When you look after someone’s pet, you are often alone in their home with their animal, sometimes for days. If something goes wrong, like a sudden illness, a lost key or a dog that slips its collar, the time to decide what happens is before it happens. A written service agreement does that. This checklist covers what most pet sitters and dog walkers include.
This is a planning checklist, not legal advice. Contract and consumer rules vary by state, so have a local attorney or your state’s small business resources review your final agreement, and ask your insurer what they want it to say.
How the paperwork usually fits together
Most pet care businesses use three pieces:
- A service agreement signed once, covering your terms and policies
- A pet profile for each animal, updated as things change
- A booking confirmation for each job, with dates, visit times and any special notes
Keeping these separate means you do not need a new contract every time someone books a weekend away.
The service agreement checklist
1. The parties
Your business name and contact details, the client’s name, address and phone numbers, and a backup contact who can make decisions if the client cannot be reached.
2. Services offered
What a walk, drop-in visit or overnight stay includes, and roughly how long each lasts. Note what is included at no extra cost, like bringing in mail or watering a plant, and what is not.
3. Pet health and behavior disclosure
A statement that the client has told you about the pet’s health conditions, medications, bite history, aggression toward people or other animals, escape habits and anything else relevant. Many sitters also ask that pets be current on vaccinations as required where they live.
4. Veterinary authorization
- The pet’s regular vet and the nearest emergency vet
- Permission for you to take the pet for care if you cannot reach the client
- Who pays vet bills, and whether there is a spending limit before you must reach the client
- How transport costs and your time are handled
Some clinics have their own authorization form, so it can help for the client to call ahead and add you to the pet’s file.
5. Keys and home access
- How keys or codes are given, stored and labeled (ideally without the client’s address on them)
- Alarm codes and what to do if the alarm goes off
- What happens if a key does not work or you are locked out
- Whether you keep a key between bookings or return it
6. Emergencies
What you will do in a pet emergency, a home emergency like a leak or power outage, or severe weather. Include who to call and in what order, and that you may need to make reasonable decisions on the client’s behalf if no one can be reached.
7. Walks and off-leash rules
Whether dogs are walked alone or in small groups, whether dog parks are allowed, and a clear on-leash policy. Many walkers keep dogs on leash at all times outside a fenced home yard. Local leash laws vary, so follow yours.
8. Payment
Your rates or a reference to your current price list, any holiday or last-minute surcharges, when payment is due, and accepted methods. Many sitters take payment or a deposit at booking for holiday dates. Our guide on how much to charge for dog walking and pet sitting covers surcharges and packages.
9. Cancellations and changes
How much notice is needed to cancel, and whether a fee applies, especially for holidays when you turned other clients away. Also how early returns or extended trips are handled.
10. Liability and insurance
A plain statement of what you are and are not responsible for, for example illness from an undisclosed condition, and that you carry liability insurance if you do. How much liability you can limit, and how, depends on your state, so get professional advice on this section. Our guide to pet sitting insurance and bonding explains the coverage side.
11. Updates and photos
How you send visit updates, and whether you may share photos of the pet on your social media. Ask separately and respect a no.
12. Ending the agreement
That either side can end the arrangement with notice, and that you may decline or stop service if a pet becomes unsafe to handle.
13. Signatures and date
Signatures or a recorded online acceptance, with the date. Keep copies, and re-sign when you change your terms.
The pet profile checklist
- Name, breed, age, photo, microchip number
- Feeding amounts, times and where food is kept
- Medications, doses and instructions
- Leash, harness and walking habits; reactions to dogs, people, bikes
- Hiding spots, escape risks and house rules (furniture, crates, rooms off limits)
- Where supplies, cleaning products and first aid items are
Make it easy to sign
Go over the agreement at the meet-and-greet, explain the key points in a sentence each, and let clients sign online. A clear agreement does not scare good clients away. It reassures them that you have thought about their pet’s safety.
Get the agreement template with the kit
Our pet sitting and dog walking starter kit includes booking with pet profiles, a meet-and-greet request, visit report templates and a service agreement template. We build it once 25 people vote for it, and voters get 20% off at launch. Vote for the pet sitting kit.
This is general information, not legal or veterinary advice. Contract, liability and animal rules vary by state and city. Have your agreement reviewed by a local attorney.
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