Most of us have a plan for our pets when we travel. We schedule the pet sitter, make sure there’s plenty of food, update medications and care instructions, and leave knowing everything is taken care of.
But what happens when you’re the one who unexpectedly can’t care for your pet?
A fall, sudden illness, hospitalization or injury can change your routine in a matter of hours. Even a planned surgery can leave you unable to walk your dog, scoop a litter box, bend down to fill bowls or manage the everyday routines your pets depend on.
It’s something many pet owners don’t think about until they suddenly need help.
And it’s something we’ve encountered many times at Distinctive Pet Care.
When an Emergency Changes Everything
Recently, one of our regular dog-walking clients experienced a fall and unexpectedly needed to go to the hospital.
Our team was already providing regular care for her dog, but suddenly additional visits were needed throughout the day.
She called us.
Because we already had an established relationship, there was no need to find a stranger, arrange a last-minute introduction, or explain an entire pet-care routine while dealing with a medical emergency.
We already knew her dog. We knew the home, the routine, and the care instructions.
We were simply able to step in and provide the additional care her dog needed, without missing a beat.
And this isn’t the first time.
Over the years, we’ve had several clients unexpectedly hospitalized or temporarily unable to care for their pets. Because we already had relationships with them and their pets, we’ve been able to help with additional walks, meals, potty breaks and other daily care during an already stressful time.
Sometimes You’re Home — But You Still Need Help
Being home doesn’t necessarily mean you’re physically able to care for your pets.
One of our clients originally scheduled Distinctive Pet Care because she planned to travel. Before her trip, however, she fractured her tibia and ended up staying home.
Instead of canceling her scheduled pet care, she kept the visits because her limited mobility made caring for and exercising her dogs difficult.
She later shared in a five-star review:
“I fractured my tibia and was home, however kept the scheduled dog walks/visits due to my limited mobility.”
Being home also gave her an opportunity to see firsthand how excited her dogs were when their DPC caregivers arrived.
“Just reinforced the trust I have in them and this company! My dogs thought of them as family!!!”
We’ve helped other clients recovering from fractures and injuries as well. We’re currently arranging dog-walking assistance for a client preparing for hip replacement surgery.
Sometimes you know you’ll need help and can plan ahead.
Sometimes life gives you no warning at all.
Who Is Your Pet’s Backup Plan?
This is especially important to think about if you live alone, are an older adult, have family who lives out of state, or have pets with medications or special care needs.
You may already have an emergency contact — an adult child, neighbor, friend or family member.
But is your emergency contact also prepared to become your pet caregiver?
Could that person get into your home?
Do they know how much your pets eat and when they’re fed?
Could they walk your dog several times a day?
Do they know where the medications are and how they’re given?
Are they comfortable handling your pets?
Could they realistically provide that care for several days – or even several weeks?
And perhaps most importantly: Do they know you’re counting on them?
A neighbor who is happy to let your dog outside once may not be able to provide three visits a day for a week. An adult child may live across town or across the country. A friend who loves your cat may not be comfortable administering medication.
Having an emergency contact is important.
Having an actual pet-care backup plan is even better.
Create Your Pet Emergency Care Plan
You don’t need anything elaborate. Take a few minutes to make sure you’ve covered the basics:
- Home access: Who can get into your home if you can’t return?
- Pet-care contact: Who have you specifically asked to care for your pets?
- Daily routine: Are feeding, walking, potty and litter box instructions written down and current?
- Medications: Are medication names, doses, schedules and instructions easy to find?
- Veterinary care: Does your emergency contact know your regular veterinarian and preferred emergency hospital?
- Veterinary decisions: Have you determined who can authorize veterinary care if you’re unable to?
- Backup care: What happens if your first-choice person isn’t available?
If you use a professional pet-care service, keep your pet profiles, veterinary information, medications, and emergency contacts up to date.
The Value of an Established Pet-Care Relationship
Professional pet care isn’t only for vacations.
Having an established relationship with a pet-care company can also give you a valuable safety net when life doesn’t go according to plan.
For established Distinctive Pet Care clients, we already have important information about their pets and their care in our client portal. Depending on the services we provide, our caregivers may already know the pets, their personalities, their routines, their special needs, and their home.
That familiarity can be incredibly valuable during an emergency.
Instead of trying to explain everything from a hospital bed or searching for someone you’ve never met, you may be able to make one call or send one message:
“Can you help take care of my pets?”
While additional visits are always dependent upon caregiver availability, having that relationship established gives us a much better opportunity to step in when our clients need us.
Don’t Wait Until You Need the Plan
Hopefully, you’ll never have to use your pet emergency plan.
But falls happen. Illness happens. Injuries happen. Surgeries happen.
And sometimes the person who normally takes care of everyone else is suddenly the one who needs some help.
Take a few minutes today to think about what would happen if you couldn’t care for your pets tomorrow.
Make sure someone can access your home. Keep your pet and veterinary information current. Talk to the people you’ve chosen as emergency contacts. And consider establishing a relationship with a professional pet-care provider before an emergency happens.
Because when something unexpected happens, knowing your pets are safe, comfortable and being cared for by people they already know can be one less thing you have to worry about.
Already a Distinctive Pet Care Client?
This is a great time to log into your client portal and review your pets’ profiles, veterinary information, medications, care instructions and emergency contacts. Make sure everything is current before you need it.
Need to Establish Pet Care?
Whether you need regular dog walks, vacation care, help during recovery from surgery, or simply want to establish trusted professional pet care before you need it, we’d love to get to know you and your pets.
