Why is this a *Hot Topic*?? Wouldn't the discussion of pet sitting be handled in the Pets Forum or is everyone over there irrationally against leaving pets behind?

Whoa. Sorry. I was in the wrong forum. SORRY.

Even tho we've used the same sitting service for years, I also leave a letter. I have a "form" letter on line that I "tweak" often.

The longest we've left Foxy with a sitter would probably be a month, every winter.

Over the years we've used the most appropriate method for the time and circumstance.

For instance, we had a 100 lb dog who needed to be let out every four or five hours, so we'd board her if we were going to be gone more than a day or two. (More on that later...) For a day or two, we'd hire whatever neighborhood teenage girl or boy was available.

For the cat, we always hired a neighborhood teen. Alfie didn't require much more than fresh water and a big bowl of food, and of course the litter box, so he was good for a once-a-day visit from the teen. The litter box being what it is, I always felt I needed to pay a reasonable amount to get a good job done, so last summer we paid our 14-yo neighbor girl $50.00 to take care of Alfie and his box for seven days. Alas, this year we will not have to worry about it.

I always discussed things with the teen's mom and/or dad and the teen, and left a brief note with how much food and how often, vet's name & number, etc. on the kitchen counter. And, of course, where we could be reached in case of emergency. The teens also bring in the mail and water the plants inside and out.

We always felt we were getting a bargain and the teens we've hired thought we were generous! I never had a single incident with a teen, but my poor dog died while she was boarded at the vet's while we were on vacation. Took a healthy dog in, got an "I'm very sorry for your loss, but we did everything we could. Here is your bill." They said she died of kidney failure. I have no idea why; she was boarded with the same vet who had always taken care of her, and with whom she'd been boarded before.

Most of the teens we've hired have been friends of our kids. Now that our kids are grown, we hire kids we know from the neighborhood whose parents we also know. It's been very good for us.

My vet owns the vet hospital and, for boarding, the adjoining "Pet Inn".
Two buildings...healthy pets are totally separated from the hospitalized pets.

Last year, when Foxy had her first surgery, I asked the Dr about possibly boarding her at the Inn, rather than leaving her home with the pet sitter coming in daily.

Her response was "no, your pet will be far more comfortable at home in her own surroundings". And said that, if the sitter felt uncomfortable about Foxy's health, she could bring Foxy in, and they would keep her in whichever venue they felt was necessary.

So many vets offer boarding services, but the boarding animals are not segregated from the ill ones and/or are cared for by the same personnel.

We haven't boarded a dog in thirty years. We hire a house- and dog-sitter to live at our home. We have our mail held at the P.O. and store personal papers in the (locked) attic. We call to check in weekly. Our son stops by a couple of times on short notice.

In addition to feeding, walking and play instructions for our Westie and how to care for the house, our note includes our DS's information; he's 30 minutes away. We pay $25/day. (Had one person ask $100!)

Over the years we've had an assortment of sitters. Some were friends of DS or DIL. Two years we had a local police sergeant who was in the middle of a divorce. Last year we had a grad student who was living with her mom; she was glad to have her own space and a garage for her car. (We have someone who plows our driveway.)

My pet sitter was recommended by our vet. She comes twice a day to feed, clean out the litterbox and give the cats some attention. We do confine the cats to the basement which is finished, there is a bathroom down there as well as a fridge and seating areas. The door to the upstairs is kept locked. I think I would trust her all over my house, but she does sometimes bring a little girl with her.

Years ago, I just left the cats with plenty of food and water up to 5 days. Later when Smokey became diabetic we had to hire a petsitter. Smokey is gone now, but I like our new cat to have some social interaction.

Our dog goes to a relatives to stay. I'd like to find someone to just stay here 24/7 and take care of all 3 animals.

I boarded our 10 month old lab when we went to Yellowstone. It was at a very pricey kennel, highly recommended.
$400 vet bill later..she is now starting to come around. She got so sick there we almost lost her.
I will find someone to sit her in our home,( if we go away without her again) but I will never board her again.
Your letter you leave is a good idea, mine would be much more simple though! Just feed her this, potty her when she wants, love her all the time..

I think your cat freaked out at being left alone and hid, the petsitter probably didn't "forget" but cats can go crazy if anything in their world "changes". I went off on vacation for three days, left food and water and a large clean litter box exactly where they'd always been located. When I came home the bedroom door was closed . I knew I'd left it open. The cat was found under the bed cowering along with several loads of dried up but still stinky doo-doo. I searched the house and found no sign of a break-in. I think the cat was in the bedroom and a gust of wind blew the door shut. I don't really know and the cat won't tell me.

I went to Cancun for several days. Dean went to Louisiana for several days. We left all three dogs at the Puppy Club (Kennel).

Dean said "never again". They go with us or a sitter comes in. He thinks they were kept in Cages the whole time.

I board my dog (and now dogs) at an excellent kennel that is veterinarian owned and family operated. Jake loves it there. If the weather is good he is in his own outdoor run during the day and his indoor run at night. He is walked and played with during the day. I have always had a friend come in and check on my cats every other day. I have left a cat alone in the house with a good supply of food, water and litter box for 4 or 5 days with no one coming in. I always have the post office hold my mail. One time I had a neighbor check on my cat while we were gone and she vacuumed the whole house. I kind of thought she probably snooped also.

My dad, our petsitter, died 5 years ago. I haven't been away from home overnight since. DH and I were suppose to go to a ballgame 6 hours away. It would turn into an 18 hour journey. I have opted not to go.

Years ago we did board one of our dogs. Didn't have any problems but I can't bear the thought of doing it again. Guess I won't go anywhere that I can't take the dogs along. The cats I would leave for as long as 2 days.

I miss my dad so much. He was the best dad, best baby sitter, best pet sitter and best fixer of all things. Boy, how I loved that man!

We have a sitter who comes and lives in our house while we're gone. She charges $25 a day but we pay her $30, we have 3 dogs and 3 cats. She waters plants, feeds the birds, brings in the mail, etc and we trust her completely. This is what she does- she sits for about 15 families and books up way in advance. She likes it, says she has a small apartment and 15 lovely homes. lol

And we clean the house thoroughly before she comes and she cleans it thoroughly before she leaves, it's wonderful to come home to. She arrives about an hour after we leave and leaves about an hour before we get home. That way the animals don't flip out about anything in front of her and associate her coming with our leaving. She's a great animal lover.

The one time we boarded a dog, the dog learned to whine. We never took her back to a kennel after that. If anything ever happens to our sitter, we'll never be able to go on vacation together again. We LOVE our sitter.

Like so many of you, we are "stuck" at home because we won't board our dog and can't find a reliable person to come "live" in our home so we could vacation.

If you want to find a house- and pet-sitter, think about placing notices advertising for one at area schools -- at grammar and HS for teachers and at colleges and grad schools for teachers or adult students.

We call ahead to see if the school permits this, then bring in or email a notice like this:

WANTED: HOUSE & DOG SITTER

(Our location) couple needs dog-lover to live in their newer, one-floor home and care for their (X-years old), small dog while they are out of town for a month this winter. Must be able to feed and walk the dog (however often -- three times a day in our case because he has IBS) and play with him. Garage for your car. Plowing service engaged. One mile from center of town. Please call between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.: (Cell phone number)

Be vague enough that a reader will not know exactly when you will be away, and don't give a phone that can be easily traced to your address. When you get calls, tell them what you are paying. If they are still interested, take their information and phone numbers and get back to them. Only provide identifying information to your final candidates.

Most of the teachers in our town live elsewhere, as did the police officer we hired. Sitters have been happy to be close to work in the winter instead of making long commutes. Most years there are a few new hires, single people, who respond to the add. There's a college in town and two private schools in addition to the public and parochial ones.

As flamingo said, we leave a clean house and expect the same when we return. There is a "NO Visitors" understanding.

I really hate having to board our dog. She's good while she's there and has never had any health issues from being boarded (except for kennel cough once). But I can't imagine how lonely and bored she must be. She's always very happy to go in the kennel, but also very happy to go home. She sleeps for two days! I think the other dogs must howl and whine all night and keep her up. We have no other choice though.

Chisue and others, you're so lucky to be able to find someone to stay in your home. Our home is too "difficult" for most people to live in. It's 7 miles from the nearest anything. We have only one neighbor, and they're rarely home. The house is 1/4 mile off the road, in the middle of the woods (quiet to us, but scary to some people). We heat our home with an outdoor wood furnace, which needs to be loaded daily, even in summer. In winter, if there is any amount of snow on the drive (like 3"), you can't get out because the driveway is too steep. If a tree falls on the driveway, which is shared by three families, we are responsible for cleaning it up.

Our dog is huge (115 lb). She's outdoors with free run of 5 acres from sunrise to about 9:30 pm. We walk her around our property (29 acres) every afternoon, which is about a 1-mile loop and is steep in spots. It's not an easy stroll around neighborhood sidewalks.

We know only one couple who are capable of staying here, andy they live 3 hours away, with jobs and pets of their own. We have no family nearby, and even though we've offered to fly someone here to housesit, nobody will/can do it.

There's a lovely lady in my town who does pet and house sitting. She brings in the mail, feeds the pets-one bird and two cats. We board our dog, since she comes only once a day. She waters my vegetable garden and indoor plants, and switches our poll pump on and off. Once it rained heavily and water poured in a crack in the foundation. She cleaned it all up. And all this for $20 a day. She is so good, you need to make reservations months ahead. If she's overbooked, she recommends other sitters. What a treasure!

If you want to find a professional pet sitting service, that follows a recognized set of standards for sitting, like hiring only adult sitters, bonded employees, etc.

Use the Link below.
Their web page has a "Locate a pet sitter" button, in orange, at the top of the page.

When we're gone and can't take Roxie (camping, to the kids', etc.) we board her at our vet's office. They have a boarding facility next door to his office. She occasionally has to stay in a large pen and sleeps inside her crate at night. She sleeps in her crate at home, also. She's also totally had the run of the place before and has a "resident" cat, Sam, that she plays with.

The cats? We have a friend who, God bless him, will come over and feed and water cats, change litter boxes and bring in the mail. We've bought him several things on our trips as he will not accept pay. We've also returned the favor with their cats several times.

All that being said, I still hate to leave any of them when we go somewhere overnight.

I don't have any pets to leave alone, but will have when I retire from travel. I have already picked up a cat "tunnel" to play with when I get one.

Sparky stays at Preppy Pets and absolutely loves it! He gets all day playtime. The cats have someone come once per day to scoop, check food and water, and play. It my 12 y.o's best friend. Now one of the cats has kidney problems and needs fluids under the skin so I'm not sure if the sitter will want to tackle this, or if I will get a vet tech to come and do it (the mom is open to the idea of learning how to do this). I'm afraid if the vet tech does it, the cats might hide from a stranger.

When we had cats I called a pet sitting company. They also took in the paper, watered the plants and cleaned the litter box as well as checking the food and water. We felt very comfortable with the arrangement.

I've had the same professional pet sitter for about 17 years - she used to be a vet tech. I left my first generation of cats home alone with a big bowl of food and water alot because both DH and I traveled. As they got older though they needed more special handling - canned food instead of dry, medications, etc. So I got into having a pet sitter. She used to come once a day but as the cat's health needs became more complicated - different cats requiring different foods - she came twice a day. The real clincher though was when one cat was diagnosed with CRF and required daily subcutaneous fluid injections. Professional pet sitter wouldn't do because her liability insurance did not cover any injections. Fortunately the daughter of one of our neighbors was willing to learn to do this and she then came over a couple times a day and professional pet sitter was reduced to once a day. Professional charges about $20 per visit - including tax. I paid the neighbor $10/day for two visits. Unfortunately the neighbor is going off to college now - but the CRF cat recently passed away so in that respect the timing was good.