Frequently Asked Questions

Step 1: Schedule Your Onboarding Meet & Greet

Your first step is to schedule an onboarding meet and greet with our team! One of our Meet & Greet Team members will visit your home to get to know you and your pets, review their routines and care needs, answer your questions, share how our team based care model works, and make sure everything is set up for successful care with your Auntie M team.

Step 2: Tell Us About Your Pets

Before your meet and greet, activate your Time to Pet portal and complete your home and pet care information. This gives our team the details we need to provide safe, consistent, and reliable care from the very beginning.

Your portal is also where you'll manage service requests, receive visit updates and photos, review invoices, leave tips, and keep important care information up to date.

Step 3: Book Your Services & Let Us Handle the Rest

Once you're onboarded, requesting care is easy! Submit your service request through the Time to Pet app or pet portal, then sit back and let us take it from there.

Our team will review your request, coordinate coverage with trusted pet care professionals who are a good fit for your pets and services, and send you a confirmation once everything is scheduled. We’ll keep you updated and make sure you know when your care is confirmed. 🐾

Here are video tutorials we put together to make submitting a service request and change request simple for you!

You can submit a service request through your pet portal at any time, 24/7/365. Our team processes service requests during office hours Monday through Friday 9am-5pm. We will notify you in advance in your pet portal if and when our office is closed anytime during normal business hours. If you submit a request outside of office hours, we will begin working to approve your request when we are back in the office.

Your initial onboarding meet and greet will be with a member of our Meet & Greet Team, who will get to know you and your pets, review their care needs, and make sure everything is set up for successful care with our team.

If you’d also like to meet one of the pet sitters or dog walkers who may be providing care for your pets, you’re welcome to send us a message and request a Team Member Meet & Greet. We’re happy to coordinate a visit with one of your care team members before services begin.

Team Member Meet & Greets are scheduled as a 30-minute visit at our current visit rate.

Yes. Everyone on our team is bonded and insured.

Overnight stays start at 12 hours overnight, typically 7pm-7am OR 8pm-8am. Your pet sitter will stay with your pets at your home during this time. If your pet family needs any visits, walks or hikes during the daytime hours, those need to be booked separately. This time is fully customizable to the care your pets need. Your pet sitter will make sure to feed dinner and breakfast, provide a walk or potty break upon arrival, before bed, first thing in the morning, and before leaving in the morning. Overnights can include unlimited potty breaks, up to 2 walks, feeding meals, giving medications and supplements as needed, picking up and disposing of pet waste, cleaning food and water bowls, assisting with any special needs, implementation of training you are already working on, unlimited cuddles and company to your pet’s liking, trash, mail, and plant care.

Yes. The good news is that activating and updating your pet portal is very straightforward and only has to happen once. The portal allows you to communicate to your pet sitters and our leadership team, submit service requests at any time of day, and allows us to be as reliable as possible for you and your pets. If you have a predictable schedule, let us know, and we can set you up with recurring services so you never have to submit a service request.

Yes! To guarantee when our team will be caring for your pets, you will want to submit a request for the hours you would like us to be there. Many of our clients with young, senior, or special needs pets do very well with a 12 hour overnight plus two midday services. If you would like to book more time for your pet beyond our standard time frames, you can book “Custom Hourly Pet Care” as an Add On service to visits or overnight stays. This is a premium service that we charge by the hour for. We understand that every pet has different needs and we’re happy to accommodate more hours of pet care as needed for your pets.

When you book a trip with us, the final service of your trip will be a ‘Return Home Confirmation’. This is a reminder to our sitter to check in with you to ensure you’ve made it home safely to your pets and that they are getting the care they need. The Return Home Confirmation is complimentary unless we need to continue caring for you pets either because we haven’t heard from you, or you let us know that your travels were delayed and your pets need continued care.

We use a team based care model, which means you may see more than one trusted pet care professional from our team over time.

Our goal is to build familiarity and consistency by matching you with team members who are a good fit for your pets, your location, and the services you request. Having a team supporting your care also gives us more flexibility to provide reliable coverage when someone is unavailable, on vacation, already booked, gets sick, or has an emergency.

You can view the team member assigned to each service anytime in the Schedule tab of your pet portal, and you can get to know our full team on the About Us page of our website.

It depends on the type of service and season, we tend to get booked quickly during the summer months and holidays. We recommend providing 2 weeks notice for visits, walks, hikes when you can. The more notice the better for overnight stays. However, with the size of our team we are generally available for last minute services. The sooner you submit a request for services, the more likely we will be available.

We do have last minute fees to be aware of as well. Please refer to the fee section of the FAQ below for details.

We schedule new service requests during our office hours. Any emergent requests received after those hours will be prioritized as soon as we are back in office. If you are currently away on a trip and are delayed in your return, please message your sitter in your Time to Pet, pet portal letting them know and we will continue services until you are back home. You can login to your pet portal here or through the Time to Pet app.

The great thing about working with a team based company, is if your pet sitter becomes sick or is unable to make it to your pets, we have a team of sitters ready to help. If your pets are on our schedule, they will be cared for.

When you schedule a dog hike with us, we pick your dog up from your house and drive to the nearest trailhead for a nature hike. We add 30 minutes of travel time so your dog gets to spend a full hour or two hiking on the trail with us (whichever length of time you book). Our “Dog Walks” are within your neighborhood. The time we spend walking the neighborhood is dependent on how long it takes to leash up your pup and get them settled back inside. If you want a full 30 minute walk and a meal fed, We recommend booking an hour so your walker has plenty of time to walk and feed them.

Yes! We’re happy to drop your pet off at doggy daycare, the vet, or groomer. We book this service by time, starting at pickup, so if your daycare is over 30 minutes away, you would want to submit a request for a 1 hour pet sitting visit so your sitter has time to get them settled in the care and checked in to daycare. If it is less than 30 minutes away, you would submit a request for a 30 minute pet sitting visit. Add a note to your service request for your ideal pick up/drop off time and location.

Our shortest service is 30 minutes. If your pet needs a quick check in, we will take care of their needs and use any remaining time to play with them, clean up, or keep them company.

Yes, our minimum visit frequency for cats is one 30 minute visit every other day. We would be okay doing this schedule for healthy adult cats with no special needs. Our recommendation for all cats is one or two 30 minute visits per day. This allows us to make sure your pet and home are safe. Cats can get stuck in places and illnesses can come on quickly so it's always good to lay eyes on them at least once a day. Leaks or home damage can also happen while you’re away, and it’s important to us to care for your home in a timely manner as well.

If you’re out of town and we’re the only caretakers for your dog, we require a minimum of two 30 minute visits per day. If you are supplementing your dog’s care with another pet care provider, we require you to provide us with contact information for that person. We recommend a minimum of 2-4 visits per day or an overnight plus a midday 30 minute visit or walk during the day for dogs.

Every trip you schedule with us comes with a “Return Home Confirmation.” This is our reminder to confirm you’ve made it home and is set at the approximate time your pet will need care if you don’t make it home when planned. Your sitter will contact you to confirm you’ve made it home safely. If we do not hear back within a reasonable time, we will go to your home to check on your pet. If you’re not home or we have not been able to contact you or your emergency contact, we will continue care until you are back safely.

We meet every animal where they are at and hold no bias over certain breeds or behaviors. We are always happy to make an attempt to create a bond with your pet. If your dog is slow to warm up to new people, we recommend scheduling practice visits to allow our team to build a safe and comfortable relationship with your dog. Depending on your dog's behavior, the first couple (or more) practice visits may need to be with you there. If you are going on a trip, we would like to work toward building trust with your pup well in advance to prepare for your departure.

If your dog does not warm up with practice visits and is unsafe for our team to care for independently, we will recommend you to work with a dog trainer before we provide service. If you’re not already enrolled in training, we recommend scheduling a dog training consultation. We would be happy to partner with you to help make you and your dog’s life easier and allow for a smoother transition into in-home pet care.

Absolutely! Your pet sitters will send you a written update with pictures and occasional videos of your pet. We send this at the end of each visit, walk, and hike so you can rest assured they saw your pets within your preferred time frame and that your pet is doing well. You will hear from them more often when they are providing an overnight stay. Your pet sitter will make note of how the visit went and if there is anything you should be made aware of. You are able to communicate with our through your pet portal, in the same conversation thread. There is also a “Private Chat” thread you can message our leadership team privately. We value open communication and encourage you to provide feedback so we can continuously improve our service.

You can view all future invoices for scheduled services under your invoices tab. Invoices will be sent and be made payable on Thursdays for the following week. All invoices are set to auto pay on the first day of service for the week or a trip.

We do not offer discounts for extended trips at this time. Our prices remain the same whether you book us for 2 nights or 2 months.

We recommend buying an over-the-door hook to attach an lock box to. This one from Amazon is a client favorite:

Over-the-Door Lockbox Holder

Some farm animals can be added in ‘bulk’. You can group animals together if they meet the following conditions:

• Animals are of the same species

• They receive identical care & live in the same space (food, cleaning, etc. and

• They have no special instructions per individual

Guide to adding animals to Time to Pet

• Poultry & Fowl (Chickens, ducks, geese, emus, et.c): Up to 10 of the same species in the same house= 1 pet fee. If any are house separately, group them by coop/pen/cage. Each separate area is its own group/profile in Time to Pet

• Livestock (goats, sheep, pigs, cows): Up to 5 of the same species in the same housing= 1 pet fee. Separate by species and pen/enclosure. Each species/enclosure is it’s own profile.

• Equines (horses, donkeys, etc.): Each equine is individual and must have their own profile.

• Outdoor feral cats: Group as one ‘colony’ if fed/cared for together

• Outdoor pet cars (non-feral): Each outdoor pet cat is an individual.

• Fish: One profile per tank. Please call about pricing if multiple tanks only need feeding

• Reptiles, hamsters, rats, lizards, etc.: Group by tank/cage and species

• Indoor rabbits or chinchillas: Each indoor rabbit/chinchilla is an individual

• Outdoor rabbits or chinchillas: Up to 5 of the same species in the same housing= 1 pet fee. Separate instructions/profile by cage/enclosure. If any have individual needs, they must have their own profile.

• Indoor birds: Each bird is an individual unless it’s a cage of finches/similar bird species.

• Dogs & Indoor cats: Must always have individual profiles.

The Auntie M Pet Care LLC cancellation policy for all services is as follows:
14 or more days’ notice for cancellation: NO CHARGE.
7-13 days’ notice for cancellation: 50% OF INVOICE TOTAL CHARGED.
6 or fewer days’ notice for cancellation: 100% OF INVOICE TOTAL CHARGED.

*All clients on a template (recurring schedule), receive a 30% discount on the 6 or fewer days’ notice for cancellation.

All service requests are subject to the cancellation policy upon approval of the services. If you need to cancel or make changes to your pending request, please send a message in your pet portal with what you would like to change or cancel. 

Any services booked over the phone are subject to the cancellation policy. 

All payment for dog walking and pet sitting services is due on the date your services begin per week or trip. We accept credit cards, debit cards, and ACH payments only. A card or ACH account must be on file to submit a service request, and it will be automatically charged on the due date, which is either the first day of service for the week or the first day of your trip.

We require two methods of entry into your home. If your home requires a key to access, we ask that you store them on your property. We prefer door codes, keys in a lockbox, hidden keys, and garage door codes. Auntie M Pet Care offices and team do not keep keys or garage door openers on file for security and convenience purposes.