All owners want the best for their furry friends, so this article contains everything you need to know about pet sitting, pet borrowing, and which would better suit you and your pet.
What is pet sitting?
Pet sitting is defined as the “act of temporarily taking care of another person’s pet for a given time frame”. While pet sitting can take place in the sitter’s home, it can also often be provided at a place of business or organisation - like a kennel, cattery or doggy day care. Pet sitting can be 1-on-1 but can also be in groups, like in a dog walking service, for example.
What is pet borrowing?
Pet borrowing is a mutually beneficial pet care service agreed upon between an owner and a pet borrower. While pet sitting is traditionally transactional, pet borrowing operates on a shared interest (the love of a dog or cat) with no money exchange. Much like pet sitting, care is provided in the owner or borrower’s home, rather than in a place of business. Pet borrowing is built on trust and friendship.
What are the benefits of pet sitting?
The main advantage of pet sitting is that a longer duration of care, like holiday pet sitting, is easier to arrange. As a sitter's sole occupation is pet sitting, they have more hours and time to dedicate to your pet. This also means they may have more experience with caring for a pet and also have dog handling or safety qualifications.
What are the benefits of pet borrowing?
One of the best benefits of pet borrowing is that as a pet owner, you’ll make other animal lovers truly happy, as they get to spend some quality time with your dog or cat when they otherwise can’t - now that’s really heartwarming!
Another great advantage of pet borrowing is cost. Borrowers aren’t paid for their time and are pet sitting solely based on their love of animals, so as a pet owner you can save a lot of money. There is often a cost involved for insurance or safety checks, but these often cost as one walk with a dog walker or a stay at a kennel.
And most importantly, as a pet owner you get peace of mind knowing your dog or cat is being cared for by a person or family that loves your pet as much as you do.
Is pet sitting or pet borrowing best for me and my pet?
This depends on a number of factors including time, effort and cost.
If you’re looking for help urgently, pet sitters can usually provide pet care on quite short notice and also for longer periods.
While if you’re able to dedicate more time building trust and friendship with a local borrower you’ll not only find your dog or cat will be happy, but also another animal lover too. It’s often a win-win for everyone involved.
Asking friends or family members for recommendations is always a great place to start!
