Communicating All the Vital Pet Sitter Information

Ah, the pleasure of enjoying the backyard horse and other pets at home. The one drawback comes when you have to leave your horses and pets in the care of a pet sitter. You’ll need to communicate pet sitter information that is vital to the care of your special animal friends. Developing a horse and pet care communication plan takes time. There is so much to communicate you barely know where to start . . . Not having a plan makes things more difficult. Step into the boots of someone who took care of a horse without a plan.


Are you prepared to leave your animals with a pet sitter? Help communicate all the vital care instructions with a Horse and Pet Care Communication Checklist.


The Neighbor’s Horse Wasn’t Eating

“My husband came in one day saying that Kate wasn’t eating. Kate wasn’t even our neighbor’s horse–she actually belonged to friends of theirs in Southern California.  I didn’t know who they were either. I went to see Kate and she definitely had the colic look and behavior –not eating, pulled up in her belly, biting and/or looking at her side. . . I tried calling our vacationing neighbors but was unable to reach them. They were camping in the Sierras and probably out of cell phone range. I then called a vet (who had been our vet when we had horses at our house) but he wasn’t available. I know our neighbors had a vet but didn’t remember who. Meanwhile, my husband and daughters (both very horse knowledgeable) kept walking Kate around the field. She remained visibly uncomfortable.

We “broke” into the house and found the vet’s name and called him. By this time it was on-call time and another vet said he would come. He did began treatment with pain relieving medications. Dr. Evans DVM was wonderful, caring  and competent. We had no idea what the owners would want so had to just go with what we would do with an old retired mare living out her life. 

We decided on comfort measures along with the vet, hoping that her condition would not worsen so much that putting her down was the only choice. Overnight, we medicated Kate as needed, walked her periodically and kept trying to reach the neighbors. The vet came back the next morning and we continued the comfort measures.  No poop yet either. Kate was more comfortable but still didn’t want to eat. 

Finally, in late morning, the neighbors came home. They called the owners who concurred with the comfort measures and wanted to drive up to see Kate. They did so that afternoon.  After seeing Kate and talking to the vet, they decided to put her down. The vet came back and was very kind and caring with the owners during the process.  
A plan in place for all concerned would have made the whole situation easier to handle, even if the outcome for Kate would have been the same.


A Horse and Pet Care Communication Plan Would Have Made This Situation Easier

Yes, having a plan in place would have made the situation for these caring individuals, who were feeding and watching out for their neighbor’s horse, so much easier. I too have an experience where I left town and my horse had an unfortunate accident. My friend had to take care of the situation while in contact with both me, and my mom who owned “my” horse. We didn’t have a plan in place.

How Do You Plan to Communicate for Your Animals When You Leave Town?

Are you ready to leave your animals in the care of a pet sitter? What horse and pet care information should you plan to communicate? There are many factors that go beyond the basic feeding and daily care routine. What if your animal needs vet care? What if the unthinkable actually happens and your horse or pet experiences a life-threatening emergency? Who will your horse or pet sitter contact in case of an emergency? What if there is a need to evacuate?

Communicate all the Vital Horse and Pet Sitter Information

There are so many questions and scenarios to prepare your horse and pet sitter for. The answers can be planned before you leave town with the Horse and Pet Care Communication Kit.

Horse and Pet Care Communication Kit – Makes Communicating with your Pet Sitter Easy

Step 1. Gather all the Vital Pet Sitter Information

The first thing you’ll need to do is gather all the vital pet sitter information for each specific animal. Then outline the feeding schedule, walk through the animal’s basic care then put an emergency plan in place . A here’s a FREE checklist that can help you with thinking through all this info. You’ll also become part of the SLO Horse News herd by getting this FREE checklist. If you are already a herd member you can get this checklist too. Don’t worry, you won’t get duplicate mailings.


Step 2. Put it All in Writing

Don’t simply walk your pet sitter through the task of taking care of your animals. Leave her or him with clear written instructions on how to care for each one of your animals the way you do. The forms in the Horse and Pet Care Communication Kit will provide you with a way to make sure the communication is individualized, clear and easily referenced.

Each form can be customized for each animal and time away. You simply use the Fill and Sign option through Acrobat Reader. With this option you will get individual text blocks to communicate your personal information on each form. You will then use the Save As option to create a specific form for each animal. Some of the forms can be used for all of your animals and some will need to be customize for each animal.

Step 3. Communicate with Your Horse and Pet Sitter

Now that you have gathered the information and put it written form, you must now communicate the information to your pet sitter. You can leave paper forms or use electronic versions for your sitter to use with a phone or tablet. All the forms in the Horse and Pet Care Communication Kit are pdf downloads which can typed onto using Fill and Sign in Acrobat Reader. They can then be saved for each animal and used again and again.


Go ahead and make plans to get out of town. Use this Horse and Pet Care Communication Kit to ensure your pet sitter will be taking care of your pets the way you do.


Are you prepared to leave your animals in the care of a pet sitter? The Horse and Pet Care Communication Checklist enables you to gather all the vital information you need to communicate all the elements of all your animals’ care to your pet sitter.  What if you suddenly had to leave town? Would you be ready for someone to quickly step in and take care of your animals? What if something happened to your horse or pet while you were away? Would your pet sitter know your wishes? This checklist will help you prepare your pet sitter to care for your animals the way you do. Get your Horse and Pet Care Free Checklist here >.

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