Pet sitting is a more personal and individualized arrangement for care compared to boarding or kenneling.
Boarding outside the pet's home generally requires a kennel license, city or county approval, and in some counties oversight by the local Department of Agriculture which requires protocols to help maintain standards to prevent the transmission of diseases.
Some reasons cited for using a pet sitter are to prevent stress to the animal caused by a changing environment, travel trauma, contracting illnesses and parasites from exposure to other animals, not meeting vaccination requirements that may be necessary for kennelling, and to maintain regular routines and prevent the need to adapt to a new environment.
It is also a solution for pets with health problems and mobility issues due to arthritis, dysplasia, incontinence, etc.
Services include (but are not limited to) feeding, exercising, grooming, providing company, monitoring health, administering medications or other special care.
Less commonly, pet sitters offer live-in care which can also include the service of house sitting and property maintenance.
They also include an uncommon endorsement that provides coverage for care, custody, and control of the client pets from $10,000 to $200,000 per occurrence.
The major UK pet sitting insurance providers claim coverage limits between £2,000,000 and £10,000,000.
A dishonesty or fidelity bond claim generally applies when a pet sitter is convicted in criminal court of theft from a client home.
This process can take many years to complete, and usually relies on a criminal law court conviction.
Many pet sitters have decided to seek actual insurance coverage for theft instead of procuring a bond.
Certification that is credentials-based may require the pet sitter to provide a criminal background check, proof of insurance, proof of bonding, certificate of completion of a pet first aid program, documentation of business methods and policies, or other evidence of their professionalism and adherence to industry standards.