Frequently Asked Questions

Step 1: Activate & Update Your New Pet Portal

Access your pet portal for updates and photos from your sitter or walker after each service. Store contact details, home info, pet details, and payment methods. Manage invoices, tips, and service requests—all in one place. Sign up now for easy access, and stay connected via the Time to Pet app or through our website!

Step 2: Submit Your Service Request

To schedule services, simply click "Request New Service'' in your pet portal. Choose your dates, select your pets and service type, set the time frames, and add any notes. Review your estimate and hit "Submit Request" when ready. Easy as that!

Step 3: We Approve Your Request + Offer a Meet & Greet

When we receive your service request we will begin matching you with 2-4 pet care specialists on our team that are available for the services you need and that is a good fit for you and your pets. Once we confirm our availability, we will approve your service request, and email you a confirmation. Our administrative team will then be in touch through your pet portal with a few date and time options for a meet and greet.

Step 4: Meet & Greet

We always schedule a meet and greet when you join our pack. This is a wonderful opportunity for you, your pets, and your pet sitters and dog walkers to get to know each other at your home. Our goal is to successfully be ready to care for your pets following the initial meet and greet. Our team will gather any additional information during your visit together to achieve this goal. It’s important that your pet portal is activated and fully updated prior to your meet and greet, including providing us with two methods of entry into your home.

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 administrative team processes service requests during office hours Monday through Friday 8am-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.

Yes! After you have submitted your service request, we will be in touch to schedule a meet and greet with the pet sitter on our team who is available and who is a good fit for you and your pets. The initial meet and greet is complimentary when scheduled with more than 72 hrs notice.

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 admin 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 need 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.

Once you meet a pet sitter, they will be your primary pet sitter and first pick for your future services. If they are ever unavailable, we will set up another meet and greet for you to meet another available pet sitter on our team. Having a team of pet sitters on your side means we can always be there for you even if your primary pet sitter needs a day off, goes on vacation, or has a busy schedule the day you submit a request for.

It depends on the type of service and season, we tend to get booked quickly during the summer months. We recommend at least 2 weeks notice for visits, walks, hikes. 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 your preferred pet sitter will be available.

We do have last minute fees to be aware of as well. For services scheduled with less than 24 hours notice the extra rates are as follows: $10 for any 30 minute service, $15 for any service 1 hour or longer. For any overnights scheduled with less than 72 hours notice, there is a $25 late fee for each overnight scheduled within 72 hours. For any meet and greets needing to be set up for a trip happening with less than 72 hours notice, that meet and greet will cost $30.

We schedule new service requests during our office hours (Monday through Friday 8am-5pm). 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 company rather than an individual pet sitter, is if your pet sitter becomes sick or is unable to make it to your pets, we have a team of backup sitters ready to help. If your pets are on our schedule, we guarantee they will be cared for regardless of weather or other issues that may arise.

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 long. 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 house 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. Accidents and emergencies happen, your pet will never be left without care under our watch.

We meet every animal where they are at and hold no bias over certain breeds. 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 bond 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 to build trust with your pup well in advance to prepare for your departure. If an incident occurs while you are away, we will not discontinue care, alternatively, we may bring in other professionals (Our office staff, team dog trainer, etc) to help the situation.

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 with our team professional dog trainer, Megan. She 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 even video of your pet. They 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 your pet sitter through your pet portal, in the same conversation thread you can communicate with the administrative staff. There is also a “Private Chat” thread you can message our administrative team privately if you have sensitive information you do not wish to share with your sitter for any reason.

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.

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 pet sitting is due before your departure date, and we accept credit cards & ACH Payments only. A card or ACH account must be on file to schedule, 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.