What makes CruizinK9Connect different?

Founded on over 15 years of Lori Bradley's experience running a top-rated dog walking and dog sitting business, we are pet lovers just like you who are passionate about creating a better way to connect with other local pet lovers looking for help with the care of their pets. We are a women owned, grassroots, small business founded on quality, transparency, customer service, caring for animals, and building community. We partnered with the BC SPCA as part of our commitment to animals to promote their Companion Animal Handling & Restraint Policy Statement, and to contribute to their important work financially with every booking.

What types of pet care services are available?

Depending on the sitter, services may include overnight stays, drop-in visits, dog walking, daycare, pet transportation, and in-home pet sitting.

How much does it cost to use CruizinK9 Connect to find and book trusted pet sitters?

Good news! Currently we are waiving our booking fees as part of our launch celebrations. After launch, our user fee will be $10 per booking (not per animal), and we plan to introduce an annual membership for frequent clients who will then be eligible for free bookings, special offers and promotions, information and more. PLUS, with every booking through CruizinK9 Connect we are donating a portion to the BC SPCA as part of our partnership supporting their important work protecting animals.

Can sitters host pets in their own homes or provide care in the pet's home?

Depending on their personal preference sitters may offer either or both sitting location options. Sitters should display this as part of their service listing and you should be able to search for this specifically under the"In or Out of Home" filter on the listing page. If you filter for "I am happy to host your dog at my home' it should only show you listings who meet that criterion.

At CruizinK9 Connect, we use the term "Pet Guardian" because many people view their pets as cherished family members rather than possessions. While terms like "pet owner," "pet parent," and "pet guardian" are all commonly used, we feel that "Pet Guardian" best reflects the care, responsibility, and companionship that exist between people and their pets.

Of course, whatever term you prefer, we're here to help connect caring people with trusted pet care services.

How can I update my pet profile?

If you need to edit or update information about one of your pets, click on your account icon and select "Your Service Listings & Pet Profiles". This will take you to the page where all of your pet profiles are stored.

To update a pet profile, click the "Edit Listing" link located beneath your pet's image and name. Once the editing screen appears, you can update any of your pet's information as needed.

When you have finished making your changes, scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Save Changes" to ensure your updates are saved.

What are your screening requirements?

Screening requirements for sitters include that they: meet minimum age requirements, provide two references, agree to comply with our terms and conditions and with the BC SPCA Companion Handling & Restraint Policy Statement, and complete an Enhanced Criminal Record Check.

Does "Approved Sitter" constitute any promise of quality, or guarante of service?

No. "Approved Sitter" simply means that the sitter has completed CruizinK9 Connect's Screening Requirements and has been granted access to offer services through the platform. Approval does not constitute a recommendation, endorsement, certification, guarantee, warranty, or representation regarding a sitter's suitability, competence, trustworthiness, safety, quality of service, or future conduct.

CruizinK9 Connect is an online marketplace and does not provide, supervise, manage, monitor, or control Pet Care Services. While we require sitters to complete Screening Requirements and provide information through mandatory profile fields, Pet Guardians remain responsible for independently evaluating whether a sitter is the right fit for their pet and circumstances.

Can I meet the sitter before booking?

Yes. We encourage meet-and-greets before the first booking whenever possible.

Can I book for multiple pets?

Yes, this community is designed to meet the needs of real pet owners whether that's one Great Dane, or 3 Chihauhuas!

Why do I need to give my pet information again at time of booking?

At the time of booking, we ask additional questions about the pets included in the booking for a couple of reasons.

First, we don't want to assume that all of your pets require care, or which specific pets are included in a particular booking, so we ask you to confirm how many pets require care and which pets they are.

Second, pet care requirements can change over time or depending on the circumstances. For example, your dog may have been taking medication during a previous booking but no longer needs it, or perhaps you were able to provide transportation last time but are unable to do so now.

Lastly, your pet's health, vaccination status, and other important care information may change over time, and it is important that this information remains current and accurate.

To help ensure your Pet Sitter has the most accurate and up-to-date information to care for your pets, we ask these questions each time a booking is made.

How do I pay for services?

Payments are securely processed through the platform using Stripe which is a thrid-party service provider.

When is payment taken?

Payment is taken securely through CruizinK9 Connect at the time of booking, but payment to the Pet Sitter is held until the service is completed.

Can sitters administer medication?

Some sitters may be willing and qualified to administer medications. Sitters should display this as part of their service listing and you should be able to search for this specifically under the "Comfortable With" filter on the listing page. If you filter for "Adiminister Medication' it should only show you listings who meet that criteria.

Can I book pet care services for my cats, or other pets in the home?

While CruizinK9 Connect was established primarily with dogs in mind, we recognize that many households include other beloved pets, such as cats, rabbits, hamsters, fish, birds, or reptiles.

You may create a profile for any pet in your household using the "Add My Dog", "Add My Cat", or "Add My Other Animal" options. This helps Pet Sitters understand which animals live in the home and any considerations that may be relevant to the booking.

At this time, we do not offer the ability to book services specifically for animals other than dogs. However, if you would like a Pet Sitter to care for additional pets as part of a dog care booking, you may include this request in the open text field at the end of your booking request. Please provide as much detail as possible so the Pet Sitter can make an informed decision about the booking.

This same field may also be used to request additional household tasks, such as watering plants, opening or closing curtains, or bringing in mail.

Please note that requests for additional pet care services or household tasks are subject to the Pet Sitter's availability and discretion. If you require care for additional pets or would like assistance with household tasks, we encourage you to discuss these requests with your Pet Sitter before confirming your booking, as additional fees may apply.

Will I receive updates while I'm away?

Most sitters provide regular photo and message updates throughout the booking. If this is something that is important to you, we recommend confirming your expectations, and if they are comfortable committing to that, through the direct chat feature, as part of submitting a booking request.

Does CruizinK9 Connect insure bookings made through this site?

CruizinK9 Connect does not insure bookings made through the site, and doesn't form any part of the agreement to sell/purchase services. CruizinK9 Connect is a platform provider. As such, we focus on providing a robust, transpaarent, and credible mechanism to find pet care providers, and have some safeguards in place (reference checks, enhanced criminal record checks, in-app communication and payments) to reduce risk, but use of the platform and any posted services is the discretion and risk of the user.

Are pet sitters insured?

CruizinK9 Connect strongly recommends that pet sitters carry appropriate insurance, and that Pet Guardians consider whether insurance is important to them when selecting a sitter. While insurance is not currently a requirement to list on the marketplace, all sitters are required to indicate whether or not they carry insurance, and this information is displayed on their public profile for transparency. Please note that CruizinK9 Connect does not verify insurance coverage or any insurance-related claims made by sitters, and accepts no responsibility for the availability, validity, or adequacy of any insurance held.

Why do you ask for my regular veterinarian & their phone number?

While we all hope that we never need to deal with a pet emergency, we also know that it is in everyone's best interest if we are positioned to best support an animal should any kind of health emergency come up. Being able to follow-up with your regular vet ensures the vet has the best clinical information and may reduce stress on the animal, if the vet is familiar to them.

Why do you ask for an emergency contact for myself?

We ask every pet sitter and guardian who is part of our community to provide an emergency contact, so that we reduce the risk of a situation where someone urgently needs to reach you and is unable to. The use of emergency contacts is limited to human or pet emergencies such a health crises, or a change to dates due to travel issues. It is not intended for these contacts to be used for last minute booking requests!

What if I suddenly have an urgent pet care need?

We know that life happens and sometimes you need help with a pet last minute. Whether you need to leave town to visit a sick relative, or need someone to watch your pet while you attend an urgent appointment, we have created the Urgent Sitter Request process to allow you to skip the search, and ask us to notify those pet sitters who have offered to consider last minute requests directly. Urgent requests must be for service within the next 24hrs.

There is no additional fee to submit a request, but you do need to be an approved community member to make a request. Once you are approved as an active member, please use the Urgent Sitter Request process through the link below.

What happens if a pet becomes ill or injured while in a Pet Sitter's care?

Pet Guardians are responsible for providing their Pet Sitter with accurate and up-to-date information about their pet's health, veterinary clinic, medications, and emergency contact details before the booking begins.

If a pet becomes ill or injured during a booking, the Pet Sitter should take reasonable steps to protect the pet's health, safety, and comfort. In the event of a medical emergency, the Pet Sitter may seek appropriate veterinary care without delay and should make reasonable efforts to contact the Pet Guardian as soon as practicable. If the Pet Guardian cannot be reached, the Pet Sitter may contact the designated Emergency Contact.

Pet Guardians should discuss and agree upon emergency procedures, veterinary preferences, and spending authorization with their Pet Sitter before the booking begins.

What is your cancellation policy?

Bookings are fully refundable until 72 hours before the start of the booking if cancelled by the Pet Guardian and fully refundable until the start of the booking if a Pet Sitter cancels. If you need to cancel a booking, please refer to the Pet Guardian Cancellation Process User Guide under "Need Help?". Once a booking has been cancelled, please allow up to 48hrs for the payment to be refunded through the payment systems. Once a transaction has completed through the platform, and payment has been issued, any concerns or refunds should be handled directly with the Pet Guardian.

How are disputes handled?

We have thoughtfully designed this site to be as transparent as possible and minimize the chance of misrepresentations, misunderstandings, or mistakes through our screening, listing formats, and public ratings and reviews. However, as a marketplace, the listing information and the transaction details are entirely at the discretion of the pet sitters and pet guardians, and CruizinK9 Connect does not verify claims made about services provided. Pet guardians should take all reasonable precautions to double-check or verify any aspects of booking transactions that they consider material to their service needs.