Chin sitting service???

[keninphilly]

I am in a little bit of a situation here.

I am new to Montreal, and as such have very little friends here. When I was in Philly it wasn't a problem finding someone to watch my chins when I was away.

Well, I had a friend lined up who agreed to watch my chins while I am away in Japan and China for three weeks mid December to early January. Well, without going into details, that friendship is over. Now I am starting to panic a little. I found one friend who could watch them the first and the last week, but will be away a week for Christmas. Other people I know are either unreliable, or I don't know well enough to hand over the keys and the chins very lives to. Although I am sure it would be fine, but I would not be able to enjoy myself if I wasn't 100% ABSOLUTELY sure that they were OK.

I know of such things as dog walking services, pet care services and the like. However I am not sure that they would understand or are able to take care of caged animals. I don't want to have to take the chins anywhere, their cages are just too big and also it is bad enough when I am gone but if I were to take them to a strangers house or something like that they may think that I abandoned them and get depressed and stop eating. They are very attached to me now, but have come to understand that I always come back (or at least I like to THINK that they understand that).

So, can anyone tell me if there is a service that does this? Or even if there is someone on this forum that lives in Montreal that could do this for me? Of course, I would pay for it! I don't know what to do. I am continuing to ask anyone I can think of and have at least some trust in, but I am sure you all can understand my concern.

Hopefully one of you guys will think or know of something that I haven't thought of or know about.

Thanks!

 

[Dragonflye]

Have you tried your local vet's office? My petsitter is a vet tech who has a petsitting business on the side. She is awesome with my chins!

 

[mishellyshel]

I would call local vets & local petsitters. If they havent cared for chins before, it would not be hard to show them what to do...........they would really only need to come once per day to check on them, change feed & water and maybe "straighten" up the cage.
I used to use a petsitter all the time for my dogs, they were bonded and trustworthy and they would come 3 x a day and walk them feed them and even went so far as to bring in my mail!

 

[ChilliPepper]

ditto to the vet tech. We have one that we know of as an emergency if the inlaws can't do them.

 

[keninphilly]

Thanks for the advice, I was looking at pet sitters and there is one called Petslovehome. I will have to give them a call because I think that I would need to discuss "special rates". I don't think that stopping in once a day and checking food and water is worth $17.00 a day. What do you think?

http://petslovehome.com/php/index.php?lang=ca

 

[mishellyshel]

when i first started using a pet sitter back in 1997 the rate was 10.00 a visit. i used one several years ago and it was up to 15.00, so i am thinking that is about right.
BUT it doesnt hurt to ask, maybe since they are "caged" animals that will not require her to walk them, you can get them to come down to 15.00 Personally I think it is worth it for peace of mind. The petsitter I used would leave me a note about the visit every time he came! you can also call and make sure they are ok.
i think the fact that they have a professional website is a plus. Also they usually want to come out and meet the pets before starting the service, so maybe you can get a better vibe than.

 

[keninphilly]

when i first started using a pet sitter back in 1997 the rate was 10.00 a visit. i used one several years ago and it was up to 15.00, so i am thinking that is about right.
BUT it doesnt hurt to ask, maybe since they are "caged" animals that will not require her to walk them, you can get them to come down to 15.00 Personally I think it is worth it for peace of mind. The petsitter I used would leave me a note about the visit every time he came! you can also call and make sure they are ok.
i think the fact that they have a professional website is a plus. Also they usually want to come out and meet the pets before starting the service, so maybe you can get a better vibe than.

Oh yea, I totally agree with you. I can have them come every other day to save some money as well. I can also ask my friend to stop in as well (during the first and last week). If I really want to be a paranoid daddy I can rig my iMac's cam so that I can access it remotely so I can check in on them as well. Hmmm....is that taking it too far?? :hmm:

 

[keninphilly]

Ok, I have a meeting set up with the owner of that site tomorrow at 2:30. Is there anything that I should ask for, like references or if they are bonded, etc???

 

[mishellyshel]

yes ask about bonding. experience with chins? what vet they would take your chin to if became ill? ask if they leave updates? if they are reachable by phone or email? make sure to ask if they will be the person taking care of your pets or if they have associates that may also come. if so, make sure they have experience with chins. i will also make sure they know the proper way to open & more importantly close the cage!
you will probably get a vibe right away and hopefully you will be comfortable with them. good luck.

 

[equus_peduus]

In the US, they need to be bonded and insured. There are also two national professional petsitting associations (my understanding is that they are kind of rivals so most petsitters are a member of one or the other, but not both). Will they do other minor services (e.g., move the curtains, bring in the paper, move the trash can, etc., so it looks like someone is living there)? If the regular vet isn't available (night, weekend, etc), what will they do? What steps do they take to ensure that your home security is not violated (who has access to the keys, what do they do with your information, etc).?

 

[lydz]

This is interesting. Let us know what they say. I'm curious.

 

[keninphilly]

It turns out that it is a franchise. The woman whom I met was very nice and she would be the one doing the sitting. She is insured and showed me that. She said that she picks up the mail and can turn lights on and off when she comes. She had numerous references. She has worked as a vet tech for the last 10 years. She asked many questions and wrote extremely detailed notes (even the chins names) and she asked for a contact number where I can be reached at all times. She asked that I provide her a list of every hotel that I am staying at and the phone numbers of them so she can always get hold of me if she needs to. She also said that she either calls or emails her clients every time she visits and sometimes will even take a picture so you can see how they are doing. She keeps the key on her until the clients return.

She has little experience with chins, however we talked for well over an hour and she seemed excited to learn about them. I have a security system in place and I can give her a code that is just for her, then I can delete the code upon my return. The security system can be accessed from anywhere so I can see what time she came and what time she left, even from across the globe, it's linked to the internet some how, I'll have to figure out how to use that part. I am going to tell my neighbors that she will be visiting and I am giving my house key to my friend (the one who will be away for a week during Christmas) to check up on them on the days that the sitter will not be here.

I feel pretty confident that she will do a good job, and after seeing how many notes she took during our discussion left a very good impression with me. We are going to meet again next month before I leave.

So, I feel pretty good about the meeting!

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

Sounds like you found a great solution.

 

[cintistatern2005]

What is she charging, if you dont mind me asking?

 

[Solarsis]

We have a professional pet sitter and love her to pieces. She was pretty new to chins as well but was very willing to learn. The first time she watched the girls, we left her a small pack of notes about common chin illnesses, care and things to look out for.

Another thing to ask your lady would be if they have a plan in case of emergency. Our pet sitter has a detailed procedure in place in case anything happened to her and she was unable to come see the chins. It's always good to know this ahead of time.

As far as fees go, $17 is pretty reasonable. We pay around $22 per day for 2 chins. And on holidays it's time and a half (you might want to check that with the sitter too). I'ts been totally worth it for us and our peace of mind though!

 

[keninphilly]

What is she charging, if you dont mind me asking?

$17.00/day

We have a professional pet sitter and love her to pieces. She was pretty new to chins as well but was very willing to learn. The first time she watched the girls, we left her a small pack of notes about common chin illnesses, care and things to look out for.

Another thing to ask your lady would be if they have a plan in case of emergency. Our pet sitter has a detailed procedure in place in case anything happened to her and she was unable to come see the chins. It's always good to know this ahead of time.

As far as fees go, $17 is pretty reasonable. We pay around $22 per day for 2 chins. And on holidays it's time and a half (you might want to check that with the sitter too). I'ts been totally worth it for us and our peace of mind though!

Well, I will bring up the emergency procedures when she comes back for the second visit. She only charges extra on Christmas Day, other than that it stays at $17.00. I think I'll have her come every three days and the days in between I'll ask my friend to check in on them.