This is just our opinion, not a legal set of guidelines.  It is only offered as opinion.

Hiring a Pet Sitter is not much different from hiring any other contract service.  Ask your family, friends and neighbors for referrals, get references from the pet sitters you might hire and check them.  Interview a few services.  Trust your gut feelings about people; you need to be comfortable with them, as does your pet.  This is not a cut throat or dangerous industry.  Few serious problems arise, most services have none for their entire lifespan.  However, be careful and choose well.

There are a few documents that you should see from 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:

·         Registration with the Secretary of States office.  The business structure (Corporation, LLC, SP) is not so important (mostly determines how and when taxes are paid) but the entity must be registered to do business and pay taxes in the State of Colorado.  You can also tell how long someone has legally been in business this way.  If they are not registered, you are not hiring a real service, just an individual, and you have much, much, much less legal protection and actually incur some liability.

·         Bonding Certificate.  To be bonded a person must pass a background check, and a bond gives you excellent financial and legal recourse should problems arise. 

·         Insurance Policy.  All businesses should carry an industry specific liability insurance policy.  Many businesses will skip this, as it can be costly.  Smart business owners will, cost aside, not operate without this protection- lack of current insurance is a GREAT reason not to hire someone.

·         Workers Compensation Insurance for all employees;  Beware of "Independent Contractors"!  ALL employees of any company must have workers comp insurance, period.  An Independent Contractor must, among 20 specific IRS qualifications, have a separate business registration with the Secretary of State (ie: own their own registered Pet Sitting service), and a carry a separate Liability Insurance policy for that service. You should see both of those, or current Workers Comp Insurance for anyone who is not the registered owner of the service you are hiring.  *Legal Registered Owners of a business are not required to carry workers comp insurance on themselves, but also cannot make claims of this sort. 
That is the law, and a huge, expensive hurdle for small business that many try to skirt, often at a customer's expense.  Hiring someone without this is wrong on so many levels- aside from bad business practice, your concern as a customer is if that person is injured and has no insurance to cover them, they may sue everyone involved, including you.  

You may also want to see professional association memberships- our favorite is Pet Sitters International. 

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.

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