Patsy Banes

We are looking to go away the weekend of Labor day and have a cat and dog and several plants to leave. A neighbor has a 9 year old daughter that plays with our 7 and 9 year old kids all the time. Is this too young to feed the pets and plants? We'd be gone for about 4 days.

sss

I think 9 is fine, just walk her thru what you want and leave a list she can read step by step. Have mom or dad there when you talk to her. I had our neighbor girl do ours several times and never had a problem and she was about 9. Grade school age seems to be alot more responsible then high school age. We had a 17 year old boy do our out door plants and flower pots and came home to everything almost dead even tho his mom said he watered them everyday, he may have came over and sprinkled a little water around but he did not water them. So show her how much water to use. good luck

J Correa

I think 9 is a good age for taking care of animals. I agree that the parents shoudl be involved as well, to make sure they know everything that needs to be done and can help the child.

Attorney

I am really shocked when I see people on here talking about neighborhood kids coming over and feeding animals or watering plants. Many things can happen even if accidentally that people just don't think about. Hiring a company who is fully insured is a much better way to go. I know these are extreme examples but any one of them could happen:

1) child forgets to lock door when he leaves, burglar come in and wipe out the place.

2) a faucet is left on and sink/tub overflows causing water damage to house; same thing coould happen if a toilet runs after being fdlushed

3) freezer/refridgerator door left ajar and all food/expensive meat ruined

4) something knocked over na dbroken of yours

5) heaven forbid pet dies for some reason etc.

If a licensed and insured company has been hired, you have a contract with them and they are obligated to replace and or compensate. If it was a neighborhood child, who pays? You may think you are good friends with the neighbor and that the childs parents would most defnitely take of things, but htat doesn't always happen. Besides if things are stolen from your house because child left window/door unlocked, would you realy expect your neighbor/friend to pay you tens of thousands of dollars to replace things? BTW your homeowners insurance may not cover you for this because the house was left unlocked . . .

Just something to think about!

nina

My 9 year old has pet sat and watered. I accompanied him for the reasons given above, but I think it's good for kids to learn some responsibility and to have a little "job" at a young age.

xxx

An unaccompanied 9 year old is not old enough to be responsible for someones house or pets.

Chuck

Attorney, you have a pretty good case of OCD going on there.

Patsy, we have used our young neighbor to take care of our pet and plants without any issues. His parents are involved and make sure that everything is ok. It has worked out fine, and has added some responsibility for our young friend, a few extra bucks.

xxx

I'm really glad to see the responses to this question running in favor of teaching kids some responsibility and neighborly courtesy.

In addition to the fine advice you've received, Patsy, I'd also recommend that you leave your petsitter a local number he/she can call in case something unexpected comes up. One of the cats my daughter was tending hurled in technocolor on the ower's white carpet and the spot cleaner was not where she said it would be. We were able to contact her daughter in law who knew where it was stored.

No lawsuits were filed.

Attorney, do you make the children sign a waiver before you hand out the candy at Halloween?

ddd

Does the 9-year old neighbor live with a parent or guardian? YES!! I'm sure the parent/gaurdian will help their child.

S

With a child that age, it goes without saying that the responsibility of the parents to check up after the child is inherent in the deal.

X

Attorney never said lawsuits were filed but just that it was easier to work with those who are insured. I agree as I hate to confronts friends about issues liek money. I would not feel right asking a friend to pay to have my carpet cleaned if the technicolor cat vomit didn't come out. I would find it much easier to ask a large insurance company with plenty of money to pay to have the same carpet cleaned professionally.

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TTT

petsit?

Hmmmmmm.....curious that one who has a 9-year-old child, would ask others' opinions about whether 9 is old enough. Maybe you should get to know your children a little better!!

Cat owner

I would have the nine-year-old come over a couple days before you leave to practice (rather than just watch you).

Also, type up all the instructions explicitly in checklist form and include all of your contact numbers and itinerary. Make a copy for the child and one for the child's parents.

I agree with XXX, I think it is a great opportunity for the child to learn responsibility. I hope that if you are not paying her, you will at least reward her afterward if she does a good job (even if it is just a small gift).

xxx

Hello X. xxx here. Let me see if I understand you correctly. In the cat hurling scenario, YOUR cat vomits on YOUR carpet while you're on vacation and you expect someone other than YOU to be responsible for the cost of cleaning the carpet? No wonder my insurance premiums are so high.

Well...at least you keep people like Attorney in billable hours.

Patsy, if you think your neighbors are decent and responsible people, I hope you give the nine year old a chance to prove herself. My daughter still hasn't spent the $20 bill she received as payment because she says it's the first money she ever "really earned."

Happy travels.

Patsy,



You'l

xxx

Apologies. Bad editing.

X

You were asking why I would think someone else should pay for cleaning my cat's vomit, I'll tell you why. I have one of those cats who eats until the dish is empty regardless of how much is put in there. Unfortunately I can't train hime to do otherwise. If he eats too much at one time, he vomits. I tell my pet sitting service this and explain the amount that he has to be given and that you can't just fill his dish to overflowing and walk off. You give him a little bit, watch him eat, wait a few minutes, give him some more and so on. If someone failed to follow these directions and just topped off his dish, filled up his water and left leaving the cat to gorge himself and vomit, yes I would hold them responsible and I should!!!! However, if it were my friend and neighbor I wouold feel odd giving them a $100 bill for a professional cleaning. They are my friend and I may know that they don't have that kind of extra money laying around, not so with an insurance company, that is what they are there for.

nice

X, I can't BELIEVE you! Do all your neighbors a favor, don't ever ask them to feed your pets or go near your home for that matter. What, has your pet never become ill when you were home? I would feel bad that someone else had to clean up my pets vomit, not make them feel guilty for feeding them incorrectly!

When my husband and I were newlyweds, we housesat for a family with 3 dogs. One of the dogs got sick all over a $ 50,000 antique oriental carpet. The owners apologized profusely that we even had to deal with the incident, called the cleaners in, and accepted responsibility for their own dogs. We didn't overfeed the dog, nor was he restricted to any area of the home.

I would have felt terrible if they held us responsible. Their dogs, their home, their carpet. They knew we were doing them a favor and in no way implied that we should be responsible.

X

first of all I would never ask a neighbor to petsit. As I said before I use a service and for good reason (I don't want to make enemies of my neighbors) Second, I understand if a pet gets sick which does happen, that is not what I was referring to, I mean if you tell someone up front: "Don't do X, iff you do the cat will get sick" and they do X anyway, then yes it is their fault. Yes I feel bad for a friend down onm all fours cleaning up vomit, that is gross! That is also why I would hire a professional to do it. That is their job and if they don't do it right, they have insurance to cover the consequences.

T

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