I’m having more and more folks who want to hire me mainly to do a lot of non-pet sitting related things so it’s time to revisit what I can and cannot do as a pet sitter. I am not a house sitter and people are confusing the two.

Pets I will care for: Dogs, cats, birds, fish, koi, rabbits, exotic pets that do not require live meals, small caged animals like rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, reptiles. This is daily maintenance of food and water and includes litter box cleaning, dog poop scooping (if I can find it in the yard), accident clean up in the house, hairball clean up, newspaper changes in bird cages, litter changes for rabbits and other small caged animals.  I will brush your dog and cat for fun and if there are too many stickers in their fur.

What I will not do: I do not wash and scrub cages or empty and scrub out litter boxes. I will not scrub your floor if the bird poos outside the cage. I do not clean ponds. I do not groom pets. I am not a dog trainer.

Livestock I will care for: chickens, ducks, goats, sheep, horses, pigs, hogs (have to be fed from OUTSIDE their enclosure).

What I will not do: clean cages or pens or muck stalls. I do not clean up chicken poop – I have asthma.

Wild animals: I will fill a couple (2) bird feeders – hummingbird or otherwise – but the hummingbird food MUST be pre-made and in the fridge. I will not make hummingbird food. I will fill water troughs for wild animals.

Plants I will care for: Any including cannabis – up to 15 potted plants but I cannot water daily during busy season. If you have an extensive array of plants I suggest buying “plant nannies” for the hot season or put them on a drip system. I am happy to water once or twice a week but any time spent watering is that much less time I have to spend with your fur children and my insurance does not cover plants.

Plants I will not care for: Over 15 plants that need to be hand watered – especially daily – or exotics like orchids. I do not have a good track record with orchids.

ANTS: Every house is currently inundated with ants. I will clean what is affecting your pet’s food and water but I cannot clean up all the ants nor try to find out where they are getting in. I will “moat” your pet’s food and water in a larger pan with water to keep the ants from getting in the bowls. I will not scrub up the ants from the house and I will not use poison around pets (or myself as I have asthma). How you deal with them will be up to you upon returning.

I don’t fix broken appliances, fountains, toilets, sinks, etc. Yes – I’ve been asked to do this.

Thank you for understanding what I can and cannot do given my time, schedule, and insurance coverage.