concept is in house Pet Sitters and House Sitters. What better way to put your mind at ease, then being able to keep your beloved pet at home where they remain in their comfortable surroundings and on the same regimen that they are used to. This takes a large portion of the stress on them away while you are gone as well as gives you a little peace of mind that they are being well taken care of. There are a few companies that offer pretty amazing services like this and one of the most popular is housecarers.com.
It’s a double win scenario actually, because while you’re pet is being properly taken care of, so is your place of residence. What better way to keep an eye on your property and have you pet taken care of all at the same time by the same person. This eliminates having multiple people coming in and out of your home at different times of the day and evening, and allows one person to take care of both tasks. This way you are able to check in with one person if you wish and they can give you a quick update on everything so you do not have to speak with multiple people. This way you can get back to the fun time you are having wherever you may be.
Let’s face it. While we all have some pretty amazing family and friends, the thought of always asking them to take care of your pets and your house can be a little unwelcoming. And for the most part, they probably do a great job, but just like everyone, people have busy lives so sometimes stopping by the house to let someone else’s pet out can easily slip their mind. Not intentional ever, it just happens. When someone is hired specifically to do one job and they are there to take care of that specific task, the assurance level is higher because that is what they are being paid to do. Not another task on a list being done as a favor by a family member or friend.
Regardless of the reasons you may have of how to do things or not to do things, it’s really nice to have another option to consider. Sometimes, even if you have the very best house sitter or pet sitter, they just might be out of town the same time that you are leaving for Hawaii and you need to have a plan B to keep everything running smoothly during your time away.
There are some other tips as well that can help those that are taking care of your pet while you are away. A lot of these are most likely part of your natural process as a loving pet owner but everyone likes additional helping food for thought time to time. Helping those that are helping you creates a seamless operation that benefits everyone. Some things to plan to include are:
Where You’ll Be: Always let those know that are keeping an eye on things for you where you are going to be and how to get a hold of you. It’s ideal that we now live in a world where we all have cell phones that allow us to contact one another instantly, but for whatever reason they are not able to reach you that way, at least they know where you are so the hotel, etc. can get a message to you if need be also.
Additional Contacts: Leave additional contacts that your house or pet sitter can contact if they need help taking care of anything for whatever reason. Maybe this can be the friend or family member that has watched your place before and they know they will only be contacted as a last resort should they need to assist with any scenario while you are away, or may know additional actions that you would like to happen.
Vet: Having your Vet’s information readily available for your pet sitter is rule #1. For any pet sitter, this is something that they usually request right away themselves as they like to know who to call or where to go should they need to get your pet in to be seen if something should arise. This is just another level of the peace of mind that will assist all parties in feeling more comfortable.
Food Source: Always have plenty of your pet’s food on hand and maybe a little extra as well. In addition, you can let your pet sitter know where they can get additional amounts should they need to for any reason. On rare occasions, some batches of food might be bad or seem spoiled and you want to make sure that the pet sitter knows where they can get extra in the unlikely event that they need to.
Animal Care: A 24 hour vet is also something that you may want to include with your contact information list. Depending on where you live, this may not be an option, but if it is, including this information makes it easy for your pet to be taken in at 2am if they need to be seen for any reason and are not able to wait to see their regular vet during business operating hours.
You work very hard in your everyday life and when you are planning a nice adventure filled or relaxing getaway, you deserve to enjoy every minute while you are there and should not have anything else on your mind except being present in the moment you are in. For the most part, you may never be back where you are at that moment, so you should be able to soak in every moment. Everyone has their way of doing things and how they prefer things to be taken care of, but most will agree that the least amount of headache and stress is common ground no matter what options you choose to utilize while you are away. As with anything, do your own due diligence and trust your judgement when you are considering options for keeping an eye on your pets or your property for when you plan to be away.