Greetings All,
If you don’t like reading or have a short attention span…skip this!!!
Let me start off by saying, I am based in the US. I understand different parts of the world do things differently. But I have been reading a lot of stories on here and I am coming to realize some sitters might be left without a way to pay for an unexpected veterinary visit. I find this, quite puzzling and this is something that should NOT be happening. This should not be happening to any sitter under any circumstance.
I have completed 10 sits so far over a year, all have gone well. One of the topics I bring up in the initial video call (as well as mentioned in my profile)…are an unexpected veterinary visit and that I expect a credit card to be on file (or a wad of cash…but a credit card is easier and safer!) with the local veterinary office if needed. All the home owners I sat for had no issues with this.
As a previous pet owner that traveled when I had pets, I ALWAYS had my credit card on file with my local veterinary office and the emergency veterinary hospital and whomever was responsible for my dogs (either friends, family or the doggy day care/boarding) knew this. I never had an instance where someone had to take my animals to the vet, fortunately. But if so, it should have and would have been seamless, as far as my friends/family/animals able to get and receive care without payment getting in the way of a decision.
I had a situation, on this platform this year where I had to take a dog to the veterinary office, unexpectedly. While on a walk, while transitioning from the grass to sniff back to the sidewalk, one of her (the dog is a female) nails snagged on the concrete and became dislodged. The nails were too long…in my opinion. The dog is also an old senior dog, 14 years old at the time.
Long story short, I knew it wasn’t an emergency and it was just after 17:00 where the vets were all closing so I put a sock over the paw and taped it all night (so she couldn’t lick it) and the next morning took the dog to the vet. I say this also to clarify, in the USA a visit after closing at an emergency veterinary hospital would have cost about double. Worth it if necessary, but this wasn’t. I informed the owners of what I was doing and why, they told me to use my judgement as if she were my own. They weren’t worried in the least, they just let me do my thing.
All ended up good with the dog. They put her nail back in place under mild anesthesia, noticed an infection on her other paw from a previous injury (I pointed out she was licking the other side too much for my liking), prescribed a temporary medication and then I had ALL her nails cut down as well to shorter lengths. The bill was around $500. This was NOT an issue as I instructed the owners to make sure they had a credit card on file with the veterinary office in the event I needed to take her in. I also suggested they have a backup plan in the event the credit card has an issue due to travel (they were across the world) and they actually had a backup card on file that didn’t have to be used. In the end, the owners were very thankful of my actions, and agreed to keep her nails shorter as well!
But what would have happened if they didn’t have a credit card on file? Would I have had to pay (at least a portion) myself BEFORE services and not be able to pick her up until fully paid? Would they have simply just added the bill to the owners account and sent them a bill? Would they have been able to even contact the owners whom were 20 hours ahead and not accessible via phone (only email)? It didn’t matter to me, I knew the card was on file, as it should have been.
I encourage every sitter to go over this plan in the initial video call prior to accepting a sit. If an owner balks or finds this unreasonable, end the call, explain you are not comfortable fronting the money if necessary and thank them for the opportunity. Move on…do NOT pay a bill for someone else. If you believe they will reimburse you promptly…they may not. Small claims court can get expensive and time consuming as well.
This is VERY important.
Quick story, one one of my own dogs in the past, I took her in to the veterinary office (an emergency one much less, not her normal one as they couldn’t get her in the same day and I wasn’t going to let my dog suffer) after I noticed her peeing out blood one morning. Well, 30 minutes after getting there, I was told she had a jagged tumor in her bladder the size of a golf ball that was going to cause problems real quick if they didn’t do surgery that day. The estimate…$3,600. The final bill…$3,989…they had to do surgery longer and therefore, needed more medication to keep her down. The veterinary hospital would NOT do the surgery without 50% down of the estimate nor would they release her back to me until the final bill was paid. Let me be clear…the veterinary office was NOT wrong!!! They should and deserve to get paid for the services they render and they don’t have the time to go after people for not paying. They are not in the business of loans.
Unfortunately, while also true and not wrong, a comment someone made to me in the waiting room (while my other dog was resting by my feet), someone told me if I didn’t have the money, one option was to put the dog down…it only cost $50. Some people don’t HAVE the money for these things…and what if YOU didn’t in my case as someone pet sitting for me?
But just imagine if YOU were the sitter in this situation with someone else’s animal…without the owners credit card or another way to pay UPFRONT in advance. And from the reviews I have read, THS is not under ANY obligation to assist with you getting money back, had you had to use your own funds. THS is not in the business of assisting with financial disputes between home owners and pet sitters, that becomes a private matter. THS is simply the link between us. You would have to hope the owners were generous enough and quick to repay you. Otherwise, good luck!
Hopefully this helps someone.