Pet Sitting Services - Paw Pals Pet Sitting

Paw Pals Pet Sitting provides pet sitting and other valuable services to pet owners in Northern Virginia. The services that we offer are helpful for pet owners who deeply care about their pets and do not want to put them through pet boarding when they are away. We strive to offer the absolute “Best Care for your Best Friend” in the area. Our pet sitting services are flexible and can be adjusted to fit the schedules of even the busiest pet owner. Each of the Paw Pals Pet Sitting team members are trained and certified professionals who will guarantee that your pets will receive an exceptional level of care.

Paw Pals Pet Sitting Services

Paw Pals is happy to provide Non-Overnight Vacation Visits service at a pet owner’s house. Our Overnight Pet & House Sitting service consists of where a pet sitter stays at a pet owner’s residence overnight for 10-12 hours at a time. Our Bed & Biscuit service allows a pet to stay at one of our pet sitters. Each of these services can be paired with our House Sitting, Garden Watering, and/or Plant Sitting service where our pet sitters can look after a home when the owners are away.

All of Paw Pals Pet Sitting services include:

Walks, playtime attention and affection, brushing, treats
Fresh food and water during each scheduled visit
Clean litter box for cats
Cage cleaning for animals who need it
Medication administration

Vacation Visits (Non-Overnight)

Paw Pals pet sitters love to help keep your pets happy in their regular routines while their owners are away. We guarantee highly professional pet care for when you travel or are unable to be at home, and we always aim for eliminating any stress for both you and your pets. While we take care of your pets, our pet sitters are able to take care of minor household tasks while you are away to help provide security and make it appear as if you were still home. This includes bringing in papers and mail, alternating lights, opening and closing blinds, and plant sitting by watering gardens or houseplants.

For the well being of your pets based on the duration of visits, dogs will require at least 3 visits per day and cats will require at least one visit every 24 hours. Homes with both dogs and cats will usually be charged only the additional “extra cat” rate per cat. As our pet sitters are reasonably able to take care of most pets, homes with only birds or smaller pets such as rabbits, guinea pigs, and fish will usually be charged the kitty visit rate. Otherwise, these pets can usually be cared for with only the additional “extra cat” rate.

Vacation Visits (Non-Overnight) Pricing

Keep your pets happy in their regular routine. Professional, guaranteed care for when you travel, eliminating stress for both you and your pets. We will take care of your pets and take care of minor household tasks while you are away, such as bringing in papers and mail, alternating lights, opening/closing blinds, watering plants. (Excessive plant watering may incur an additional charge. See House Sitting, Garden Watering, Plant Sitting Services)

Please note, for the well-being of your pets, dogs require at least 3 visits per day, and cats require at least 1 visit every 24 hours. Visit durations may be mixed. Homes with both dogs and cats will usually be charged only the the additional “extra cat” rate per cat. Homes with only small critters and birds (rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, and fish) will usually be charged the kitty visit rate. Otherwise these pets can usually be cared usually be cared for with only the additional “extra cat” rate.

Includes:

Walk, Playtime, Brushing, Treats
Fresh food and water at scheduled visit
Clean litter box
Medications, if required (see medication administration)
Attention and love as if they were our own!

Overnight Pet Sitting & House Sitting

One of Paw Pals pet sitters can stay at your house with your pets overnight to keep them company. Overnight stays in a home are always for 12 hour periods and begin when our sitters arrive between 7 and 10 PM. Two 30 minute walks for your pets are included in the evening and in the morning of the overnight stay. If any additional mid-day visits are needed, these can be scheduled as well. Please get in touch with us at least two weeks or more beforehand because this service is subject to the availability of our sitters.

Note: Subject to sitter availability.

Overnight Pet Sitting & House Sitting Pricing

A Paw Pals pet sitter will stay with your pets overnight. Overnight stays are for 12 hours with arrival times between 7-10 PM. Included is a 30 minute walk for your dogs in the evening and in the morning. Additional mid-day visits may be scheduled as needed.

Pet Sitting Includes

Walks, playtime, brushing, treats
Fresh food and water at scheduled visit
Clean litter box
Medications, if required (see medication
administration)
Attention and love as if they were our
own!

House Sitting Includes

Bringing in papers, mail, and packages
Watering house plants and plant sitting
Opening/Closing blinds
Alternating lights
Taking out/Bringing in trash and
recycling

Bed & Biscuit (Boarding) Pet Sitting

If you don’t want your best friend to be alone at night but prefer not to have a dog sitter stay in-house while you’re away, your well-behaved dogs may stay at a Paw Pals pet sitter’s home with our Bed & Biscuit boarding service. Each stay is highly personalized to allow your dogs to continue with their typical routine as closely as possible. Dogs are treated as part of the family when they stay with our sitters, and you’ll return home to find them with a smile on their face! To be eligible for bed & biscuit, dogs must be social, friendly, house trained, and be current on their shots and flea & tick medication.

This service costs $80 per night for one dog. Additional dogs are $40 per night.
Regular daytime vacation feeding/walk rates also apply. (see Vacation Visits above)

Supplemental Pet Sitting Services

Paw Pals offers some additional Pet Sitting services which pet owners can utilize when they are unable or unavailable to take care of certain tasks. These include:

Pet Supply Pick-up

Whether you are too busy or if you are out of town, Paw Pals pet sitters can make the trip to buy pet supplies when you can not. We can get the food, litter, and other pet supplies to take care of any of your pets.

Note: We will shop at a nearby pet supply store. If a particular specialty store is requested, depending on the distance, additional costs may be incurred.

Cost: $20 plus amount of receipt

Pet Transportation / Pet Taxi Service

Paw Pals Pet Taxi service helps our clients to better manage their time and everything else life is throwing at them. Our Pet Taxi services allow our clients to perform their personal or professional obligations without having to worry about taking off work or not being able to take a pet to places such as the groomer or the vet. We can safely transport your pets to any location they need to get to in our service area. Our experienced pet sitters can remain with your pet throughout their vet visit to give them positive reassurance and loving attention. For these kinds of visits, Paw Pals requires our clients to make payment arrangements with their vet or groomer prior to our arrival, and we also must require that our clients are reachable for any decision-making that needs to occur during the vet visit.

Pet Medication Administration

Your Paw Pals pet sitter is trained in administering various forms of medication. Most of the time, your pets will take the medication willingly or with slight coaxing, and there will not be an additional charge if pet medication is administered with a treat or hidden inside food. Some medications such as injections and subcutaneous fluids, however, require more expertise and therefore require an additional charge.

Cost:

Topical – $5
Oral in food – $0
Oral without food – $5
Injections – $15
Subcutaneous Fluids – $25

Pet Waste Removal(Poopie Patrol)

We understand that there may be any number of reasons why you would need someone else to get rid of pet waste for you. While our Paw Paws pet sitters are performing any of other other responsibilities, they can also be around to clean up pet waste in the home or in the back yard. This is available by appointment and can be a stand-alone visit, or as an addition to a regular pet sitting or walking visit.

Stand-alone Cost:

$16.00 for the first 15 minutes
$10.00 for each 15 minutes

Add-on Cost:

$10.00 for the first 15 minutes
$10.00 for each additional 15 minutes

House Sitting / Garden Watering

If you do or do not have any pets, and you want your house taken care of while you are away, our pet sitters can visit and do some house sitting once or twice a day to take care of the minor household tasks that you would like to be taken care of. Additionally, we are able to water your gardens or houseplants. This service can be added onto either House Sitting or Pet Sitting visits. If you want to have your home more secure by appearing that someone is home, our pet sitters are able to perform crime-deterring measures, including the following:

Bringing in papers, mail, and packages
Pant sitting by watering gardens or houseplants
Feeding fish and refilling bird feeders
Opening/Closing blinds
Alternating lights
Taking out/Bringing in trash and recycling

Cost: $20 per day/per visit

Garden Watering
Garden watering can be added onto either House Sitting or Pet Sitting visits.

Cost: $8.00 for each 15 minutes

Plant Sitting

When you go away for a little bit, watering your plant can often be a task that goes forgotten and then regretted. While it can be a lengthy task for someone to come over simply to just water your plants, it is a relatively simple job for someone who is already there. While our pet sitters are already watching your home and your lovable pet, they could also do a little plant sitting. We are able to make sure that your plant is hydrated and taken care of!

Pet Sitting Service Policies

We have a few important policies and procedures for various situations, including but not limited to:

Safety First!

When providing care for pets, we ensure that our team members are trained and certified to account for your pet’s overall safety our care. That is why each and every one of our professional pet sitters is PetTech PetSaver First Aid and CPR certified, and must be recertified every two years to remain current with the best practices that may lead to saving a pet’s life. Unlike most other dog walkers and pet sitters in the area, Paw Pals can perform insulin injections as part of our Medication Administration services. Every Paw Pals pet sitter is a pet lover at heart who will be invested in making every attempt to provide the ideal amount of love, attention, and affection while their owners are away that you should expect from the best.

New Client Setup / Meet & Greet

Before a new client is able to obtain any of our pet sitting and dog walking services, you can expect Paw Pals we will need to come to your home to “Meet and Greet” you and all of your pets. We will discuss your needs, and evaluate your pet’s temperament and behavior, and to ensure they are eligible candidates for our pet sitting or dog walking services. We also use this as an opportunity for you to explain and show us your pet’s routine, and for us to complete all the paperwork and go over our policies and procedures. However, you are under no obligation to obtain services as a result of this visit, and we reserve the right to refuse service if a pet is not a good candidate for our services.

Cost: $25.00 (This fee will be waived if Paw Pals determines that your pet(s) will not be a good
candidate for our services.)

Note: For existing clients, who add a new pet to their family and wish for their pet sitter to meet them and the pet before services begin, there will be a $15.00 visit fee.

Reservations

Reservations, including all service visit requests, are to be made as soon as possible on our website. If you have not received a confirmation email within 24 hours, please contact Paw Pals Pet Sitters immediately through giving us call or sending us an email or to make sure your request has been received. It is important to never assume that your request has been received and scheduled if a confirmation notice has not been given. For major holidays, requests should be made at least 2 weeks in advance to guarantee the availability of our sitters during these busy times.

Late Bookings

We understand that not everything happens as planned and will do our best to accommodate last minute requests. These requests are not guaranteed and are subject to sitter availability. Please note that requests made after business hours will be considered as having been received the next business day.

- Existing clients: Requests made with less than 2 business days’ notice will incur a $10.00/visit surcharge. Same day requests will incur an additional $25/visit last minute booking charge. (If the request is for a series of visits, the surcharges will apply only to the visits within the late booking period, not all the visits in the series.)

New clients: All new clients must have an initial Meet & Greet completed before any visits or services can be confirmed. Please see New Client Setup/Meet & Greet section above.

Inclement Weather

During severe inclement weather, a $20.00 weather surcharge may apply. This policy generally coincides with Fairfax County Schools being closed or if the government is shut down.