Minder Meeting - Free
This is your chance to meet us. We’ll come over to your house, meet your monster and try to impress you! We’ll go over vet info, monster quirks, general routine and that type of thing. If you want, we’ll be happy to go on a trial walk with you at this time. Meet and Greets are a chance for us to meet your monster, familiarize ourselves with your monster’s home turf, and a chance for you to ask us any questions about our service. It’s always free! Wicked! We do not book services until we have met both you and your monster.
Payment
Dog Walking: Emailed invoices are sent out monthly. Invoices are sent out on the last day of the month for that month’s services. Dog walking clients must leave a credit card on file, or pre-pay for dog walking services. Credit cards will automatically be charged at the end of each month.
Pet Sitting: Payment is due at the time of booking. After we review your request for service and confirm your request, you will be emailed a confirmation invoice. Please check this invoice for accuracy. On the invoice you will have an option to pay with a credit card online via PayPal’s secure service, or you can send a check to our office. Payment is within one week of the emailed invoice. If we do not receive payment, we hold the right to accommodate other paying clients. Please do not leave payment for Minders to pick up.
Tips are not expected at all, but should a client want to leave a tip, was ask they leave cash in an envelope with the Minders name on it for the Minder to pick up at the time of service.
Bonding and Insurance
We are bonded an insured through the Business Insurers of the Carolinas. Should a client need to see proof of our bonding and insurance information they can ask at any time, or call our insurance company @ 1- 800-962-4611, ext 1.
Pet Sitting Visit Policy
We require at least once-a day-visitation for felines and at least two visits each day for dogs (three times a day if crated) for full days clients are out of town. This is for the safety and well-being of the pet. (Does not apply do daily dog walking services.)
Rush Booking Fee - $10
Weekends: We ask for 7 days notice for weekend visits.
Weekdays: We ask for 48 hours notice for Monday - Friday visits.
Visits booked within those time windows are subject to a $10 Rush Booking Fee per visit.
Cancellation Policy
Dog Walking: To cancel a mid-day walk, please call the office before 8:30 AM. There is no penalty for cancellations made before 8:30 am. If you call after 8:30, or if we arrive at your home and are turned away, you will be charged in full for the visit.
Pet Sitting: If you give us more than 48 hours notice for a cancellation, your account will be credited the full amount for future services. (We do not offer refunds, rather credits for future service.) If you give less than 48 hours for service cancellation, your account will incur a 25% cancellation fee. The remaining balance will be credited towards future services. (We will send a credit confirmation email.)
Overnights: Due to the fact that we can only accommodate ONE Midnight Malarkey request per night, per sitter, cancellations anytime after booking overnight services will incur a 50% overnight cancellation fee. If the overnights are canceled within 48 hours, 100% cancellation fee will apply. Please understand, if a client books overnights, then cancels, we have probably already turned another client away. We can’t be in two places at once! The remaining balance will be credited towards future services.
Holiday Period: From Thanksgiving until New Years Day, if less than a week’s notice is given for a cancellation a fee of 50% of booked services will be imposed. The remaining balance will be credited towards future services. If less than 48 hours notice is given during the holiday period, 100% of booked services will be charged.
Holidays - $10 per visit, $25 per overnight
The Monster Minders makes visits 365 days a year. During calendar holidays there is a $10 holiday. 100% of the fee goes to the Minder as incentive to work on holidays. Holidays: New Years Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas and New Years Eve. On these days, dog walking clients MUST call to book walks if they are needed. In addition clients must call to book walks on the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. (No holiday fee is charged for these days, but walks are not scheduled on those days...)
Oral Medication Fee - $3 (This involves medication that can’t be simply added to food or easily disguised in a hunk of cheese or peanut butter. YUM! So if you’re pet is an easy pill taker, no worries!)
Subcutaneous Fluids - $10
Insulin Injections - $5
Key Policy
Clients agree to provide The Monster Minders with two sets of working keys (unless living in a condo building with a front desk attendant - see below). If only one set of keys are provided, there is a $10 key cutting fee. Please check that both sets of keys work. Keys are left with us, so that booking can be done quickly over the phone or web for future services. (We also can provide an awesome locksmith service when our clients lock themselves out of their home - it happens all the time!)
If a client lives in a building with a concierge we encourage them to leave keys with the front desk. That way, we can always access the pet should the client have an emergency.
Key Pick-up & Drop-Off Fee - $10
Please have the keys ready for us at the Minder Meeting, so we don’t have to charge you for an extra visit. If don’t want to leave keys on file and you wish for the keys to be dropped off after the service, a the key drop-off fee applies. Note: We NEVER advocate for locking keys in the house after the last visit. Unforeseen travel interruptions, flight delays, and other emergencies may require us to access the property again.
Job Sharing/Third Party Entering Home while we are Pet Sitting
We do NOT allow job sharing or third party entry when our clients head out of town. (i.e. a neighbor shops by every other day to check on the pets.) Due to liability concerns and the safety of our Minders we cannot allow a third party to enter your home while we are securing your home and minding your monster. For the time that we are contracted to care for the pet and home, we are responsible for any mishaps that occur. We provide our client's with the security of knowing that The Monster Minders are bonded and insured. A third party entering your home can breach this security making it impossible to know where the liability falls if doors/window are left unlocked/ajar, alarms are left off or tripped, if items are broken or missing, or an pet is improperly cared for. Additionally, it is not safe for our Minders to be entering homes and find themselves “surprised” by other parties. (NOTE: We understand that many of our clients have professional house cleaning services. Please let us know what days of the week to expect such services to occur.)
Severe Weather
In the event that we are faced with severe weather services may be altered. You will be notified if such an event occurs. (i.e. We receive three feet of snow and have to walk/crawl to each client’s home because Philly decides not to plow the roads. In such a case visits may be cut shorter so we can accommodate all clients. We’ll be sure to cover all the necessities, don’t worry.) In the event of heat waves or cold snaps (temps over 100 degrees, or below 15 degrees), time outdoors will be kept to a maximum of 15 minutes for the safety of everyone involved. The remaining visit time will be spent inside playing/snuggling. For mid-day clients, if you are staying home from work due to severe weather forecasts, please let us know ASAP.
Aggression & Uncontrollable Pets
We hold the right to refuse service if a pet shows any form of human-aggression (towards a Minder, or a stranger on the street). If a client is out of town and a pet shows serious human-aggression, we will complete the service as agreed upon, but we may choose to not offer service in the future. Please contact a trainer if your pet shows any form of aggression towards humans. This is a serious pet training issue and not one to be overlooked. Also, if a dog is uncontrollable on-leash or pulls excessively, we may also require the use of a alternate halter/leader/collar to make the walking experience safe for both us an the pet. We can handle, and work with, moderate levels of dog-on-dog aggression by keeping your pooch away from other dogs. However, due to the size/weight of the dog and seriousness of the aggression, we hold the right to refuse service. We’re happy to work with clients to reinforce walking manners & socialization, but we cannot injure ourselves or put other people/pets in danger in the process. We thank you in advance for your understanding!
Breed Restrictions
Under no circumstances will we discriminate on the grounds of breed. We are happy to work with rescued/rehabilitated dogs that do not pose a risk to the safety of the Minders and others around us!
Neglect, abuse and/or inhumane living conditions
We hold the right to refuse service if we deem a pet is living in inhuman conditions, being abused or not cared for in a loving manner. This includes, but is not limited to physical abuse, inhuman “training” methods, and water or food deprivation. We’re always happy to provide pet care advice to our clients, but we can and WILL report cases of abuse & negligence to the authorities. Pets are a part of the family, and we expect our clients to treat them as such.
2005-2009 The Monster Minders LLC
215-925-1119
