Sorry, Sunny, just reread your post and realized your "petsitter" is probably not really a "sitter," per se, but must just come by once a day or so. For occasional visits to replenish food and check on them, I guess $25 hr is about average.

We are blessed, my sister will come and stay at our house when we travel. My sister is blessed because she brings her little dog to our house everyday while she's at work.

If my sister isn't available, most of our friends have dogs so we are happy to trade off dog sitting with them. Our dog is very well socialized so it's not a problem to have other dogs visiting. We enjoy dog sitting and the cats don't mind either.

Since my sister does not really walk her own dog much and our dog is used to walking at least 2 miles a day I have hired a nieghborhood kid to take her for a spin.

4-5 years ago, we started using a pet sitter for two elderly dogs that have since gone to the big doghouse in the sky. We found the first one working at our vets - a young woman who would spend the night at our house for $20-$25 a night (about half what a kennel would charge for two dogs, and much less stressful for the dogs). We later used some of the younger assistant teachers from our sons' preschool. (the common thread is responsible, single young adults who need/would appreciate some easy $$$). Now, with a new puppy, we send her to a professional trainer for $50/day or $300 week. Pricey, but she also works with the dog (we call it "manners camp"). In between dogs, when we just had the cat and aquarium, we'd leave extra food and water for the cat and the slow release food tabs for the fish on short trips. Now, if we go for longer than 3-4 days, we pay an elementary school neighbor child $20 or so total to come over each day and check on cat and fish (we know the parents, and they come over also). Dog is always boarded with trainer. I also have a friend who boards her dog with a K9 police officer when she travels. Officer loves dogs, and has extra space.

I know this post has lots of responses but I just had to leave mine as well. Our "baby" is a 2 1/2 year old boxer who has a "nanny" stay with him while we are on vacation.
We tried one of those fancy pet hotels the first time we left but he came home sick. Luckly we were able to nurse him back to health.
We have a wonderful person come in 3 times a week to let him out of the house and to play with him for an hour or so. She also pet/house sits for us while we are out of town.
We feel extremely fortunate that she has been with us for 1 1/2 years and I don't know what we will do if she ever moves!
We pay $60 per day for an afternoon relief/play session and overnight. It has worked out wonderfully! We come home and everything has been taken care of plus the dog is healthy and happy. It gets expensive when we take a long trip but I spent more than that when he got so sick - to me it is money well spent.
We have a much better time knowing that our precious baby is well taken care of. (Did I mention that she works at our vets and is in vet school?)

I'm almost embarassed to tell you how good our puppies have it.

Thirteen years ago we bought a puppy, but were worried about crating it all day while we were both gone. Someone suggested talking to a spinster lady on the next block who was retired and leaving on SS. We reached a deal with her to take Puppy during the days -- paid her I think it was $50/mo.

We thought we would do that for a few months until the puppy didn't need crating. But, Puppy and her bonded tight. Whenever we went out golfing, on weekend trips or even European vacations, Puppy just went up the street. We would drive up, open the car door and the dog would run up the steps to the porch.

That lasted twelve years. Puppy has since passed on and was recently replaced by Puppy2 and Puppy3. They too go up the street. They seem to view themselves as owning two houses and having a single extended family. We somewhat more per month, but it's worth every penny of it for us, Puppy2 and Puppy3, and for our spinster friend.

Our only concern is our friend's advancing age. But, if that time should come, we will know what kind of person to look for.

Oh laba, your post made me giggle.
What a sweet lady. My cats make regular calls on my elderly nieghbor and the dog too, if she can escape.
She told me one day that she would love to have a pet of her own but is worried about what would happen to it when she passes away. It seems that you and your friend might have the best of all worlds.

I have the next door neighbor look after the cat twice a day. I am going to be leaving for a week, and I am a bit worried as I've never left my cat at home for more than 2 days at a time. She usually hides from the neighbor when he comes over. Hopefully he gets her to come out of her spot and pets her. Any tips? Should we leave a radio on or something?

Emu,
We had just gotten a cat when we went on vacation. He seemed a little freaked out with our dogs and would not come down from the counter.
Our friend came to stay at our house and brought a very sweet but nosey and "up on the counter" type of dog.
When we got home, it was like magic, Bustopher was on the floor playing with the dogs. Now, he is has grown into his name and truly is the "cat we all greet as he walks down the street. In his coat of fastidious black."

If your neighbor is patient and lets your cat come out so it can start associating him with food and petting that will help.
My neighbor tamed the almost feral cats in the neighborhood and started brushing them on a regular basis. She’s very calm and quiet.

L84SKY - I understand the concerned of elderly people - they often won't get a pet for worry about what will happen to the pet if they go into a nursing home or even pass on.

One possibility for such a person is to consider taking a pet from a no kill animal shelter or a dog rescue group. Almost all such groups will take the animal back (to make it available for readoption) if the owner becomes incapable of keeping the pet. Check with some of your local groups to see if they have such a policy.

Emucom

I sent a reply to you, but addressed it to L84SKY. My apologies to both.

BayouGal, sorry if I wasn't clear...yes, our guy comes over for just an hour a day. I wasn't sure what else to call him besides a petsitter. :) Maybe when we buy a house, we'll have him stay over and house sit/catsit, but for now, in an apartment, it's really not necessary.

We are in NYC, so I imagine our prices are a little inflated. My mom would do it for free, but it's a pain for her to get to our place from where she lives, so I don't want to make her do it every day for 2 weeks.

laba, Thanks, that's some good info. I'll pass it on.

I have a question for you dog lovers...
When traveling with my 10 lb. pomeranian, we sometimes like to have her with us when we hike, if allowed of course. Does anyone know of a good quality back pack, for me to wear to have her on my back. I have tried one by Pet Gear, but it is not comfortable for me...I guess it is too lite weight. Would appreciate your input.

Have you tried letting her walk?

Note: this is a serious question- the pom's I know like walking a lot rather than being carried....barring physical problems, that is.

http://www.petsmart.com/

There's a couple carriers listed here- including a sling, which might be better than a BP (but then, I like sling types more than BPs, anyway)

http://www.activek9.com/kj-00566.html

And this BP looks even better (and there are a few more options on this site- look for "outward hound"

Mooselywild:
Thanks for the websites..
My pom, Maggie, has trick knees, so too much walking and/or hiking on hard surfaces causes her knees to pop out of place. I would like to avoid surgery as long as possible, so the back pack can be helpful.

Oh, poor Maggie- she deserves all the pampering she can get, then:)

And I'd rec. not waiting too long on the surgery- surgery can be really tough on older dogs, esp. small breeds!

welig12,
my parents have 2 Poms and one in particular has the same knee-popping problems. My mom bought a "front-loading" carrier for him that you wear on your front instead of on your back, with the dog facing out so he can see everything. He doesn't seem to mind it at all. I'm not sure what brand it is but I found something that looks similar on the Drs. Foster & Smith website (www.drsfostersmith.com) - do a search for the "pet pouch."

I really appreciate your help. I tried on a front carrier at Pet Supermarket awhile ago, but it wasn't comfortable. I'm going to check out the brand at Fosters and Smith to see if it is heavier duty and perhaps more comfortable around my neck area. The knee issues are a common thing with smaller breeds. Surgery comes into play if the "luxating patella" as they call it, happens all the time..it is actually put on a grading system 1-4. Surgery to me is always a last resort...glucosimine and chondroitin are quite beneficial for building up the cartiliage.

Glad to be of help. I agree that surgery is definitely a last resort. Poms are just delicate little guys (even though they have the heart of a lion!) and you have to give them the care they deserve!

I have cats only. They stay at home. A friend comes in to feed them and do the cat litter once a day.

I am happy to use a paid service but they are hard to find. For that I gave $25/day (Seattle).

I would never kennel a cat.