Denver Pet Sitters, Inc.
Pet Sitting & Dog Walking
An Old School Mom & Pop Shop
Helping the Highlands Since 1999
Pet Sitting & Dog Walking
An Old School Mom & Pop Shop
Helping the Highlands Since 1999
OUR SERVICES
Pet Sitting: We come to your home and give your pets care, love and attention. Our visits are not ruled by the clock. Our goal is to perpetuate your routines as seamlessly and invisibly as possible while you are away, not to rush out the door. This is a list of some of the services we can provide. If there is something else you need done that is not listed please ask; we will do almost anything reasonable to make you and your pets more comfortable.- Lots of attention, play time and companionship
- No employees or screwy "subcontractors"
- Walks, petting, playing, toys, cuddling, talking, treats, etc...
- Receive necessary medications as required (no extra charge)
- Text, email, photos and written reports
- Contact with your Vet and emergency transport if needed
- Litter boxes cleaned or pet walked and general pet clean-up
- Watering plants, indoors or outdoors
- Alternating lights & blinds to create a "lived-in" appearance
- Trash to the curb, recycling bins in/out
- Collecting your mail and newspapers
- Filling outdoor bird feeders
- Maintain regular eating, sleeping and exercising routines
- Flexibility if your plans change
Dinner Walks: Need to go somewhere after work without stopping home? Call us! Last minute is no problem. We'll feed, water and walk your dog, bring in any mail or papers, turn on your lights and whatever else we can do to help. Enjoy your evening without coming home to a mess!
*All of our walks are your dog(s) only- we do not combine customers unless they both request it.
THESE ARE OUR PRICES
There are no hidden fees,
no additional anything.
No extra charges for- weekends, holidays, medications, last minute booking, key exchanges, meetings or anything else.
Full Service visits average 15 to 20 minutes, Extra Service is double, but it's all flexible. Our visits are not ruled by the clock; we try to care for your pets as we'd like our own cared for, not as time dictates.
Midday & Dinner Walks:
$15.00 Full Service
walk and / or backyard play time, fresh water, feed if needed, bring in packages.
$3.00 per additional pet
$25.00 Double Service
longer sessions focused on fun and adventure, fresh water, feed if needed, bring in packages.
$5.00 per additional pet
Pet Sitting:
$15.00 Full Service
all the basics for your pets and home for one low price.
$3.00 per additional pet
$25.00 Double Service
every service we offer plus lots of love and attention!
$5.00 per additional pet
There are no hidden fees,
no additional anything.
No extra charges for- weekends, holidays, medications, last minute booking, key exchanges, meetings or anything else.
Full Service visits average 15 to 20 minutes, Extra Service is double, but it's all flexible. Our visits are not ruled by the clock; we try to care for your pets as we'd like our own cared for, not as time dictates.
Midday & Dinner Walks:
$15.00 Full Service
walk and / or backyard play time, fresh water, feed if needed, bring in packages.
$3.00 per additional pet
$25.00 Double Service
longer sessions focused on fun and adventure, fresh water, feed if needed, bring in packages.
$5.00 per additional pet
Pet Sitting:
$15.00 Full Service
all the basics for your pets and home for one low price.
$3.00 per additional pet
$25.00 Double Service
every service we offer plus lots of love and attention!
$5.00 per additional pet
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Who will be caring for my pet(s)?Jahna and/or Paul. You will meet both of us if you decide to use our service.
Do you use employees?
No! This is the #1 red flag when hiring a pet sitter! We have a level of trust in each other that we could never have in a hired hand, and we like having a smaller, more personal service. We know all of our customers, and more importantly they know us. We've been here for 20 years, when you hire us you get us. Turnover for pet care service employees is high, positions are part-time and the pay is low. Most employees are students or between other positions, they move on as they can and the pets don't understand why a person they've become attached to suddenly stops coming to see them. There's also petty theft, no-shows, unexpected sick days or vehicle breakdowns, mistakes and ommisions, all sorts of things that can go wrong. It's not worth it.
How long do your walks and visits last?
As long as it takes. We like to provide the type of service that we'd like to hire ourselves and we don't cut off visits just to get to the next one. We don't have employees to keep track of and only take on a fixed number of visits each day so we don't need to worry about that. The job is done when it's done, not when the bell rings.
What is your cancellation fee?
Call or text us before we show up and there is no charge. We understand that our customers are busy and may need to schedule or cancel a visit on short notice; we do our very best to accommodate all last minute requests.
Why are your prices better than so many of the other services?
Because we don't use employees. When you hire a service with employees you pay two people for the work of one, and the prices and services are geared towards maximizing the number of dogs that can be processed per hour. That's why we don't offer different "types" of dog walks, we are full service every time. Your dog doesn't want to be potty break number 9; regardless of how many dogs you can cram into an hour, for each dog there is only one walk per day and they look forward to it. We develop relationships with the dogs we walk. We love them, and we walk them like we'd want our own dog walked, not like a number. We have a cap on the number of dog walks we do per day so we never have to rush. We also have a pet sitting cap, and it's the same everyday including holidays. We focus on service, not money, and that approach has kept us in business for 18 years (so far!).
Do you give medications to pets and is there an additional charge?
Yes, you can arrange for us to administer pills or injections to your pets. There is no additional charge for this service- pet medications cost enough already, and we don't like to take advantage of illness for karma reasons.
How many times a day can you come?
That depends on you and your pet's needs. We will do our best to accommodate your schedule and we usually make between one and four visits per day to a customer. Typically people request one or two visits for cats, two or three for dogs, but it varies from situation to situation. It's up to you.
Is there a holiday or weekend surcharge?
No, we charge the same price per visit all year round.
Why don't you have more Yelp and other online reviews?
We don't spend money with Yelp or Google, and we don't buy reviews from the hundreds of marketing companies that sell them, like reputationstacker.com, customerlobby.com, getfivestars.com, reviewinc.com, signpost.com and many more. In 20 years we just haven't had that many actual reviews, our customers have been more personal with calls, cards, gifts and such. We're not a restaurant, most people don't review their pet sitters unless something goes really wrong. Many of the reviews you read are bought, you can tell by how perfectly awesome they are. We don't ask our friends and family to review us, we don't incentivize our customers to do so, we don't buy them and we don't fake them ourselves. It's deceptive and ultimately worthless.
What about snowy or rainy days; do you still work in bad weather?
Our general rule is that if you can make it to work, so can we. We've never had to cancel a visit due to weather (we have 4wheel drive vehicles, and a spare vehicle, which helps!). We do adjust our walks for weather based on your dog's preference- Labs love snow, Greyhounds don't; Labs love rain, Pugs don't. Labs love everything.
We have cameras in our home. Is that a problem?
So do we, so does everyone. We like ours, it's nice to be sure everything is OK. People don't have them for creepy reasons, it's just modern tech for peace of mind. You can't go shopping without being on one, every restaurant, club, movie theater, roads and most workplaces have them. They're ubiquitous. We are just there for the pets, we're not doing anything odd so we generally forget about them. It's your home, you don't need anyone's approval to keep an eye on it. You'll likely find us boring...
Do you service my area?
This map shows our general service area, contact us if you're not sure.
Denver Pet Sitters, Inc.
Pet Sitting & Dog Walking
An Old School Mom & Pop Shop
Helping the Highlands Since 1999
.
Pet Sitting & Dog Walking
An Old School Mom & Pop Shop
Helping the Highlands Since 1999
.
Family Owned & Operated Since 1999
PROTECT YOURSELF!
When hiring a Pet Sitter, or any other service that comes into your home, the most important thing is to be sure you are hiring a Business Entity and not an Individual. Simply put, Business Entities cannot sue you for injuries they claim happened on your property, while Individuals can. Business Entities are registered with the Secretary of State's Office; anyone not registered as either a sole proprietor, limited liability corporation, or S-corporation, is an individual. For homeowners this is crucial, you have assets to protect as well as pets.There are 5 documents that you should be shown by everyone you interview. These are standard to all types of businesses, not just Pet Sitters. Be sure to check dates on all forms to be sure that none are expired, and call the issuer if you are not sure:
1. Registration with the Secretary of State. For all Pet Sitters and Independent Contractors. You need to be sure that any 1099 / Independent Contractors or Sub Contractors are registered Business Entities, or they are Misclassified Employees and can sue you as Individuals. A legal Subcontractor or Independent Contractor must be a registered Business Entity, just like the service you hire.
2. Industry-specific Liability Insurance. Issued in the business' name, not 3rd party from a website. Insurance only covers legitimate subcontractors (see #1).
3. Bonding Certificate. Issued in the business' name, not 3rd party from a website.
4. Workers Compensation Insurance. For all Employees. *WCI does not cover 1099 / ICs, be careful.
5. W2 for ALL Employees, BEWARE 1099s! 1099s are exclusively for Independent Contractors, the IRS does not allow employees to be paid that way. A W2 is how legitimate employees are paid; look at your paystub or statement. If they can't produce one that looks the same as the one you get, skip them, the "employee" can sue you for anything the claim happens in your home. W2 = covered, 1099 = risk.
About Our Service
About Us
Pet Tips & Tricks
Customer's Comments
About Us
Pet Tips & Tricks
Customer's Comments
DenverPetSitters@hotmail.com 720-331-7755
Guidelines For Hiring A Pet Sitter
COMMON PITFALLS AND THINGS TO BE AWARE OF:
Website Memberships- any .com like care, rovers, petsit, whatever, are legally meaningless, they're just multi-level marketing plans. They offer third party out of state insurance and make a lot of promises, but the Federal government and the State of Colorado have laws in place for businesses, beginning with registration, that must be followed. No website membership superceedes the need for Secretary of State Registration, Liability Insurance and Bonding, and Workers Compensation or a filed exemption with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. Those items can be verified using the links above, without them you are hiring an individual with all of the associated risks. Be careful, cheap services can become very expensive. Read the terms of service, they're just websites, not real services. They're never even met the people they are recommending for your pets and home, it's literally anyone who signs up for the app: https://www.rover.com/tos/ https://wagwalking.com/terms
Secondary Insurance- is actually worse than nothing. Most website sitters use this, the websites provide it, but there is a nasty catch; first, if anything goes wrong, before seeking reimbursement from the website sitter, you agree to seek reimbursement from a primary insurance provider, such as your home, health, or pet insurance.
Online Reviews are often fake- you can buy these. We get emails soliciting that all the time. Many small marketing companies maintain dozens of fake identities on the various sites that they use to get "results" for thier customers. The first thing any new business does is have their friends and family post reviews for them on Google, Yelp, Yahoo and other sites like that. Some make up fake ones themselves, all you need is an email address. It's dishonest, but probably the most common practice in small business. Yes, we have some really nice ones, and appreciate them, but we would advise taking them all with a grain of salt.
If your pet is to be transported- there should be an additional rider on the service's insurance policy to specifically cover transportation of animals. Make sure that the vehicle is equipped to carry your pets safely in approved carriers that are securely fastened to the vehicle, and that transportation time is not counted into service time unless specified as such in the contract.
Grooming- of any sort also requires specific insurance, or a grooming rider on a general policy.
Vehicle Graphics or Magnets- on a Pet Sitter's vehicle are a bad idea- would you pay someone to put a "No one is home" sign on your house while you're gone? Don't hire a service that drives around with one of these on their vehicle, it's an ad for trouble.
Website Memberships- any .com like care, rovers, petsit, whatever, are legally meaningless, they're just multi-level marketing plans. They offer third party out of state insurance and make a lot of promises, but the Federal government and the State of Colorado have laws in place for businesses, beginning with registration, that must be followed. No website membership superceedes the need for Secretary of State Registration, Liability Insurance and Bonding, and Workers Compensation or a filed exemption with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. Those items can be verified using the links above, without them you are hiring an individual with all of the associated risks. Be careful, cheap services can become very expensive. Read the terms of service, they're just websites, not real services. They're never even met the people they are recommending for your pets and home, it's literally anyone who signs up for the app: https://www.rover.com/tos/ https://wagwalking.com/terms
Secondary Insurance- is actually worse than nothing. Most website sitters use this, the websites provide it, but there is a nasty catch; first, if anything goes wrong, before seeking reimbursement from the website sitter, you agree to seek reimbursement from a primary insurance provider, such as your home, health, or pet insurance.
Online Reviews are often fake- you can buy these. We get emails soliciting that all the time. Many small marketing companies maintain dozens of fake identities on the various sites that they use to get "results" for thier customers. The first thing any new business does is have their friends and family post reviews for them on Google, Yelp, Yahoo and other sites like that. Some make up fake ones themselves, all you need is an email address. It's dishonest, but probably the most common practice in small business. Yes, we have some really nice ones, and appreciate them, but we would advise taking them all with a grain of salt.
If your pet is to be transported- there should be an additional rider on the service's insurance policy to specifically cover transportation of animals. Make sure that the vehicle is equipped to carry your pets safely in approved carriers that are securely fastened to the vehicle, and that transportation time is not counted into service time unless specified as such in the contract.
Grooming- of any sort also requires specific insurance, or a grooming rider on a general policy.
Vehicle Graphics or Magnets- on a Pet Sitter's vehicle are a bad idea- would you pay someone to put a "No one is home" sign on your house while you're gone? Don't hire a service that drives around with one of these on their vehicle, it's an ad for trouble.
Fair Treatment and Pay for Pet Sitter Employees
The employee does all the work. Imagine two people work together- one sits in a chair, answers the phone and fills in a schedule book. The other uses thier own car to actually go do the physical work. Who should work for whom? This is the upside-down situation in most Pet Sitting businesses.
Employees are entitled to:
Subcontractors, Independent Contractors, 1099ers, Team, Crew, Staff, Buddies, Henchmen... if calling employees anything besides employees could get you out of paying taxes, Walmart would have nothing but Subcontractors. The IRS defines Subcontractors for you. Independent Contractor Agreements, Non-Compete Agreements, Exclusive Work Contracts and the like are "legal toilet paper" in Colorado; it's a right to work state, and you can't write a contract that supercedes the law. Misclassifying employees is tax evasion, at both the state and federal level, and there are no mulligans, just fines and prison. If you're dumb enough to do it, here's what you're risking:
HERE are Colorado's penalties for "Independent Contractors". $5000.00 for the first misclassified employee, $25,000.00 (not a misprint) for each additional. That's just the fine! You'll also owe back taxes, fees & interest.
HERE are the IRS / Federal penalties for "Independent Contractors". Orange can be your new black, it's that serious. They know all about this scam, it's the most common way people try to evade taxes and insurance.
Anyone can call 303-318-8700 and report any business anonymously, or HERE online 24/7. There are quite a few Pet Sitters in Denver that anyone could put out of business with a phone call, just on a whim. Anyone- you, their illegal employees, scorned lovers, wronged neighbors, or just some random bored guy. Crazy but true.
Here's how the pet sitter's illegal employee / subcontractor / independent contractor "owns" them; anytime they choose to, they can legally get a 50% raise, stop working but still get paid, and perma-screw the pet sitter all in one shot:
A Misclassified Employee is still entitled to Workers Compensation, but the pet sitter didn't get the insurance. Just like driving a car, not getting insurance doesn't exempt you from liability, it makes it worse. The Misclassified Employee makes up an injury that never happened, calls 303-318-8700, or goes to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment's website and files a claim. Liability for the pet sitter who misclassified the Employee goes up to 150%! But they have no legal assistance from CDLE because they didn't buy the insurance. CDLE is not going to investigate the illegal claim, the pet sitter is on their own. And totally screwed.
Even worse- the employee can get a lawyer and say they work for you, the homeowner, and not the service that also claims they are "Independent". Check your Homeowner's Insurance for the Worker's Compensation clause. Sit down first. Then, while you're still sitting, google "Workers Compensation Lawyer Denver" and see how many sharks are waiting for you. And all you wanted was to have your pet cared for...
Not every business is a million dollar one. Not every business can legally support employees. Pet Sitting is simple, it's about helping out and having fun. If you do it legally, it's not a gold mine. Beware greedy hands. The rewards of this business come in forms other than affluence.
The employee does all the work. Imagine two people work together- one sits in a chair, answers the phone and fills in a schedule book. The other uses thier own car to actually go do the physical work. Who should work for whom? This is the upside-down situation in most Pet Sitting businesses.
Employees are entitled to:
- Fair pay commensurate with share of work. What you generate per hour should not be significantly higher than what you earn.
- Either: Mileage Compensation of $.53 per mile driven from the time they leave home until they return home if they are using their own car. This needs to be documented daily as the business will deduct this amount from thier taxes (hopefully after compensating the employee!).
- Or: Company Car with insurance / fuel allowance. Either way the business pays for vehicle costs associated with job duties.
- Roadside Assistance for whatever vehicle is used. Damages incurred during performance of duties are work-related expenses.
- Allowance for shoes, bags, rain gear, hats, sun glasses, sun block, etc... : anything else that contributes to performance of duties should be paid by the employer.
- Health Insurance.
- Paid Vacation and Sick leave w/o losing job.
- Maternity Leave w/o losing job.
- A safe working environment.
- Reasonable, consistent hours, ie. a job you can rely on week to week.
- All businesses in Colorado are required to have Workers Compensation Insurance for anyone who doesn't own atleast 10% of the business. For those people that do own 10%, they must file an exemption HERE not to be required to have this insurance. These requirements are strict, they are designed to protect employees and customers should an emergency arise. Buying WCI is the right thing to do, but it is prohibitively expensive.
Subcontractors, Independent Contractors, 1099ers, Team, Crew, Staff, Buddies, Henchmen... if calling employees anything besides employees could get you out of paying taxes, Walmart would have nothing but Subcontractors. The IRS defines Subcontractors for you. Independent Contractor Agreements, Non-Compete Agreements, Exclusive Work Contracts and the like are "legal toilet paper" in Colorado; it's a right to work state, and you can't write a contract that supercedes the law. Misclassifying employees is tax evasion, at both the state and federal level, and there are no mulligans, just fines and prison. If you're dumb enough to do it, here's what you're risking:
HERE are Colorado's penalties for "Independent Contractors". $5000.00 for the first misclassified employee, $25,000.00 (not a misprint) for each additional. That's just the fine! You'll also owe back taxes, fees & interest.
HERE are the IRS / Federal penalties for "Independent Contractors". Orange can be your new black, it's that serious. They know all about this scam, it's the most common way people try to evade taxes and insurance.
Anyone can call 303-318-8700 and report any business anonymously, or HERE online 24/7. There are quite a few Pet Sitters in Denver that anyone could put out of business with a phone call, just on a whim. Anyone- you, their illegal employees, scorned lovers, wronged neighbors, or just some random bored guy. Crazy but true.
Here's how the pet sitter's illegal employee / subcontractor / independent contractor "owns" them; anytime they choose to, they can legally get a 50% raise, stop working but still get paid, and perma-screw the pet sitter all in one shot:
A Misclassified Employee is still entitled to Workers Compensation, but the pet sitter didn't get the insurance. Just like driving a car, not getting insurance doesn't exempt you from liability, it makes it worse. The Misclassified Employee makes up an injury that never happened, calls 303-318-8700, or goes to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment's website and files a claim. Liability for the pet sitter who misclassified the Employee goes up to 150%! But they have no legal assistance from CDLE because they didn't buy the insurance. CDLE is not going to investigate the illegal claim, the pet sitter is on their own. And totally screwed.
Even worse- the employee can get a lawyer and say they work for you, the homeowner, and not the service that also claims they are "Independent". Check your Homeowner's Insurance for the Worker's Compensation clause. Sit down first. Then, while you're still sitting, google "Workers Compensation Lawyer Denver" and see how many sharks are waiting for you. And all you wanted was to have your pet cared for...
Not every business is a million dollar one. Not every business can legally support employees. Pet Sitting is simple, it's about helping out and having fun. If you do it legally, it's not a gold mine. Beware greedy hands. The rewards of this business come in forms other than affluence.
Our general advice is to skip pet sitters with employees of any type.
Everything on this page can be verified HERE
Everything on this page can be verified HERE
About Our Service
About Us
Pet Tips & Tricks
Customer's Comments
About Us
Pet Tips & Tricks
Customer's Comments
DenverPetSitters@hotmail.com 720-331-7755
