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When you are away is your home secure?

March 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

When you leave for vacation or business trips you make sure you lock the doors and secure your home. You think “everything will be okay”—will it?

Malfunctions with the home don’t just happen when you are there. In the 20 years Guardian Pet Sitters has been in the pet care business, we have seen more malfunctions with the home than we have had pet emergencies.

What can you do to really secure your home when you are away? We recommend you have a reputable company visit your home either daily or every other day to check on your house. It not only makes your home appear lived in but also means if there is an issue immediate attention will be given to resolve it.

Some of the services to benefit you and the security of your home:

1.        Bring in the mail and any flyers on door

2.        Bring in the newspaper and any packages left on the doorstep

3.        Alternate lights and/or blinds

4.        Water plants

5.        Check on the pool (summer)

6.        Monitor thermostat

7.        Walk thru of the house to ensure all appliances are working or have not been left on accidently

8.        We ensure there is no water leaking anywhere in the house

Some common situations that we have had to handle when caring for pets and homes:

1.        Drain clogged in the bathroom not allowing proper drainage from the air conditioner; water filled the sink and was found dripping in the garage. If situation had not been handled the ceiling would have fallen on the car in the garage and water would have damaged the house and garage.

2.        The number of hot water tank malfunctions we see is frightening. We had many different situations of this happening when we are in the home caring for the pets. We arrive to water coming out of the front door, hearing water running or noticing dripping from the ceiling in the master bedroom (hot water tank is in the attic).

3.        Sprinkler systems malfunction in the summer, flooding the client’s yard, neighbor’s yard, and the street.

4.        Refrigerators malfunctioning–spilling water on the floor in the kitchen and all the food is thawed and hot.

5.        If you have fish tanks with automatic feeders and automatic timers you can still have problems. We arrived at a house, opened the door, and were greeted with smoke. The automatic timer had malfunctioned.

6.        Air condition or heating system malfunctions.

7.        Alarm system struck by lightening.

Wouldn’t it be nice to know someone has been to your home and done a thorough walk-thru of your house and made sure you have not left on any appliances (curling iron, electric rollers, coffee pot, etc.) and ensure all windows and doors are locked?

Wouldn’t it be nice to know that if there was a malfunction with your hot water tank or plumbing the issue will get immediate attention?

Wouldn’t it be nice to know that if the weather drastically changes such as in the state of Texas where temperatures fluctuates greatly (60 ̊̊one day and 32 ̊the next) your thermostat would be adjusted to keep pipes from freezing?

Wouldn’t it be nice to know that if your sprinkler system was to malfunction, attention would be given so it would not disturb your neighbor or ruin your yard?

Isn’t it nice to know your home has a lived in look and your mail and newspaper has been brought in the house and is secure?

With our “residential” services you can have “Peace of Mind” knowing your home is being cared for. You would also know that if we arrived at the home and were faced with a situation we would immediately start resolving the problem.

There’s no better security measure for your home then a monitored security system in conjunction with daily home visits.

Your home needs someone watching over it when you are not there!

 

 

Filed Under: Business, Family, Home, Rescue, Residential, Vacation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Is your pet care fail safe?

March 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Are your arrangements for your pet’s care failsafe?

Why do I ask this question? Recently we have had several situations where pet owners found they did not have pet care they could depend upon. Here are a few of the scenarios:

  1. A call for service starting the same day. The person was leaving in a few hours. The person calling had two individual pet sitters but neither pet sitter was available- one was out of town and the other had surgery.
  2. Another call for service for the weekend from a person whose friend was going to watch the pets but got sick and couldn’t.
  3. While talking with someone at a networking meeting, she told me this story that happened to her over Christmas time. She had just moved to the area. There was a death in the family and she could not find a boarding facility for her dogs as they were all booked  nor did she know anyone to care for her pets.

If these had been Guardian Pet Sitter’s clients they would have had pet care.

If you are new to an area one of the first things you want to establish is pet care. It is good to have an in-home pet care company as you never know if you will be able to board your pets when you need to. Even if your pets would do better boarding for extended periods, most pet care companies will offer transportation to and from the kennels so that could be arranged.

Weekends are busy for pet sitters. We allocate our time and resources to the clients who have booked us. If possible we try to help people at the last minute but Guardian Pet Sitters will not compromise our service for the clients who have booked us in advance.

  • A client of Guardian Pet Sitters had a father who was in his final days of life. The client called Guardian Pet Sitters and she had pet coverage for as long as she needed.
  • A client of Guardian Pet Sitters had moved from one community to another and had not gotten set up in her new home. She became ill and was hospitalized. We were able to meet with a friend and get keys to the new home and provide service.  We are there for our clients!

As a Guardian Pet Sitter’s client you would not have to worry about your pet care as we have a backup system to ensure our clients have coverage when needed. After all you don’t know when you could have an emergency or need to leave town.

Guardian Pet Sitters offers:

  • Bonded and insured for your protection
  • Clients are kept confidential
  • “Peace of Mind” program (ask about our program when you call or talk to us)
  • Our backup system enables us to give our clients the attention needed in an emergency.
  • Being available to our clients 365 days a year however our pet sitters are given time off to be refreshed and ready to give their best to each client.

Don’t delay in getting setup as a client of Guardian Pet Sitters!

If you don’t live in our service area find an in-home pet sitting company in your area that will be there!

 

Filed Under: Business, Family, Healthcare, Pet Care Tips, Pet Sitting, Pets, Vacation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Now is the time to make plans for your pets!

February 29, 2012 By 4 Comments

Have you started making plans for spring and summer vacation? There are many questions to answer during the planning especially when you have pets involved. Are you traveling to visit family, friends or are you staying in a hotel? Are you going out of the country? Are your pets going to be welcomed at your family or friends? Are you going to be leaving your pet in the hotel room for periods of time while you are out having fun sightseeing and enjoying the attractions? Is there a quarantine period for pets for the country you are traveling to? Does you pet travel well in the car or by plane? Will the airlines fly your pet?

The biggest question you must ask yourself is what is best for my pet? Everyone enjoys their pets and wants to be with them but in reality is it best for your pet? If your decision is not to travel with your pet, then your next step is to decide what type of arrangement is best for your pet. Today the pet owner has many options for pet care. You need to choose the one that best suits your family and your pet’s needs.

Why not make plans for your pet(s) to stay in the comfort of their own home? There are many options but the one most pets prefer is staying at home. The benefits you receive – knowing your pets are happy because they are in their favorite spot (home), sleeping on their favorite bed, eating out of their own bowls, playing with their toys, napping in their favorite spot, playing in their own yard and taking the familiar route for their walk. It is the best way to keep your pets on the routine you have established. An added bonus is your home will be getting the attention it needs as your mail, newspaper and flyers will be brought in, lights alternated, blinds open and closed, giving your home a lived in look.

Now is the time to choose who you are going to hire to care for your pets and home. There are numerous pet sitting services, so how do you choose? We know there are many questions you need to ask about the service you pick. We have made sure that when you ask those questions, we can say,” Yes we have that.” or “Yes we offer that.” After being in business for over 20 years we believe that our company model gives us the edge over many.

How is Guardian Pet Sitters different from most pet sitting companies?

  • We are not a one man operation and if something were to happen to one of us our service continues.
  • We have a team of pet sitters! They are employees and have been carefully selected and thoroughly screened.
  • Each client has a primary pet sitter but with our team we have a backup in case there was an emergency.
  • Clients work with their pet sitter on each assignment to ensure there is no miscommunication with the details.
  • We do not overbook our pet sitters as quality of service is our upmost goal (we have heard of pet sitters doing 25-30 visits a day during busy seasons). Our pet sitters typically do 12 visits max, but most are 7-8 visits or less.
  • We have pet sitters living in the areas they service and typically they do not have to drive long distances between jobs.
  • We have built our company to benefit our customers. We understand you want consistency in who is taking care of your pets and we provide this by assigning a primary and a back up pet sitter to each client. However, if your particular pet sitter is not available then you know you have a trained knowledgeable pet sitter taking over and providing the same quality service.

Guardian Pet Sitters has been providing “Peace of Mind” since 1992. Our track record proves we have been there for our clients and we will be there for you.

Don’t delay on making plans for your pets!

Filed Under: Business, Family, Pet Sitting, Pets, Vacation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Are your pet’s records organized?

February 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

We all start out the new year getting organized-house-children-work but have you gotten your pet’s information organized? What if you had an emergency and someone had to step in to care for your pets-would they know what food and medicine to give to your pets?

Here are some tips to help you get your pet’s information organized.

1. Do you have a conveniently located file for your pets Medical Records?

2. Do you have a list of medications and what food your pet eats, including treats?

3. Has your pet had an updated annual wellness check?

4. When was the last time your pet had its teeth cleaned?

We have several  clients who keep 3 ring binders with all their furry family members information (food, toys, medicines, treats) along with pictures and medical records. They keep it updated throughout the year so all one has to do is pick up the binder and they know everything they need to know.

Establishing your pet’s file is a way to keep all their records updated so that you are able to make decisions on what is best for your pet. 

And remember in an emergency, it is important to have your pet’s records handy and current.

We want to be informed pet owners and play an active role in helping our pets be healthy and happy.

While we are on this topic, let’s talk about you. This is a great time for you to put all your medical records together! You will not be guessing or, in the event of an emergency, a family member won’t be guessing what medications you take, what medical tests or procedures you’ve had recently and your medical history. This would help your doctor in making the best decision for treatment. Remember, your family and pets depend on you staying healthy! 


 

 

 

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Pet Owners’ Responsibility to Stop Overpopulation of Pets

February 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Puppies left at shelter 2-2012

A day doesn’t pass by that I don’t read something regarding pet over-population. We even have a day designated to spaying your pet. This year February 28, 2012 is Spay Day USA! Spay Day USA was started by the Doris Day Animal League. From my investigzation this is the 17th year for Spay Day USA and the overpopulation problem still is epidemic proportions. Over one million animals have been spayed or neutered yet that is not enough to curb the overpopulation of pets.

It is up to us as pet lovers and owners to do what is needed to stop this over-population of pets. This doesn’t mean we go after the reputable breeders who give us our purebred dogs and cats; it means we stop the over-population of pets by spaying and neutering all dogs and cats that make wonderful family pets. It means we don’t let our dog or cat have a litter of puppies or kittens just so our children can have the experience. It means we take proper care of our pets by spaying and neutering. We adopt from shelters and rescues to give homes for all the unwanted dogs and cats. You want a certain breed of dog? Every breed of dog has a rescue group-check there for your next family member. 

If we don’t stop the overpopulating of animals what is going to happen? We are going to continue to hear about the “litter of puppies dropped off at the local shelter”, or the euthanasia of another dog or cat because there is no more room to keep them. Or we are going to see dogs and cats living in cages with the overworked staff at the rescue group or shelter trying to give them attention when it is taking everything they have just to get them all fed and fresh water. We are going to continue to hear about the hoarding of animals and the horrific stories of them not getting food and laying in their own feces.

This problem is an economic issue; we don’t have enough resources to take care of all the animals as it is now.   

Spaying and neutering your pet has many benefits:

  • Spaying females can prevent uterine infections such as pyometra and mammary or uterine cancer.
  • Neutering males prevents testicular cancer and reduces the risk for perianal tumors.
  • Spaying and neutering reduces the urge to roam. When pets are roaming they are subject to getting hit by a car, or attacked by another animal. Did you know that 80% of pets hit by cars are unneutered males?
  • Pet owner saves $$ on pet care.
  • Society will not have to spend time and resources caring for animals that will never get a home. 

We the pet loving people are the ones who are responsible to stop the overpopulation. Educating your family and friends on spaying and neutering their pets is a step to the solution, adopting from rescue or shelters is another step and finally help keep the message going to spay and neuter our pets. If you can spare the $$ to pay to have a pet spayed or neutered there are numerous organizations that can use your financial support. The more animals that get “fixed” means fewer will die at the end of the needle.

 I think Donn Esmonde says it best when it comes to the solution: “It’s pet owners finding their Inner Adult, landing on Planet Responsibility and getting their animals spayed or neutered.

 

Filed Under: Pet Care Tips, Pet Sitting, Rescue Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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