Hi again - just wondering how to tactfully approach the subject of transportation and who pays for it when a pet needs veterinary help. We do not take the pets in our own car due to past experience and are curious how others handle this when pet sitting in places some distance from a town or vet’s practice. Thanks in advance!
Communication is key. Always ask in a video call before confirming a sit where the vet is, that you don’t take pets in your own car, and what expectations the HO has in terms of getting the pet to a vet if necessary. If your expectations don’t align, then it’s probably not a good match. Personally, my partner and I only do sits where a pet is registered with the local vet that is within walking distance, or there is an arrangement with an emergency contact who lives nearby who can assist us with getting a pet to the vet. Emergency contacts should be outlined in the Welcome Guide. Good comms from the start is really important! Hope that helps 
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Ask the HO. “If I end up having to take pet to the vet, I’m not going to be able to transport them in my car. Is there a service you can recommend that will be able to transport us and what’s the easiest way for you to cover that expense?”
Could you take them if they were in a carrier or provided a seat cover? I’m starting a sit at the weekend and I’ll be taking Mr catto in for his jabs in a few weeks and I’ll just put him in his carrier.
I think something along the lines of what @CreatureCuddler said is good to say.
One thing that came to mind when reading this is hosts possibly being concerned about a situation where there was a true emergency and time was of the essence–and they did not have their own vehicle to let you use for vet trips–…and worrying you would still opt for some alternative means of getting the animal there that could delay their care.
I imagine in a case like this, you would just take them yourself, and if that is true, it would be good to mention this exception.
I have been sitting for a decade and I have had to take animals to the vet only 3 times, and I think the chances of something serious like that happening is probably low, but is a possibility. And it could be a type of scenario a host would think of, and about which they could be concerned.
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I ask during the application process if a car is provided. If not, I ask what the protocol is if there is an emergency and I need to take the pet to the vet.
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Hi @KiwiSwede
During my application chat with the HO one of my questions is what happens if one of your pets is ill. Where is the vet, how do I get there and how are any costs being covered. You can then explain why you’d prefer not to use your vehicle.
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I’m not going to be asking anyone to leave me their car to use in case of emergency despite them not wanting to loan it otherwise. If they suggest it, fine.
I’ve sat for about 1.5 years and have made two trips to vets — in one case rushing to emergency care an elderly, sickly dog that had had back-to-back catastrophic seizures and ended up having to be put down. I luckily had a rental car that time. If I hadn’t, I would’ve called a ride share. Or if I’d had to, I would’ve knocked on a neighbor’s door and asked for a ride, regardless of whether I’d ever met them before.
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Taking a medium sized, highly energetic street dog with a bad foot to the vet in a Tuk Tuk 
was quite an experience….& then no account held there, no petty cash, not the dogs fault, did get it reimbursed but not to be repeated! Ask all the questions before you commit @KiwiSwede #oncebittentwiceshy
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I feel you. I was sitting for a cat who shattered her leg. She was semi-feral and it was in the first couple hours so she wanted nothing to do with me at that point. They’d forgotten to show me where the carrier was (and I forgot to ask) so I had to put her in a laundry basket, put a towel over the top, tape the towel down, put all of it in ANOTHER laundry basket to keep it covered tightly so she couldn’t escape, and then walk her through town to the vet 20 mins away all the while with her growling and screaming in the basket. It was quite an adventure and added a couple of points to my ‘must know’ list.
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Various animals will bite or scratch when injured, as a defense mechanism, because sick animals are attacked in nature while they’re at their most vulnerable. I’d keep that in mind regardless of sitting. Like if you come across an animal that’s been hit by a car, be careful — they won’t necessarily know you’re trying to help.
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If I had a car, then I would treat the dog in exactly the same way as I would my own and use my car to take to the vets.
I think that would be pretty much expected?
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Yup. If an animal needed emergency treatment, I’d take them. It wouldn’t matter if I were expected to or not.
Randomly, my current sit dog lives a block from his vet. We walk through their grounds every day. He loves sniffing there, because so many smells.
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Like may things here, this isn’t something where THS has a law that must be consistently followed by all. This is one of those things that has to be discussed in a video chat. I live in a city and don’t expect sitters to even have a driver’s license, but I always discuss how to get to the vet’s.
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Could you elaborate on your previous experience which stops you from doing this again?
Hi @CRU - sure I can. We sat for several dogs in New Zealand 2018 where we were asked to take the dogs some distance as the dogs were used to swimming in the sea and playing on the beach/always walked in large parks. The parks were muddy and going to the beaches ended up with lots of sand in our car regardless of how much we tried to clean them before getting in the car, which we had laid our clean towels in but inevitably got dislodged with the dogs moving around. While that was an older car but in excellent condition, we have since bought a newer car here in Europe and my husband does not relish the idea of transporting the animals we will be taking care of in our car. I prefer domestic bliss to confrontation as if it was my decision alone, I would do “what needs must”! 
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The HO should have provided a seat cover for the dogs. We are hosts and keep two on hand: one that we use and a newer one that is just for the HS’s vehicle. I took a picture of it installed in our car and included it in our welcome guide so they could see how to fit it. I also bought a small cordless vacuum cleaner so sitters can clean up stray dirt and hairs. If I were a sitter using my own car I would ask before the sit whether those items were available.
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I know of a dog that was taken out of crate in plane cabin (which isn’t allowed on most carriers) that had diarrhea all over owner and seat, with result seat lining having to be removed and owner sat in underwear for rest of the flight. So a muddy dog would in comparison be a win. 
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I would mention this as early as possible and before sits are confirmed. I think if HOs know you have your own transport it would be an easy assumption to make that you would transport. My personal view is that if even I didn’t have my own transport available I would fund a taxi myself to get the animal to a vet after all if I was using my own car I wouldn’t expect the petrol money to take an animal to the vet as I see this as part of the general caring responsibilities I’ve agreed to. I just see this as part of the mutual exchange but others views may differ.
Great point @Maggie8K . When I volunteered for a cat charity on Lanzarote we’d be called out to cats that had unfortunately been in collision with a vehicle and were injured beside the road. We always took precautions for everyone’s sake when collecting and transporting said injured cat to the vets. The sweetest pets can strike out due to pain or fear.
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Laughing at the image of the cat in a doubled up laundry basket and applauding your resourcefulness at the same time. 
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