u/Little-ugly-doll

I’m a pet sitter and am currently doing an overnight with a dog I’ve cared for multiple times before. I’ve walked him, given him treats, and even carried him without any issues. The owner never mentioned any resource guarding, only that he can be a little weird with new people.
Tonight I reached for his puzzle toy to add more treats, and he suddenly snapped and broke the skin on my knee. What surprised me most is that he showed absolutely no warning signs beforehand. I have several years of experience working with dogs and cats and know the common signs to look for, but I didn’t notice any growling, stiffening, lip lifting, or other signals before it happened.
Looking back, I’m wondering if it was resource guarding. I have a 3-night stay booked with him in September and now I’m unsure what to do. Would you still take the booking, or is this a red flag?

Hi everyone!
I’m just beginning my pre-vet journey and would love some advice from people who have been through the process or are currently in vet school.
My current plan is to complete my associate’s degree, transfer to a university, finish my bachelor’s degree, complete the remaining prerequisites, and then apply to veterinary school.
I’ve been working as a veterinary assistant for about 5 years and have worked with dozens of veterinarians during that time. I also own and operate my own pet sitting business, which has given me additional experience with a variety of animals, administering medications, communicating with clients, and managing my own business.
I’m also a first-generation college student and come from a family with limited financial resources, so I’m paying for school myself while working to gain experience in the field. Because of that, I’m trying to be strategic with my time and make sure I’m focusing on the things that will actually strengthen my application.
My questions are:
• What GPA should I realistically be aiming for to be a competitive applicant?
• Besides veterinary experience, what types of experiences stand out the most?
• How important is volunteer work, and roughly how many volunteer hours do successful applicants tend to have?
• Are there certain extracurriculars, leadership roles, research opportunities, or animal experiences that admissions committees value highly?
• Is there anything I should start doing now, or is it too early to worry about some of these things?
• If you could go back to the beginning of your pre-vet journey, what would you have done differently?
I know I still have several years before applying, but I’d love to start building a strong foundation now rather than realizing later that I missed important opportunities.
Thank you in advance for any advice!

I’m at the beginning of my undergraduate journey and plan to apply to vet school in a few years. One thing I’ve been wondering about is recommendation letters.
I’ve been a veterinary assistant for about 5 years and have worked with dozens of veterinarians during that time. Several veterinarians I’ve worked closely with have told me they would be willing to write recommendation letters for me when the time comes.
My concern is that I likely won’t be applying for another 3–4 years. If I’m no longer working with some of these veterinarians by then, how does that usually work? Do people stay in touch over the years, or is it common to reach back out when applications are approaching?
For those who have already gone through the vet school application process, did you use letters from veterinarians you had worked with years earlier, or did you focus on more recent supervisors and mentors?
I’d love to hear how others navigated this.

I have a petsitting business page where i have it advertise my services on Facebook primarily but in running out of things to post. So far I’ve posted the pets I’ve seen throughout the week with permission of course, videos/clips of me playing, walking, and hanging out with pets, etc. Not really sure what else to post. Anyone else run into this issue as well? Any ideas on what I could post that isn’t somewhat repetitive?

Hi everyone,
This isn’t an easy post to make because I honestly feel really guilty, and I know I might get judged for it, but I could really use some advice from other pet sitters.
I’ve been pet sitting for a while now, and I’ve realized that I think I’m becoming burnt out from overnights. Every time I do an overnight, my anxiety goes through the roof. I constantly worry that I’m doing something wrong, I don’t sleep well, and I find myself feeling mentally drained by the end of the stay. It’s gotten to the point where it’s affecting my mental health.
The thing is, I don’t feel this way when I’m doing drop-in visits or dog walks. I actually enjoy those and don’t feel nearly as anxious. It’s specifically the overnight stays that are getting to me.
Unfortunately, I have back-to-back overnight bookings scheduled through the middle of October with different clients. Some of them are over a week long. I honestly don’t know if I can keep doing the longer stays for that long. If I were to make any changes, I’d probably keep my shorter overnight bookings and only cancel the week-long stays.
I already have deposits from those clients, and of course I would refund every deposit immediately if I canceled. I feel absolutely terrible even thinking about it because these clients trusted me, and I don’t take that lightly.
Has anyone else reached a point where they realized overnights just weren’t for them? If so:
Did you finish the bookings you already had, or did you cancel some with plenty of notice?
How did your clients respond?
Did you transition your business to mostly drop-ins and walks?
Looking back, do you wish you had handled it differently?
I genuinely care about my clients and their pets, which is why this decision has been so difficult. I don’t want to let anyone down, but I also don’t want to keep pushing myself to the point where I’m miserable every time I have an overnight booking.
I’d really appreciate any advice or experiences, even if it’s something I may not want to hear. Thanks for reading.

Also just wanted to state I didn’t start petsitting recently I’ve been doing this for years now but I think it’s getting to me now, I have a business as well associated with it and am fully insured. I take it seriously which is why this is hard for me to admit.

I’m looking for other pet sitters’ opinions on this.
A few months ago, a client booked me for an overnight stay. During the meet and greet, I fully disclosed that I work my regular Friday shift from about 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM and would be away during those hours. The client acknowledged this and said they would have someone stop by midday to let the dogs out.
Now that the booking is approaching, they asked if I would discount my overnight rate since they’ll also be paying someone else to do two drop-in visits that day. I told them my overnight rate would remain the same because my work schedule was discussed before they booked, and we had already planned for someone else to cover the midday visits.
They replied that they don’t necessarily agree because I’ll be unavailable for about 11 hours that day, but also acknowledged that they didn’t bring up any concerns about pricing when we originally discussed it and said they’ll honor the agreed-upon rate.
I completely understand that most people wouldn’t want their pets left alone for that long, which is exactly why I always make it a point to disclose my work schedule before and during the meet and greet so clients can decide whether my services are the right fit before booking.
Personally, I don’t feel comfortable discounting the stay because I’m still reserving those dates for them, spending the nights there, providing care before and after work, and giving up time I could otherwise spend with my own family, pets, or on personal time. By accepting the booking, I’m also committing those dates to one client instead of taking other work.
As a pet sitter, would you have offered a discount in this situation? Or is it reasonable to keep the agreed-upon overnight rate since everything was disclosed before the booking was confirmed?
I’m genuinely curious how other sitters handle situations like this.

I’m currently doing an overnight pet sitting job and could use some advice. I still have 2 more nights left and I’m exhausted.
The dogs normally sleep in the owners’ bed or with the sitter. I was given a guest room, so I slept there and left the door open all night since the dogs free roam and had the option to sleep with me. Neither dog chose to stay with me though. They kept going back to the owners’ room.
One of the dogs (Molly) has been waking me up almost every hour. She comes into the guest room, whines until I look up or acknowledge her, and then immediately leaves and goes back to the owners’ room. Around 3 to 4 AM, I took both dogs out to potty to make sure that wasn’t the issue, but she continued doing it afterward.
I’ve checked all of her needs, made sure she has water, and given her the option to sleep with me, but she still keeps waking me up. Has anyone dealt with this before? Should I try sleeping in the owners’ room the next two nights, or is there something else I should do?

I’m currently working as a referral sitter/independent contractor through another pet-sitting business, and after a recent situation, I’ve realized that I no longer feel comfortable continuing that working relationship. I don’t feel that the arrangement is the right fit for me, and I don’t feel comfortable moving forward with future bookings through that business.

My dilemma is that I have an overnight booking starting in about 13 days and another booking beginning July 11 that lasts about a week. Both of these bookings are through the other sitter’s business and are clients that came through her, not clients that I booked myself.

I genuinely feel terrible for the clients because they have done absolutely nothing wrong, and I know these bookings were already scheduled. That’s the part I’m struggling with the most.

At the same time, one of the biggest reasons I’m considering stepping away now is because I’m afraid of ending up in a similar situation again. The recent situation left me feeling extremely uncomfortable, unsupported, and uncertain about my role and responsibilities. Right or wrong, I don’t have confidence in the working relationship anymore, and I’m worried that if another complaint or issue comes up, I’ll find myself right back in the same position.

I know it would be difficult for the clients if I stepped away before those bookings, and I feel guilty even considering it. But these also aren’t clients that I brought on myself, and part of me feels that giving notice now would give the business owner the opportunity to find replacement coverage rather than waiting until after the bookings are completed.

Part of me feels like I should complete the bookings because I committed to them. Another part of me feels like it’s better to step away now and give as much notice as possible since I already know I’m not comfortable continuing the arrangement.

For context, I’ll include a link to the recent situation that led me to reconsider continuing this working relationship:

https://www.reddit.com/r/petsitting/s/5Y6m7oIttN

If you were in my shoes, would you complete the already-booked stays and then leave, or would you give notice now and allow the business owner time to find another sitter?

I’d appreciate any input.

I posted earlier about a dog that was diagnosed with a UTI after an overnight stay I completed.
For context, this was not my personal client. I was providing care as a referral sitter through another pet-sitting company. I signed paperwork stating that I was operating under their business, that the clients were not hiring me directly, and that I was covered under both my own insurance and the business owner’s insurance while caring for their clients.
The dog has a documented history of recurrent UTIs.
During the stay, I followed the written care sheet that was provided to me, took the dog out multiple times throughout the stay, fed her according to schedule, and sent the owner an update letting her know that the dog seemed a little off and that I was monitoring her. Looking back, I absolutely could have documented more thoroughly and provided more detailed updates. I have no issue admitting that.
After the stay, the dog was taken to the vet and diagnosed with a UTI.
The owner is now demanding a refund, wants the tip returned, has mentioned insurance claims, and has referenced legal action. She believes I should have recognized what was happening and done more.
The part that has me struggling is that I feel like nobody is willing to even hear my side before deciding I’m entirely at fault.
I am a veterinary assistant. Because I was genuinely questioning myself, I spoke with the veterinarian I work under as well as a registered veterinary technician. Both told me that it is entirely possible the UTI was already developing before or during the stay and that it would be difficult to definitively say that the infection developed because of the overnight care itself.
To be clear, neither of them said I handled everything perfectly. They both agreed that better documentation is always beneficial. However, neither immediately concluded that I somehow caused the UTI.
The business owner I subcontract through has essentially told me that this is on me, that she agrees with the client, that she would want a refund and vet bill reimbursement if she were the owner, and that she has spoken to other professional sitters who also agree with the client.
What is confusing me is that this same person previously told me in writing that:
I was operating under her business.
The clients were not hiring me directly.
I was covered under her insurance while caring for her clients.
I was acting as a referral subcontractor for her company.
Now I’m being told that none of this falls back on her business and that this is entirely my responsibility.
At this point I’m planning to refund the stay because I don’t want the situation to escalate further, but I’m honestly struggling with how all of this has been handled.
I feel like there are two separate issues:
Could I have documented and communicated more thoroughly? Absolutely.
Is it fair to automatically conclude that I caused a recurrent UTI after one overnight stay? I’m not so sure.
Another part of this is that I’m still scheduled to complete bookings through this sitter until the end of July, including additional overnights. Before this situation, I already had some concerns about whether subcontracting was the right fit for me, but after how this situation has been handled, I’m honestly questioning whether I want to continue working under this arrangement at all.
It’s not just the complaint itself. It’s the feeling that any attempt to explain my perspective is immediately viewed as being defensive, and that the conclusion was reached before my side was ever really considered. The entire situation has left me extremely uncomfortable and has made me question whether I want to continue representing another business moving forward.
I’m genuinely looking for honest feedback from other pet sitters, veterinary professionals, and business owners.
Am I missing something here?
Would you refund the stay?
Would you consider yourself fully responsible for the UTI in this situation?
And if you were subcontracting through another pet-sitting company, would you be comfortable continuing to work under that arrangement after something like this?

I made another post on the updated situation please read apparently I’m completely alone on this and it’s freaking me out

https://www.reddit.com/r/petsitting/s/lQT2bg4I1K

Im looking for input from other professional pet sitters because I’m struggling to figure out if I genuinely fell below the standard of care or if this is more of a disagreement about expectations.

This was not my personal client. It was a referral client that I was pet sitting for through another pet-sitting business.

I recently completed an overnight stay for a dog with a history of UTIs. I followed the written care instructions that were provided to me, took the dog out multiple times throughout the stay, fed her according to her schedule, and sent the owner an update letting them know I noticed she seemed a little off and that I was keeping an eye on her.

The dog was still eating, drinking, going outside, and using the bathroom. I did not diagnose a UTI, nor did I believe I was dealing with a medical emergency at the time. I am a veterinary assistant, but I am not a veterinarian and cannot diagnose medical conditions.

After the stay, the owner took the dog to the vet and she was diagnosed with a UTI. The owner is now extremely upset and believes I should have done more. She has stated that I should not be trusted with dogs, is requesting a refund of both my compensation and tip, and has mentioned insurance claims and potential legal action.

Looking back, I can absolutely acknowledge areas where I could have documented more thoroughly. I could have provided more detailed updates regarding urination frequency, possible symptoms, and observations. I can learn from that.

However, I’m struggling with whether my actions were genuinely negligent or whether this is a case of hindsight after receiving a diagnosis.

For those who provide overnight pet care:

• How would you have handled this situation?

• What level of monitoring and documentation would you expect for a dog with a history of UTIs?

• Do you routinely document urine color, frequency, straining, licking, etc.?

• If a dog seemed slightly off but was still eating, drinking, going potty, and otherwise acting relatively normal, what would your next steps be?

• How would you handle a client demanding refunds and mentioning insurance or legal action?

I’m genuinely looking for honest feedback and ways to improve moving forward.