Anyone who owns a pet may have to entrust their dog or cat to a pet sitting service: an emergency, a business trip, a vacation abroad, a family task – there are a thousand reasons so the pet sitter is a real lifeline.

Having someone who is trustworthy, animal lover and expert in caring for them is invaluable. When choosing a pet sitter, however, it is essential to also think about the bureaucratic part.

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How to regularise the work of the pet sitter who will take care of your pets at home? Is there a pet sitting contract? And what are the average rates of a dog sitter or cat sitter?

In this article we will help you guide you in the regularization of pet sitter at home: we will see what the law says about pet sitter contracts and we will clarify the average market rates.

How to regularize your pet sitter: protections, contracts, rates

Pet sitting is often thought of as an “occasional chore to round up” and therefore it is not necessary to regularize it. In reality it is a profession that gives rise to civil and criminal responsibilities, as we will see shortly.

Protecting the activity of the pet sitter to whom you entrust your pet is first of all a question of legality and respect, but it is also essential to avoid administrative penalties. On his side, even the pet sitter knows what responsibilities he faces. Depending on the nature of the commitment required, entering into a contract may be the best solution for both.

The home pet sitter contract

The collaboration with a pet sitter at home implies the creation of a legal relationship between you and the professional.

Legally speaking, what is created is a relationship that falls within the type of deposit contract for consideration , governed by articles 1766 and following of the Civil Code.

There is therefore no specific contract for the pet sitter job, but the rules of the deposit agreement apply. The professional who takes your pet into custody becomes a “custodian” and is therefore required to perform two services:

  1. Guarding the pet with “the diligence of a good family man” – which is a somewhat anachronistic way to specify that the pet sitter must perform his service with the utmost care;
  2. Return it to the depositor (ie to you, owner of the dog or cat) upon expiry of the agreed term.

The law clearly states that the pet sitter, during the time of custody, is responsible for any damage suffered by the animal, be it injury, loss or death. From this responsibility follows the obligation of the pet sitter to compensate the owner for material and moral damages due to the loss or damage of the animal.

To live the choice of a pet sitter more peacefully, it may be useful to ask the professional if he / she has an official license to practice her profession.

Dog sitter and cat sitter with a license?

Nowadays, given the great demand for this profession, dog sitters and cat sitters are increasingly specialized and many of them have licenses that certify their training. There are several bodies at regional or provincial level that issue official licenses for cat sitters and dog sitters: this type of document is undoubtedly an excellent business card and reassures many owners of dogs and cats.

The licenses for pet sitter certify skills in the methods of education, assistance and pet care. Depending on the issuing body, these certifications may also indicate knowledge of specific instruments and equipment for animal education.

In the case of assistance for dogs, for example, the license gives you the guarantee that the dog sitter knows well the behavior of the animal in public places (even those frequented by other animals) or knows how to recognize potentially dangerous situations for the animal.

However, these licenses are usually required to work in certain canine facilities or specialised in the reception of dogs and cats, such as boarding houses, but they are not mandatory for home work.

Pet sitter or pet walker?

When defining the contract between you and the pet sitter, it is important to be clear about the duties that the professional will perform towards your pet.

For many dog ​​owners, for example, the pet sitting service is limited to daily walks outside. In this case, however, rather than dog sitter it would be better to talk about dog walker , who is the person who takes care of walking the dog.

The pet sitter proper takes care of the animal in the absence of the owner and does not just take it to the park: he takes care of feeding it, caring for it and making sure that it does not get into trouble. house . Among the responsibilities of the pet sitter, there is also that of thinking about the psychological well-being of the dog or cat and promptly reporting any changes in her condition to the owner.

Given the responsibilities inherent in their work, the most professional pet sitters also always have insurance that protects them from damage. The good news is that by hiring your pet sitter on Jopla you won’t have to worry about this aspect: all our PROs are insured!

Pet sitter rates (dog sitter and cat sitter)

Regarding the cost of the pet sitting service, there is no official rate. Market prices often go down due to the many people who practice the profession occasionally and have no specific qualifications (students, retirees, people who want to supplement their earnings).

At the time of writing this article, the prices of a pet sitting service in a large city are indicatively as follows:

  • From 5 to 12 euros per hour for the dog walking service
  • From 5 to 12 euros one-time fee to visit the cat in your absence (once a day)
  • From 25 to 35 euros per day to assist the animal in your home (during the day only)
  • From 35 to 45 euros per day to assist the animal 24 hours a day ( in this case the pet sitter moves to your home)

These prices are indicative and may vary depending on the city and your particular needs.

In the profiles of the PRO pet sitter on Jopla you can find all the price indications and choose the professional you prefer!

Have a nice job!