Quick Help & Answers
Dedicated to providing exceptional care for pets and peace of mind for their owners.
Frequently Asked Questions
Guided by compassion and commitment, we strive to provide exceptional care for every pet, ensuring their happiness today and shaping a better future for pet care tomorrow.
Ordering Services
How to buy
Add services to the shopping cart, then checkout with PayPal. We’ll be in touch & do the rest.
Where to reserve
Online
Open our Quote and Reservation Form (click button on website header).
New client – submitting the form will lead to a quote from us. Service is reserved once you accept the quote.
Returning client – submitting the form makes the reservation.
By phone
You can give us a call.
Confirmation
We confirm every request by email or by telephone – never assume services are confirmed if you have not heard from us (this ensures your pet is never left alone and always receives the necessary care).
If you do not receive an email from us that you’re expecting … look in your spam/junk email folder, or call us immediately so we can resend the email.
When to reserve
With access to our Quote and Reservation Form you can reserve 24/7.
We encourage you to book our services as soon as possible (ideally 2 days before a visit).
Last-minute request
We work hard to accept last-minute bookings, and usually accommodate.
We consider a request for our services to be at the “last-minute” if it is made within 3 days of visit.
New client – we need to have a Meet & Greet consult, a signed Professional Sitting Service Agreement, keys to your home, and a 50% deposit.
Special request
Need special help? We’d love to hear what we can do for you.
We can assist senior pet owners, living in residence, with their pets. Keeping them together longer!
We can make visits before or after our normal hours of service, including overnight, subject to sitter availability
Hiring sitter directly
We ask that you not hire a sitter directly. We give your sitter’s phone number so you may contact them in an emergency or to report that you’ve arrived home. Thank you for your understanding.
Service Delivery
Service area
- Greater Ottawa, Ontario
- Mississauga & Hamilton, Ontario
We’re working to expand. Want to join our team and have our help to offer our services where you live?
Hours of service
8 AM to 8 PM every day.
Earlier or later visits available, with an additional fee.
Pre-service consultation
New client – a 30- to 45-min Meet & Greet consultation is required before we provide our service to:
- Confirm where you live
- Schedule your Meet & Greet so that we may become acquainted with you and your pet(s)
- Pay your 50% deposit
- Meet & Greet to discuss the care instructions
- Identify your emergency contact(s)
- Complete a Veterinarian Notification Card
- Identify med(s) to administer to your pet(s)
- Test (de)activation of your home alarm system
- Tour your home, noting the hiding places of your pet(s) and location of pet food, etc.
- Complete and sign the Professional Sitting Service Agreement
- Obtain and test 2 keys or sets of keys to your home
Subsequent consultation
Returning client – a new consultation is optional if you have a new sitter, a new pet or new medication to be added. In addition, a new meet and greet is required if you have moved.”
Visit (duration)
Durations are 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes.
For longer than 60 minutes, add 15-minute increments.
The 30-minute visit is our most popular duration.
The duration depends on preference, guided by the type & number of pets, pet care needed, and chores needed.
Visit (frequency/day)
When providing care to pets, a minimum of 1 daily 15-minute visit is required.
Our standard is to visit from 1 to 4 times per day. We can visit more often if needed.
The frequency depends on preference, guided by the type & number of pets, pet care needed, and chores needed.
Cats & pocket pets need at least one 15-minute visit per day.
Dogs need, at minimum, two 30-min visits per day (morning & evening to be let out); a third 30- to 60-min visit is recommended (for a walk).
Visits (same sitter)
We want you and your pet(s) to build a relationship with your sitter so you and your pet(s) feel comfortable, and to respect the attachment your pet(s) develop(s) with the sitter. If your sitter is not available for a particular assignment or some visits of an assignment, you have the option to meet his or her temporary replacement if you like and the Meet & Greet fee will apply.
Visit (free add-ons)
- Plenty of tender, loving care.
- Playtime with favourite toys or activities.
- Fresh food and water, daily, at times specified by you.
- Walks or let out in the yard for elimination and exercise.
- Daily reports that chart the activities and health of your pet(s).
- Grooming, if enjoyed by your pet(s).
- Daily clean up of feeding and watering area and bowls.
- Clean up of litter box and/or cage during each visit.
- Administration of some medications.
- Clean up of small accidents.
- Watering of a few plants.
- Taking trash and recycling bins out to the curb, and returning them to the home.
- A daily checklist of tasks completed, and an end-of-assignment report card for the pet(s).
- Our Veterinarian Notification Card – to let your Vet know we are taking care of your pet(s).
- Bringing in mail, newspapers, and packages into your home.
- Alternating the turning on and off of lights.
- Opening and closing window treatments.
- Turning on and off the television and/or radio.
- Moving your vehicle(s) in your driveway.
- A complete visual security inspection of your home.
Visits (refused)
We may decline service for various reasons; common examples are an aggressive pet (sitter safety), unsanitary home conditions, or an outdoor cat (too difficult to notice if cat is ill or injured.
Overnight (in your home)
A sitter can stay overnight in your home.
Boarding (in a sitter’s home)
A sitter may board your pet(s) in their home.
Pet runs away
We’ll launch a search & find mission. We’ll contact you, your emergency contacts, neighbours, 311 (Bylaws), and the Humane Society.
Updates when away
With e-Diary notes (sold in bulk), after each visit your sitter can email or text notes online that you can read by logging in on our e-Tools page.
Travel itinerary change
Time we set aside for your visit is time we cannot visit another client.
A refund is not offered, but we’ll happily give a credit you may use anytime after, considering you meet the cancellation criteria.
Please see the Cancellation Policy page for more information.
Home early
Please phone your sitter as soon as possible when you arrive home so they know not to make another visit.
A refund is not offered for a visit you don’t need because you returned home early. Please visit our cancellation page for further details.
Home late / forgot to notify sitter
Without your call saying you’re home, your sitter will try to reach you or your emergency contact or your carrier. If unable to establish your whereabouts, your sitter we keep visiting your home.
If you call to say you’ll be arriving late, your sitter will keep visiting your home until you arrive.
An additional fee will apply.
Account & Keys
Address, emails, phone update
Please keep us updated about any change of address, email, or phone number. Use the Address + Contact Info form on our e-Tools page.
Pet info update
If we’re providing pet care, please keep us updated about anything related to the care of any pet, especially medication, med care, routine, and food. Use the Pet Info form on our e-Tools page.
Emergency contacts update
We need 2 emergency contacts. Use the Emergency Contacts form on our e-Tools page to keep us updated about who you want us to reach when we can’t reach you.
Travel itinerary
It may seem silly but knowing where you’ll be, and when, and how to reach you there, helps us find you if we need you in an emergency.
Best practice for keys
Ready Key involves giving us 2 keys to your home to hold indefinitely so we can access your home any time you need us in the future.
Ready Key is extremely popular with our clients, it avoids the hassle of exchanging keys before & after an assignment.
To use this service, complete the Ready Key form on our e-Tools page, and give your sitter 2 keys to your home (a 2nd key in case of emergency).
Keeping keys safe
We treat the safety of your keys and security of your home very seriously. We have a strict Key Policy about handling your keys. Important measures include:
- Safely storing, in a locked file cabinet, every completed agreement and form;
- Tagging and encoding keys to protect against being linked to any client name or address;
- Storing each key in a secure, locked key box when the key is not in transit;
- Undertaking periodic physical inventory of keys to ensure all keys are accounted for; and
- The monitoring of all key transactions.
Returning keys
Your sitter can return your keys to you to your home or another location mutually agreeable to you and your sitter, a key return fee normally applies. Alternatively, you can pick up keys from your sitter, there would be no fee.
Pet Health & Med Emerg
Medications & injections
We administer pills, drops and/or injections following a Veterinarian’s directions.
To give meds or treatment, we need your consent & instructions. Use the Pet Update form on our e-Tools page.
We do not administer any med or treatment to an animal if it can pose a danger to its life or to the sitter.
Vaccination & parasite controls
We strongly recommend that all dogs and cats be vaccinated, and that they receive an internal & external parasite control, prevention treatment.
A dog or cat being sat and/or walked on an individual basis does not need vaccination or monthly parasite prevention before receiving our care, but we need to know when they received their last vaccination and parasite testing.
A dog participating in a group walk must be vaccinated and have monthly parasite control & prevention, applicable to all dogs in the group walk.
Pet injury / illness
We’ll contact you right away, and may take the pet to your Vet (or to emerge at the nearest emergency animal hospital) if needed.
Money Stuff
Where to find pricing
Each service page under Shop Services has the pricing for the service. You can also find all pricing on the Checkout page. Note we regularly offer buy more save more deals on our Shop Deals page.
Rates are based on variables like how many visits we make, how long visits are, how many pets are being cared for, the type of care provided, if visits are taking place during a holiday, and the travel distance required between your home and the home of the pet care provider.
Shop deals
We regularly post great deals on our Shop Deals page. Check regularly to take advantage. With limited conditions, you can save big. We routinely offer the buy now, use later option. Deals are offered for a limited time.
Promo codes
We sometimes offer promotional codes, always advertised in our site, in our newsletters, or on Facebook or Instagram.
Gift certificates
Available on our Checkout page, in $25 increments. Do not expire. Enter the certificate number in the Shopping Cart on the Checkout page to benefit. You can use partial amount and balance carries forward.
Quote
We provide free, detailed, written quotes by email, based on info received from the Quote and Reservation Request form.
Where to pay on LovingPaws.ca
LovingPaws.ca/checkout – look for Make Payment in your Shopping Cart
Payment methods
On LovingPaws.ca pay with:
- Interac Email Money Transfer
- Loving Paws gift certificate
- PayPal
- MasterCard
- Visa
From your invoice, pay with:
- PayPal
- MasterCard
- Visa
From online banking, pay with:
- Note we have auto-deposit but should your bank require a security question and password please follow these instructions: – Security question: First name of sitter for invoice ### – Password: First name of your sitter
Payment due date
Exact dates or Occasionally – within 7 days of the invoice.
Regular basis – frequency of your choice (weekly, every 2 or 4 weeks), first payment required before service starts.
Payment processing fee
PayPal and credit card payments are subject to a 5% admin processing fee.
Holiday visit fee
We charge an additional 50% for all services provided on these days:
- New Year’s Day
- Family Day (Ontario)
- Good Friday
- Easter Monday
- Victoria Day
- Canada Day
- Civic Day (Ontario)
- Labour Day
- Thanksgiving
- Remembrance Day
- Christmas Eve
- Christmas Day
- Boxing Day
- New Year’s Eve
Additional pet fee
We charge an additional fee for each pet above one, for added liability and responsibilities.
Additional travel fuel surcharge fee
In an effort to avoid raising our basic rates we have implemented a fuel surcharge. The rates are based on 5 km increments, and for each 5km from the per care provider’s home to yours, a $2 fee applies.
For example:
0 Km to 5 Km – $2
5 km to 10 km – $4
10 km to 15 km – $6
And so on…
Invoice
Invoices are sent electronically, for
- service on exact dates or occasionally – within 7 days of the last visit
- service on a regular basis – weekly, every 2 or 4 weeks, depending on your choice
Gratuity
Whether you choose to give a gratuity is up to you. The sitter receives 100% of it. You can give a gift card, cash or simply a thank you card with chocolates … the choice is yours. You may pay a gratuity using the Shopping Cart on our Checkout page.
Cancellation
If we cancel
We reserve the right to deny service or terminate service for any reason, especially for safety concerns, health emergency with your sitter, financial reasons, due to unsanitary conditions, and/or because the sitter was placed in an inappropriate or uncomfortable situation. If this happens, you will receive a refund for any visit we do not make.
If you cancel
LP&HS does not issue refunds for deposits or payments. lnstead, a deposits or payments will be converted into a credit if the client provides timely notice of cancellation. Timely Notice Requirements:
– One-visit assignments: 48 business hours’ notice.
– Multiple-visit assignments: 2 weeks’ notice.
lf timely notice is not provided, the deposit will be forfeited and/or a cancellation fee will apply as follows:
– One-visit assignments: Cancellation with less than 48 business hours’ notice: 100% of the total invoice will be converted into a cancellation fee.
– Multiple-visit assignments: Cancellation with less than 14 days for an assignment longer than 7 days: 50% of the total invoice will apply as a cancelation fee.
– Multiple-visit assignments: Cancellation with less than 7 days’ notice or on the same day: 100% of the total invoice will apply as a cancelation fee.
This policy ensures fair notice and compensation for reserved services.
Legal Stuff
Services guarantee
We guarantee the duration of each visit, and the number of visits per day.
We also guarantee that the care will be provided by a skilled, reliable, and compassionate individual.
Signed contract
All clients sign a Professional Sitting Service Agreement.
Pages 1 & 2 itemize info about you, your pet(s), your home, and the service(s) you need from us.
Pages 3 & 4 outline terms & conditions.
We keep the Agreement on file; request a copy anytime.
Insurance
As a provider of professional pet & house sitting & dog walking services, we realize it’s important for you to feel reassured and comfortable before leaving your pet, home, and belongings in our care. We are fully insured in case we are found responsible for damage to your property, including your pet. We also have coverage for third-party bonding, guaranteeing to you that your belongings are safe in our hands.
Privacy
We use or disclose your personal information only for the purpose for which it was collected, unless you consent, or the use or disclosure is authorized by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. We will provide your personal information to authorities, e.g. police and/or the Ottawa Humane Society, when reporting that your pet was bitten or bit someone or another animal, is lost, or if we suspect that your pet has experienced neglect or abuse.
Ready key terms
Refer to the Ready Key form, on our e-Tools page.
Medication & med care terms
Refer to the Pet Info form, on our e-Tools page.
Book your appointment today!
Our professional veterinarians are experts in preventative health care in addition to managing urgent concerns. We’re happy to connect pet owners to a network of Ontario Licensed Veterinary Professionals that can address immediate concerns and increase pet care coverage in a telemedicine environment, right from the comfort of home!
