Travelkitty

I think there is a range of prices that would be ok, so I wouldn't worry too much. I agree with whoever said would this be a treat or a chore for her - if she's happy at home and will be really living there and just driving out to take care of your dogs, then I would go more towards the higher end of the range, $40 a day, or slightly less if you pay for gas. If however, your house has things she doesn't have (pool, high speed internet, cable tv etc.) or she just wants a change and she's going to be staying at your house for a good portion of the time and using some of these advantages (or eating a well stocked fridge that includes some luxuries she might not otherwise afford, then the lower end of the range ($250 for the week) is fine. Remember that whatever you set up for the price, is probably what you'll end up paying in the future, so you should have a number that you're comfortable with.

razzledazzle

'doncha just love 'em! our critters! Here in Sonoma County where the corkage is $$$, the mortgage out "rages" and the smiles are contagious we find that the "services" sector of things can get a little wiley on the pocketbook
therfore we have a base fee + possible extras scale for our overnight sitter of our 3 kitties.

$35/night includes 2 feedings, scooping, playtime,cuddles,HDTV,bells whistles,
escape from annoying roomates,long soaks in the tub,cooking whatever you want,bring your own cell phone (unless you are calling us,the vet or 911),and we supply a few faves in the fridge and the cellar.
We are fortunate to have a vet tech
with said silly roomates. If we request x-tra services such as kitty needs pill
we add on $2.50 per pill given per day.
Everyone who has given a kitty a pill knows the "joy" involved! Water the yard once a week
gets $5.00-as does vacuuming per floor
(and that would include stairs which
are always my favorite thing
to vacuum :-S
Our sitter keeps a journal of extra tasks and it is really nice to come home after 21 days to a mopped floor, dusted piano and very,very happy kitties! Not to mentions a sitter who wants to know when your next trip is!
R5

dcespedes

Razzledazzle, I have pet sitter envy!

ilovetulips

I know how you feel, I have a 12 1/2 year old dog who is very dear to my heart. I think that $25-30 a day would be good. I don't think family or friends should be undercompensated but I also don't think it is the same as a service with a kennel. Maybe also bring her a nice gift from the trip. I think family and friends do not feel taking care of a pet is as much trouble as we would think, unless you really do have one who is "high maintenance."

Scarlett

Once, we had my husbands nephew stay at our house and sit with our little cat. He (the nephew) went to work, came home and watched tv, just like home, but at our home. He did nothing for us but be there and feed the little cat.
When we came home, we tried to give him money, but he would not take it. He is , after all , family.
If I hired a stranger, non family member, I would expect to pay about $25-35 a day..that is what the service we ended up using charged. They were also wonderful, giving my little cat his insulin shots and brushing him. I knew they brushed him because the garbage bag was full of cat hair..I could have made another little cat out of all that hair (sigh)
Good luck, bonnie, I have Pup now and it is so hard to leave them behind. One of the reasons we are reluctant to move to England for any length of time..what about the Pup???

gotribe

I live in Cleveland. The vets here only charge $10.00 a day to board a dog.

I think paying your distant relative $200.00 a week is very generous, and I know nobody in my family would accept that much. There isn't that much "work" involved. It would probably be the easiest $200.00 she ever made.

Several years ago, we asked our next door neighbors (who we were quite friendly with) if they'd keep our dog at their house for a week while we went on vacation. No money was even mentioned. They said sure, no problem, and we would have done the same for them.

When we got back, we gave them a $25.00 gift certificate. They didn't want anything, and we had to insist that they take it.

I guess some people are different.

gail

I may be reading too much into the phrasing of your original post, but the key words to me are "the person I have in mind..." So I am assuming she has not done this sort of thing before and you have not already discussed this with her.

First, "distant" family in this situation makes her non-family for payment decisions, in my opinion. We are not talking about, for example, sisters exchanging favors. Age and living situation, as others have mentioned, play into this - but don't assume anything. Even if you have a nicer house, etc. - some people just prefer their own homes. (That is what you are saying about your pets, isn't it - you don't want them to leave their own home!) - so people, just like pets, are generally more comfortable in their own setting.

I would have in my mind an amount of roughlu $250-300 per week, but honestly discuss with her your expectations, limitations, as well as hers. Just as we all love our kids but all have very different ideas about how to raise them, don't assume since she is an animal lover she will give them attention in the same way you want her to.

It is often more difficult to hire family or friends than strangers - so treat this like a business relationship.

PamSF

With two old and elderly cats over the past few years, we have employed the tech from our vet's office who came by twice a day for $15/day. This visit included pill and IV administration. We tipped generously ($100 more than the total fee because it was so worth it to us)

BTilke

When we lived in Vancouver, WA (near Portland OR), we flew my mother in from Florida to petsit for our English cocker while we went to Europe for 10 days. We paid for her airfare, left some cash (about $100), and arranged for a local teenager to walk the dog every day. In my old neighborhood, there was a "girl's night out" once a month and it happened to fall during my mother's pet sitting, so a couple of the women came over to introduce themselves to Mom and take her with them for the evening. She had a nice time and it was better than being stuck alone in a strange neighborhood.
If your pet doesn't need a lot of exercise, just companionship and daily care, then I would pay her a flat fee of about $100 to $150 plus a full tank of gas (for her trips back and forth to her home), and a few gift certificates to local restaurants/shops, etc. (for example, if there's a Starbucks nearby, get her a Starbucks gift certificate). Make sure the kitchen is stocked with HER favorite foods, not *yours*--go visit her and take a discreet peek into her fridge and pantry. Ask one or two of your neighbor friends to come by and introduce themselves so your relative won't feel isolated.

soccr

Any chance you have an alternative to that relative?

I'd ask her how she would feel about spending a couple of weeks' worth of nights in your house and see what she says (and how she says it). But given that she's married, she might not feel comfortable with a long period living elsewhere and will pressure you to just let her come over during the days and keep the pets company then -- which isn't what you want and will start things off on the wrong foot.

I once set something up like that with a well-meaning but (I now know) unreliable friend. She said, "sure, happy to do it," but on the second day I was away, my neighbor called me on my vacation to tell me (complain)that the dog had been howling all night. I had to scramble to set something else up with the neighbor (who partitioned her house to keep her cats and my dog from confrontations). When I got back, I found out that "friend" hadn't wanted to disturb me on vacation but thought the dog would be "fine, just fine" by herself.

In that case, I was only gone a week and I was still on the continent, accessible by phone. Imagine if we'd been in Europe. You don't want to get into that pickle if your relative feels compelled to help you out but unable to just move in for a longer stay. If you know her well enough to know she'd stick to her word and sleep in the house as promised, that's fine. But if something goes wrong, then you have a pet problem AND a family problem.

I'd check around for professional pet/house sitters first, not just to have comparative prices but as a back-up if your discussions with the relative give you the slightest doubt about how things would be worked out.

xxxx

I'm with those who have already suggested talking to her first to find out if she is even interested. When I was in college and/or living with roommates, the situation you are suggesting would have been wonderful. Heck, I'd have done it for free! But now, there is no reasonable amount of money that would make it worthwhile to have to be out of my own home for a lengthy period of time.

bonniebroad

I am well aware, of course, that this relative may not be interested in sitting for me BUT before I talked with her, I was just trying to get some idea of a good daily rate to offer her when I do approach her. I have already called commercial pet services for their rates, not because I'd use them as a back-up (I won't! Will stay home before I will use a total stranger......), but because I want to be fair to this terrific lady. By the way, the ONLY work she will need to do is water plants, get the mail, and love and cuddle this sweet, dear 14 year old Cairn, who is deaf and sleeps most of the time. Talk about a cushy job, if you don't mind not being in your own bed.......... ;-) By the way, thank you so much for all the replies. I've enjoyed reading them, and you've all made some good points!

gotribe

Bonnie, it seems you concur with my statement that there isn't much "work" involved. That being the case, I think $150.00 a week is generous enough. She'll have an easy $300.00 in her purse, which is quite a bit for you the traveler to budget for pet care, in my opinion. I'm sure you think your dog is worth it. My point being, I know my relatives wouldn't accept that large a sum of money.

Grasshopper

Gosh, I used to do this for a friend with no stocked fridge AND I had to water all the plants and they didn't give me a penny!

Tandoori_Girl

Definitely offer at least what you'd have to pay at a professional service. What you're getting is so much more than they could give you. A family friend who will treat your animals like a member of the family.

Possibly the sitter will shun your suggestion of such a generous offer. But if they don't, who cares? You will have the best and most attentive care you could get for your pet. And you would have bypassed a family squabble caused by a gratuitous offer.

Jayne11159

Bonniebroad, it's so hard to put a price on piece of mind, which we learned after one bad pet sitting experience. The hardest part of planning our vacations is coordinating the care of our animals. I don't have a feel for what your gut is telling you about the person you're considering, but I've seen your posts about your dog and I'm sure you have tremendous trust in her or you wouldn't consider her. I don't know what her health issues are, but hopefully while you were away nothing would come up in that regard that would interfere with her ability to stay at your home and care for your dog. You're probably talking about a long period of time so instead of trying to factor in this and that, food or no food etc. I would consider compensating her enough to cover all of this and let HER decide on the extras she might require. If I was basing it on a two-week vacation I think I would offer her about $800 (that still comes out to under $60 a day and surely would sound marvelous to her if she needs the extra money and I assume it will be tax-free as well).

My sister, dad and I take turns caring for each other's pets (we have 11, my sister 9 and my dad 3). Our dad is 85, active but rarely leaves town; since our mom passed away he LOVES having the responsibility of looking after our homes and pets when we're gone. We have wonderful neighbors so I'll usually have one of them check in first thing in the morning (so sis or dad don't have to get up too early) and then again before bedtime.

In the rare instance when we're all out of town, there are a couple of young teachers at our childrens' school that love staying at our house and having the pool, the big screen TV etc. We don't even mind if they entertain--most of the neighbors know them also so we don't have to worry about wild parties! We let them bring their own pets and we live so close to the school they can walk over during the day for "rounds". We pay them enough to cover any expenses and make sure we stock up on food, meds, bones etc.

I'm sure you'll come up with something that makes everyone(and pooch) happy.

lenleigh

I dogsit for my family all the time for free (sisters and parents). Recently we all took a short trip to Vegas and my dad needed someone to watch our 2 labs for no more than 2 nights (simply feed them and let them out during the day) and we had the hardest time finding someone. I asked a couple of friends that already had obligations. I asked my husbands brother (23 years old with no job, living with his parents and is very close) if he could and he just didn't want to do it even for $75 bucks for 2 days. We found a highschool teenager that was more than happy to watch them that loved the dogs.

2 weeks is a longer time so I would expect more compensation but I agree that it might be easier to find a close neighbor or young adult that is willing to do it if you feel comfortable with that. $40 a day (and the additional things you mentioned) sound like a pretty good deal to me, especially for someone not working.

gotribe

$500.00-$800.00???

That's ridiculous!!

gail

To bonniebroad - I hope you let us know how this all turns out.

bonniebroad

Gail, I absolutely will let you know. We are still debating leaving him. Can we say *way too attached?* I realized I have one other relative, with no health problems, but retired, who also might consider doing this (and could use the money.) My neighbors next door, who have two Westies, will also do several daily visits (free, of course) if we could be happy with that but I just don't think we could be. But the poor doggie was up last night, wandering and confused; we had to keep bringing him back to bed. How can I leave him with anyone? (sigh.................)