What does a pet sitter do?
A pet sitter is responsible for taking care of household pets while their owners are away. Pet sitters perform services for pet maintenance, including taking them to the veterinarian, monitoring their food, walk them in the park, and administer medications, if any. They also reach out to the pet owners for possible updates and emergencies, taking their instructions immediately. Apart from being highly communicative and organizational, a pet sitter should have an interest and passion in taking care of pets to ensure high-quality services.
Pet sitter responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real pet sitter resumes:
- Help managed the company and train new walkers
- Cat and dog feeding, medicine, dog walking, cleanup; 5 animals : 3 cats , 2 dogs.
- Provide constant supervision and companionship for elopement risk and suicide precaution patients.
- Provide care for dogs, fish, cats, bunnies, birds, snakes, hamsters and most other household pets.
- Execute cash register POS system.
- Specialize in extra TLC for elderly pets.
- Operate POS and answer multiple line/intercom phones.
- Perform animal brushing, trimming coats and ear cleaning.
- Handle money and the organization of purchases and belongings.
- Perform first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) when require.
- Trim and style animal coats according to owner instructions and breed standards.
- Bathe, groom dogs, including nail clipping and anal gland expression.
- Medicate them, give fluids, food, litterbox care, comfort, and general TLC.
- Provide care for an elderly couple with asthma, diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer's disease.
- Transport, order groceries, cook and clean and perform other household chores, scheduling Dr.
Pet sitter skills and personality traits
We calculated that 90% of Pet Sitters are proficient in PET, Walkers, and Clients Homes. They’re also known for soft skills such as Compassion, Customer-service skills, and Patience.
We break down the percentage of Pet Sitters that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- PET, 90%
Carried out pet owners every direction to ensure uninterrupted animal care and confidence for repeat business.
- Walkers, 2%
Assisted residents using walkers and wheelchairs in compliance with facility policy.
- Clients Homes, 2%
Entered clients homes and cared for pets including walking, feeding, providing water, and checking mail.
- CPR, 1%
Pet CPR and First Aid certified.
- Topical Medications, 1%
Provided in-home pet care services including dog care, cat care, and dispense of oral and topical medications as needed.
- Litter Boxes, 1%
Keep areas of living clean including bird cages, small animal cages, litter boxes, etc.
Common skills that a pet sitter uses to do their job include "pet," "walkers," and "clients homes." You can find details on the most important pet sitter responsibilities below.
Compassion. The most essential soft skill for a pet sitter to carry out their responsibilities is compassion. This skill is important for the role because "animal care and service workers must be compassionate when dealing with animals and their owners." Additionally, a pet sitter resume shows how their duties depend on compassion: "provide dependable and compassionate in-home pet care services to a variety of clients. "
Customer-service skills. Another essential skill to perform pet sitter duties is customer-service skills. Pet sitters responsibilities require that "animal care and service workers should understand pet owners’ needs so they can provide excellent customer service." Pet sitters also use customer-service skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "provide customized short and long term in-house pet care for customers who prefer a personal stress-free alternative to commercial boarding"
Patience. This is an important skill for pet sitters to perform their duties. For an example of how pet sitter responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "all animal caretakers and animal trainers need to be patient when working with animals." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a pet sitter: "used patience and understanding, when dealing with pet and owner. ".
Problem-solving skills. A big part of what pet sitters do relies on "problem-solving skills." You can see how essential it is to pet sitter responsibilities because "animal trainers must be able to assess whether animals are responding to teaching methods and to identify which methods are successful." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical pet sitter tasks: "assist customers with questions regarding pet care products and identify solutions that appropriately address their individual needs. "
Reliability. Another crucial skill for a pet sitter to carry out their responsibilities is "reliability." A big part of what pet sitters relies on this skill, since "animal care and service workers need to care for animals on schedule and in a timely manner." How this skill relates to pet sitter duties can be seen in an example from a pet sitter resume snippet: "execute reliability and compatibility with children when parents need someone to care for their kids while they are away. "
Detail oriented. While "detail oriented" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to pet sitter responsibilities. Much of what a pet sitter does relies on this skill, seeing as "animal care and service workers are often responsible for maintaining records and monitoring changes in animals’ behavior." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of pet sitters: "formed a lasting relationship with owner and pet, a high level of accuracy and attention to detail was necessary. "
The three companies that hire the most pet sitters are:
- CARE9,508 pet sitters jobs
- Rover Holdings Corp485 pet sitters jobs
- Fetch! Pet Care3 pet sitters jobs
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Compare different pet sitters
Pet sitter vs. Nanny
Nannies are family employees who are primarily responsible for taking care of children in the family's house. They are usually tapped to take care of the kids while the parents are at work or away on vacation. Their responsibilities include preparing food for the children, feeding the children, bathing them, dressing them up, ensuring that they take a nap, playing with them, and tucking them to bed at night. They also ensure that the schedule set by the parents is being followed. They may also do other household chores such as cleaning, watering the plants, washing the dishes, among others.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, pet sitter responsibilities require skills like "pet," "walkers," "clients homes," and "topical medications." Meanwhile a typical nanny has skills in areas such as "meal prep," "kids," "child care," and "household chores." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Nannies really shine in the non profits industry with an average salary of $41,844. Comparatively, pet sitters tend to make the most money in the non profits industry with an average salary of $27,770.On average, nannies reach similar levels of education than pet sitters. Nannies are 0.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Pet sitter vs. Companion
A companion is responsible for assisting sick and recovered patients, as well as the elderly. Companions perform housekeeping duties, ensuring that a facility is well-maintained and safe for the use of the patients. They also monitor the patients' medication, prepare their meals based on a medical professional's prescription, support them on their daily activities, respond to the patients' needs and special requests as allowed, and report any developments to their family or guardians. A companion must be compassionate enough to extend physical and emotional support, depending on the client's condition.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real pet sitter resumes. While pet sitter responsibilities can utilize skills like "pet," "clients homes," "topical medications," and "litter boxes," companions use skills like "companionship," "patients," "home health," and "provide emotional support."
On average, companions earn a higher salary than pet sitters. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, companions earn the most pay in the non profits industry with an average salary of $30,973. Whereas pet sitters have higher pay in the non profits industry, with an average salary of $27,770.In general, companions achieve similar levels of education than pet sitters. They're 0.3% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for pet sitters in the next 3-5 years?
Beth Stultz-Hairston
President, Pet Sitters International
Pet sitter vs. Groomer assistant
An animal care technician is an animal medical professional who is responsible for providing care to animals in the clinical or research setting. Animal care technicians take blood or stool samples from animals and run laboratory tests to determine the cause of an ailment. They often take charge of bathing and grooming animals as well as administer anesthesia before procedures. Animal care technicians are also required to speak to the pet's owners to help them understand the diagnosis and administer medication.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a pet sitter is likely to be skilled in "walkers," "clients homes," "cpr," and "topical medications," while a typical groomer assistant is skilled in "customer service," "appointment scheduling," "teeth," and "front desk."
Most groomer assistants achieve a similar degree level compared to pet sitters. For example, they're 2.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Pet sitter vs. Animal care technician
Types of pet sitter
Updated January 8, 2025
