Questions people actually ask

As early as you can, especially over school holidays and Christmas. We need at least 7 days' notice for any booking, because every visit has to be offered to a carer and accepted before we can promise it.

Yes. Because you book online you also have 14 days to change your mind, whatever our own policy says. On top of that: cancel 7 or more days before the first visit and you get everything back, 2 to 7 days before and you get half. Inside 2 days we can't refund, because the visits are already on somebody's round and they have turned other work down to hold them. The Cancellation and Refunds Policy has worked examples.

Yes, and there's no charge if we can staff the new time. Ask as early as you can. We can't promise the same carer for a moved visit, though we try.

One a day suits most houses and most cats. A dog on its own needs two or more. If what you have picked looks like too little for the animals you have told us about, we will say so before you pay rather than after.

Yes. Pick the days you want us, then set the time of day for each one — morning on Monday and evening on Wednesday is a perfectly normal booking. You only pay for the visits you actually choose.

Yes, seven days a week including bank holidays. There is a small surcharge on those days, shown in your quote before you pay.

Every carer is interviewed in person, reference checked, and holds a current enhanced DBS certificate that we track and renew. They sign a code of conduct and a confidentiality undertaking before their first visit.

Yes. We carry public liability insurance, and we can send you the certificate on request. If a carer damages something, tell us and we will put it right.

Keys are labelled with a code and never with your name or address, so a lost key does not tell anyone which door it opens. Key safe and alarm codes are encrypted, and shown to the assigned carer only while that visit is actually in progress — before and after, the fields simply are not there. Every time a code is viewed we record who saw it and when. The Key Handling Policy sets out the whole thing.

We tell you the same day. Because the key carries no address the risk is low, but we will not rely on that: if you want the lock changed, we pay for the lock and the keys.

Yes. As soon as a carer is assigned you get their name and a short introduction. Wherever the diary allows it we send the same person each time.

Only what we need to do the job and take payment. We never sell it and there is no advertising tracking on this site. Access codes are deleted a few months after your last visit. The Privacy Policy explains all of it, and you can ask for a copy of everything we hold, or ask us to delete it, with one email.

A report, within minutes of the carer leaving. What was done, the time in and out, any notes, and photographs — including the front door locked behind them. If something needed attention you hear about it straight away, not at the end of the week.

Yes, and that is the point of the report. The front door on leaving, your animals, and anything that needs your attention. Nothing else. Tell us if there is a room you would rather we did not photograph and we will note it against your property.

Long enough to do what you have booked, which is usually 30 minutes to an hour. The estimate is on your quote. A carer will not leave a job half done because a clock ran out.

The carer takes reasonable steps there and then — turning off a stopcock, closing a door — photographs it, and calls us. We contact you the same day, and your emergency contact if we cannot reach you. If you have authorised it, we can call out a tradesperson up to a limit you set.

The carer waits, tries the access details again, and calls us. We try you, then your emergency contact. If we still cannot get in, the visit is treated as carried out and charged, because the carer travelled and held the time. It is worth testing your key safe code yourself before you go away — it is the single most common problem.

We do not clean beyond what you have booked, do repairs, gas or electrical work, or work at height. We will not let anybody into your property unless you have told us in writing to expect them. If you want something that is not in your booking, ask — we will confirm it and the price first.

Yes. Tablets, drops and injections, given exactly as prescribed and logged with the time. Bring it in its original packaging with the label on. We will never change a dose or give something that is not on the list.

We try you first, on every number you have given us. If we cannot reach you and the animal is seriously unwell, we take it to your vet — or the nearest available practice if yours cannot see it — and authorise treatment up to a limit you set when you book. The usual limit is £200, and you can set it higher, lower, or ask to be called before any spend at all.

No. That decision is yours and we will not take it for you. The only exception is where a vet judges it necessary to prevent further suffering and you genuinely cannot be reached — and that is the vet's clinical decision, not ours. We keep trying to reach you throughout.

Usually not — but you must tell us. We can work with almost any animal when we know what to expect, and we match nervous or strong dogs with carers who have handled them before. What we cannot do is work safely with a dog whose behaviour we have been told nothing about.

Only if you have asked for it in writing on your booking, and even then a carer may keep the lead on if they judge it safer on the day. We would rather have an awkward conversation than lose your dog.

Not at the moment. We do drop-in visits, up to several a day. If a dog cannot be left alone overnight, we will tell you honestly that we are not the right fit rather than take the booking.

We cover St Albans, Hitchin, Radlett & Elstree, Chorleywood & Moor Park, Hadley Wood, Loughton & Epping Forest and Brighton & Hove. Put your postcode into the quote form and it will tell you straight away — it checks the real list, not a map of roughly where we go.

Tell us anyway. We open a new area when enough people in one ask, and we would rather know where the demand is than guess.

In full when you book, by card through Stripe. We never see your card number. Your receipt arrives straight away and the invoice sits in your account.

Yes. The quote is itemised, includes travel and any weekend or bank holiday surcharge, and is fixed once you have paid. If we ever needed to do something extra we would tell you the cost first.

Tell us. We acknowledge a complaint within 2 working days and reply in full within 10. If you would rather a particular carer did not come back, say so and they will not. Complaining never affects how you are treated.