Our House and Pet Sitting Charges

How much would I pay for a pet sitter? 
The sample of our scale of charges below, shows the basic rates to include one pet or to care for a house without pets.

Code of Practice
While You're Away sitters work to a comprehensive Code of Practice to ensure that your home and pets receive the very best available care.

If our sitters go out, your home and pets must be left secure. They are instructed not to receive visitors without your prior permission, and will contact our office in the unlikely event of an emergency. The Code also tells sitters to be punctual and to leave your home tidy and clean, plus pets groomed ready for your return. A full copy of the code is available on request.

What happens if I have more than one pet?
Yes, we do charge for each additional pet, for example £1.00 per cat per day. Please contact us for a more definitive pricing for all of your pets, which we will be happy to provide.

Are there any other charges? 
Our booking fees are free of V.A.T. therefore saving you 20%. Equine care, that is, charges for horses, ponies and donkeys, are calculated separately and charged according to the level of hands on care.

The only additional charge, as shown on the scale above is the pet sitters’ fuel allowance @ 40 pence per mile. This applies for 2 return trips to your home, the sitters’ pre-visit and the booking itself.

Will I meet the pets sitters beforehand?
Yes, at While You’re Away we believe this is an essential part of the service, unlike some home and pet sitting agencies who send their sitters directly to the booking, without having a meeting with the clients and pets beforehand.

We do not charge you for this visit, we simply ask that you pay the sitters’ return fuel allowance. If you wish, when booking a long way in advance, our sitters will make a second visit to your home.

At the pre- visit, our pet sitters take time to complete a comprehensive check list with you, covering everything from your pets needs to your instruction with the running of the household’ in your absence.

Whilst we are not entirely unique in providing this essential service, we believe it is very important for both client and sitter. By meeting your booked sitter before the actual booking happens, our clients have a relaxed introduction to the whole booking process.

How long can I expect a pet sitter to spend in my home every day?
Our pet sitters are contracted to spend 20 hours in your home per day. While You’re Away follows the Vetinerary Association guidelines that dogs, in particular, should be left for a period of no more than 4 hours.

Our sitters may be away for up to 4 hours, during the day time only.
Of course, many of our sitters choose not to take up this option every day, particularly if they are caring for farm stock animals for example.

Our sitters will not leave your home unoccupied in the evenings; do contact us if you wish to know more about how this works.

What services will the house and pet sitter provide?
Our pet sitters will care for your pets exactly as you would do, walking, grooming, feeding, administering medication or even taking them to an appointment at the vet or the grooming parlour. Our sitters are there to make sure that your pets are relaxed and happy.

Our pet sitters will leave your home clean and tidy, tend to pot plants and hanging baskets in your garden, mow your lawn, accept deliveries, even be there if our clients are having building work carried out. Our sitters ensure that your home runs as smoothly as if you were there.

What is included in the booking fees? 
Our booking fees are fully inclusive of insurance for your home and for your pets, while the pet sitters are staying in your house.

We will also provide a replacement sitter, should your booked sitter be unable to complete the booking for any reason.

We also provide full support for your sitter, in the event of any emergency, whilst they are staying in your home. An example being, if your dog, cat or any other pet were to become ill, the sitter would either discuss this with us first, or in a real emergency, take action to get treatment for your pet and then be in contact with the agency to brief us fully.

Our aim is always to have a close relationship between, client, sitter and the agency, thereby ensuring that everything runs as it should, so that you are relaxed whilst we are house and pet sitting.