Policies at Lucy's Friends
Many pet sitters charge additional rates for holidays and last-minute calls.
We do not do this, however:
We are happy to fit you in on a moment's notice, but we cannot guarantee a 45-minute trip.
Our phone hours are from 6AM - 9PM. If you have an emergency we will of course call you back quickly to address it, but for non emergency items we will call you during our hours. Please also note that if we have an emergency during a night visit, we will of course contact you as soon as possible, regardless of our phone hours.
On holidays, your visit is limited to the time it takes to care for your pet.
Additionally, we ask that if you must cancel a visit, please call at least one hour ahead of the scheduled time. Otherwise, we will charge you for that trip.
Due to safety reasons, we will not walk more than 2 dogs at one time, and then only dogs from the same family. At our discretion, we may walk your dog with either a gentle leader or a martingale collar. If you have questions or concerns about this, please let us know.
If your dog is continuously unruly, or injures us, we may require that you enroll your dog in training classes before we will pet sit for you again.
During times of dangerous weather, such as ice, we will arrive at your home as soon as it is safe to drive. If it may be unsafe for a long period of time, such as blizzard conditions or other prolonged unsafe weather, we will contact you to work out what is best for you, your pet(s) and us.
In an emergency, we will take your pet to your vet, or we will take them to After Hours Emergency Clinic. We will of course notify you if this should happen.
All dogs and cats 6 months of age and older must be spayed or neutered. The only exception is for dogs and cats that are active in the professional show circuit.
Your pets need to be "up-to-date" (current shots and such) and people friendly, except in the case of puppies or kittens (less than 6 months old).
All new clients will be required to pay their bill at the initial consultation.
We will require you to notify us of anyone else who may be in your house during the time we care for your pet(s).
We care about your dog's health, the health of other animals and the health of our water and nature in general. Therefore, we pick up after our dogs and yours. If you or your community does not have a supply of bags, we may leave a box of bags for future use and charge you for the cost. If you have a fenced backyard and a system for dealing with the waste, let us know.
If the food levels of your animals gets very low or will run out while caring for your pet(s), we will pick up additional food. We will add this to your bill along with a delivery charge. Exceptions to the delivery charge may be made if we already have to go to the pet store to pick up supplies for our own pets.
We will come to meet you and your pets, prior to the first visit (at no charge) to ensure that your pets will respond positively to us as well as feel comfortable with us in their territory.
All indoor-only dogs must have a minimum of 3 visits a day while you are out of town.
All outdoor-only dogs must have a minimum of 2 visits a day while you are out of town.
Cat-only households must have a minimum of 1 visit a day while you are out of town.