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 are the requirements to become a sitter?

Sitters must 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, complete a Enhanced Criminal Record Check, and maintain accurate information on listings.

Do I need pet care experience?

As a marketplace, we do not place any requirements on experience in order to be able to publish service listings. However, experience is preferred relative to the service being offered (e.g. experience walking dogs if dog walking) and usually aligns with a trustworthy, strong customer experience, and happy pets.

How much can I charge?

Given that we are providing a marketplace, you are free to list your services at the price of your choosing. Please remember that your price should include the 15% service fee that will be deducted to cover our platform fees and donation to the BC SPCA, and we recommend checking similar local listings to ensure your pricing is competitive.

Can I set my own availability?

Yes. You control your schedule and availability. You are free to limit your service offering to just one day per week or make yourself available 7/week every week. Once you have set up your default availability, you have the option of editing it at any time, and the ability to set exemption dates (e.g. black-out dates when you may be on vacation or unable to accommodate the same number of dogs).

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.

Can I communicate with guardians before accepting a booking?

Yes. We encourage meet-and-greets before the first booking whenever possible. You also have the opportunity to directly message the pet sitter safely through the platform to ask questions, or follow-up on booking details.

Can I choose which pets I accept?

Yes. You can set preferences regarding pet size, breed, age, and special care needs to best align those seeking to book with you, with your own service requirements. In addition, because we know there could always be idiosyncracies that come up, you always have the choice to accept or decline a booking, including the opportunity to clarify anything with the pet guardian through our secure in-platform messaging.

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

Yes. You can set preferences regarding whether you want to offer in or out of home sitting, or both. You should display this as part of your service listing enabling pet guardians to search for this specifically under the"In or Out of Home" filter on the listing page. If a pet guardian filters for "I am happy to host your dog at my home' it will only display listings that meet this criterion.

How can I make changes to 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 includes 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.

Why do you ask if I have permission to host?

If you plan to offer pet sitting services in your own home, it's important to ensure you have the necessary permissions to do so. Depending on where you live, there may be restrictions in rental agreements, strata or condo bylaws, homeowner association rules, municipal bylaws, zoning regulations, licensing requirements, or other provincial or local regulations.

CruizinK9 Connect does not verify these requirements on your behalf. By listing services that involve hosting pets in your home, you are confirming that you have obtained any permissions or approvals required for your circumstances.

How long does the approval process take?

The initial application is likely to take you 5-10 minutes as long as you have your reference information handy. Once that is submitted, you can request your criminal record check (CRC) online through Triton. Triton estimates that service is completed within 15 minutes. Once we have your completed form and a valid CRC, please allow 48-72hrs for review & reference outreach.

Why do you require a criminal record check?

We want CruizinK9 Connect to be a leader in providing a trusted, quality pet care marketplace. To help build trust and improve safety for all seeking services through through our community, we use Enhanced Criminal Record Checks as part of our screening requirements.

Do you provide training?

No. As a marketplace, CruizinK9 Connect does not require, provide, certify, or endorse any specific pet care, business, or professional training for Pet Sitters.

As part of supporting a community of quality pet care providers, CruizinK9 Connect may from time to time provide access to educational resources or partner with third-party organizations to offer training opportunities, workshops, webinars, or other learning events. Participation in any such training is voluntary and does not constitute certification, endorsement, approval, or a guarantee of a Pet Sitter's suitability, competence, trustworthiness, safety, quality of service, or future conduct.

How much does CruizinK9 Connect charge pet sitters?

CruizinK9 Connect charges pet sitters 15% commission on completed bookings, with no upfront membership fees, and no listing fees. You only contribute to the cost of running this platform when you are making revenue from the community. This is important to us because we know many of you are small business owners (or this is a hobby / second job) and we want it to empower great pet sitting, rather than generate money without creating meaningful value.

Every commission fee includes a donation to the BC SPCA to support their efforts caring for animals.

As our community grows we look forward to being able to present special offers, exclusive training and events, and other benefits to strengthen and build pet care services.

When and how do I get paid?

Payments are released after services are completed according to the platform payment schedule. CruizinK9 Connect's marketplace uses Stripe as a third-party payment facilitator. You will be directed to set up your Stripe account as part of creating your pet sitter account, and will be able to provide banking information to enable Stripe to direct deposit any booking revenue to your peferred bank account.

How do clients pay for services?

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

Can clients 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! Clients will only be able to book for the total number of pet spaces that you have available on any given day per your capacity, schedule, and any date exceptions in place. Pet guardians are asked to confirm the number of pets and their name(s) as part of the booking request process (this is a mandtory field).

Can clients book pet care services for their 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 Guardians understand which animals live in your home and any considerations that may be relevant to a booking.

At this time, we do not offer the ability to book services specifically for animals other than dogs. However, we suggest to Pet Guardians that if they would like a Pet Sitter to care for additional pets as part of a dog care booking, they may include this request in the open text field at the end of their booking request. We ask that they provide as much detail as possible so that you 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 CruizinK9 Connect's role is simply to facilitate transparency and communication between Pet Guardians and Pet Sitters. You are under no obligation to accept requests for additional pet care or household tasks and may accept, decline, or adjust your pricing for such requests as you deem appropriate.

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. A such, we focus on providing a robust, transpaarent, and credible mechanism to find pet care providers, and have some safeguards in place (reference checks, 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.

Am I required to carry pet sitting insurance to be a listed sitter with CruizinK9 Connect?

While we are simply a marketplace and do not require pet sitters to carry insurance, we do strongly encourage appropriate insurance coverage for those who wish to mitigate the risk of liability arising from service provision. For covenience, please check out these links to get an online isurance quote.

Am I covered by insurance?

Sitters should review their own insurance needs and seek independent insurance advice as needed. Under our insurance help guide additional information is provided.

What if I suddenly have an urgent pet care need?

We know that life happens and sometimes sitters need help with a pet last minute, too. 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.

PLEASE NOTE - This is only for urgent bookings for your own fur family. This process should NOT be used to cancel or accommodate your existing service bookings.

What should I do if a pet becomes ill or injured while in my care?

If a pet becomes ill or injured while in your care, take reasonable steps to ensure the pet's safety and comfort. For emergencies, contact a veterinarian or emergency veterinary hospital immediately. For non-emergency concerns, contact the Pet Guardian for guidance as soon as possible.

If the Pet Guardian cannot be reached, contact their designated Emergency Contact. Keep the Pet Guardian informed of the situation and any actions taken at the earliest reasonable opportunity.

What is the 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 Sitter Cancellation Process User Guide under "Need Help?". 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 sitters should take all reasonable precautions to double-check or verify any aspects of booking transactions to ensure appropriate expectations are set.