Guides

Holiday-break pet sitting: bookings, key handoff and visit notes

Set up a simple pet sitting system for the busiest travel weeks of the year, from first meet-and-greet to the last visit note.

Late December is when neighbors travel and boarding fills up. If you already love animals and live nearby, a few well-run holiday bookings can turn into regular clients for the rest of the year. The key is being organized before the first family leaves town.

Decide what you'll offer

• Drop-in visits (feeding, water, litter, a short walk), overnight stays, or both.
• Which animals you're comfortable with: dogs, cats, small pets, fish.
• How many visits a day you can realistically do, counting travel between homes and your own holiday plans.

Take bookings early

• Keep one calendar with every visit on it, including time windows.
• Confirm each booking in writing: dates, visit times, number of pets and your rate.
• Leave a little space in your schedule for a delayed flight or a last-minute extension.

Hold a meet-and-greet

Visit before the trip. Meet the pets, walk through the routine and ask to see where everything lives: food, leash, litter, cleaning supplies and the vet's contact information. Write it down while you're there.

Plan the key handoff

• Agree how you'll get in: a key, a lockbox code or a smart lock.
• Label keys with a code, not the family's name or address.
• Agree on how keys come back after the trip.
• Ask about alarms, gate codes and anything that sticks or needs a trick.

Send visit notes

Owners on vacation love a short update. After each visit, send a quick note: ate well, water topped up, litter done, a walk, and one photo. Keep the same notes in your log so nothing is missed.

Have an emergency plan

• The owner's phone number plus a local backup contact.
• The vet's number and the nearest emergency vet, and what the owner wants you to do if something seems wrong.
• A note of any medicines, allergies or escape artists.

The Pet Sitting & Dog Walking Kit includes intake forms, visit logs and a simple agreement for this kind of work.