FAQ

Service Questions

Why should I hire a professional pet sitter?

Veterinarians and pet experts believe that keeping pets in their familiar surroundings helps to alleviate the stress imposed when their owners are away. It allows the pet to a maintain their diet and exercise routine, enjoy the personal attention provided by a pet sitter, and keep them from bringing home any unwanted visitors, like fleas or illness. When you arrive home from your trip, there is no need to rush to pick up your pet from boarding, they will greet you at the door.

What services do you offer?

Marietta Heart Hounds provides in-home for your pets. We travel to client’s homes to care for their pets when you are; traveling, work long hours/late meeting, recovering from surgery, working from home but can’t find a good time to walk the dog. Whatever the reason, we’ll be there! Our clients are mainly cat and dog owners, but we will also visit rabbits, birds, frogs, guinea pigs, gerbils, hamsters, iguanas, etc.
Our clients can customize how long they would like their Marietta Heart Hounds sitter to visit with their pets. We will also bring in the mail, take out the trash, rotate the lights and open and close the curtains to give the home a lived-in look. We work with our clients to offer a variety of premium services that complement their pet and house care routines.

How does a client go about getting started?

To get started, a client can call or email the office with their questions. The office number is 770-342-8685 and the email is sit@mariettahearthounds.com When they’re ready to get started we have a very simple registration process that will be explained to them. We can get started as soon as the registration meeting has taken place.

Will you provide “gate-keeping” services even if someone doesn’t have a pet?

We do! We have many clients who contract Marietta Heart Hounds to visit their homes while they travel. This gives them peace of mind that their home is safe while they are out of town. No pet necessary to have to utilize Marietta Heart Hounds services.

So, you don’t board animals or bring them into your homes?

No. We offer only in-home care, for the comfort of the pet. However, we do have pet care providers who can remain at the client’s home. This is our overnight/house sitting service, which is VERY popular.
What time do the sitters make their rounds and how long do they stay?

Our sitters can visit their clients homes up to 4 times per day.

• The “Morning” time slot is between 7 & 10 AM.
• The “Mid-Day” time slot is between 11 & 3 PM.
• The “Evening” time slot is between 4 & 6 PM.
• The “Late Night” time slot is between 7 & 9 PM.

No longer than 10 to 12 hours ever goes in between visits. If your pup were visited at 9pm, the sitter would arrive to your home no later than between 7 and 9am the following morning.

We offer 15-minute, 30-minute, 45-minute and 60-minute visits. The client chooses the duration of the visits and can mix and match to design the best plan for his or her pet.

What is the registration meeting?

The registration meeting is a visit that allows the client to get to know our service, and their assigned Marietta Heart Hounds sitter, prior to the start of their service. During this visit their pet care provider will introduce themselves, spend some quality time with the pet, confirm and review the pertinent information about the home and pet care routine (e.g. vet information, emergency contact, special requests, etc.), and answer any additional questions the client may have. We do NOT provide service until this meeting has taken place. There is a fee of $15 fee for the registration meeting. This fee covers administrative costs related to their account creation, as well as the sitter’s time.

So, after a client has completed their registration meeting can they schedule service anytime?

Absolutely! All clients are provided with a unique login to their secured Marietta Heart Hounds account in the Time to Pet portal. From this portal, they are able to schedule service, update personal and pet information, check their personal service calendar, update their billing information, view and pay invoices, send messages to their sitter or the office, and update their password. It saves all information including messaging. All scheduling requests are confirmed during our regular business hours, which are 9AM-5PM Monday through Friday.
Can your clients schedule directly through their sitter?

For the safety of our client’s pets, all visits MUST be scheduled through the Marietta Heart Hounds Time to Pet portal, a high-tech scheduling program, which ensures that “no pet is left behind.” If a client schedules through their sitter, that takes Marietta Heart Hounds out of the loop and therefore unable to ensure that the pet has been seen. Marietta Heart Hounds will not be held liable for visits scheduled without our knowledge.

How do you accept payment?

We accept payment by Visa, Master Card, Discover Card, AMEX, Zelle or Venmo
So, what forms of payment do you accept?

The clients can leave a cash gratuity for their sitter, but payment for services must be made by credit card. Payment is due prior to the start of service.
Are there extra costs for services rendered on a holiday?

We consider the following to be major annual holidays: Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, New Years and New Year’s Day. There is a $10 per day surcharge, plus the standard charge for the service being provided on these dates. 100% of surcharge will be paid to the sitters.

Read more about our Pet Care Services and Rates.

Do you accept last minute requests?

We’re happy to schedule pet care for last-minute needs but cannot guarantee that a sitter is going to be available on short notice (though 99% of the time there will be someone to assist). There will be a $5 surcharge for any visits scheduled less than 24 hours before service is needed. To schedule services less then 24 before its needed, you must message us through Time to Pet. The system will not allow you to request through scheduling system.

What is Marietta Heart Hounds cancellation policy?

We understand what it’s like to have a busy and changing schedule, and have implemented an extremely flexible cancelation policy:
Midday Day Dog Walks (for those that use us on a weekly continuous basis): Must be cancelled by 8am for same day cancelation.
Pet Sitting: 48 hours’ notice
Overnight Care: 7 days’ notice

Pet Care Questions

What happens our primary sitter is unavailable or unable to visit our pets?

Marietta Herat Hounds has back up pet care providers that would love to care for a client’s pet if their primary sitter is unavailable. Since we have all the client’s pet care information in our secure database, it’s not necessary for the client to meet with the alternate sitter. We do understand if the client feels more comfortable with having a meeting with the alternate sitter and are more than happy to schedule a “Pre-Departure Meeting.” The cost of this meeting is $15, which covers the sitter’s time.

Do you offer care for pets with aggression issues?

If the pet has aggressively bit someone in the past, then no, we cannot provide service. That is a liability and safety issue for our sitters and for Marietta Heart Hounds.

If the pet is shy, or nervous, s and maybe just growls around those he doesn’t know, then we will be happy to work with the client to see if a pet care plan can be designed that works. Our sitter will interview the client and pet, to determine if this is possible. If additional visits are necessary to socialize the pet with our pet care provider, the client will need to be present at all visits and pay the normal service fee until socialized. If at any time our pet sitter or the pet owner feels that it is unsafe to perform a service, we will reserve the right to discontinue service without notice.

Do you administer medication?

Administering medications can be stressful for the pet. Our sitters will be happy to have the client show them how they administer the medication, and attempt to do so with the client at the first meeting. If the pet allows the sitter to administer medication, we will be happy to do so.

How do the pet care professionals discipline the pets?

Marietta Heart Hounds uses positive reinforcement ONLY for the pets in our care. We will never hit, slap, yank the leash, yell at, shock or grab your pet. If there is a disciplinary problem, i.e. toilet training issues, running away, leash issues etc., we inform our client of the incident(s) and together we work out a solution.

What happens if a pet becomes ill and the client is out of town or unable to leave work?

If we suspect a possible health issue with a pet, we will call the client (or emergency contact if client not available) at the emergency phone number we have on file. If the client (or emergency contact) believes the veterinarian should see the pet, we will transport the pet to the veterinarian’s office for examination and treatment. In the event we cannot reach either the client or emergency contact, we will decide if the veterinarian should see your pet. If necessary, we will take your pet for treatment. You will be billed for any extra time we spend for these services.

How does being bonded and insured apply to me as a client?

Anyone that has someone working in their home should ensure that the company has a dishonesty bond and is insured. It ensures if you find anything is stolen or damaged, it will be reimbursed financially.

Marietta Heart Hounds carries both a liability insurance policy that protects from financial loss if we were liable for accidents that occur while caring for our client’s pets, and bond if any items would be stolen. Any responsible, professional business should carry liability insurance.
We are happy to provide proof of insurance and our bond. We can easily email them a copy or our certificates.

What type of clients do you work with?

Our clients are pet owners who are searching for high-quality pet care to ensure peace of mind while working long hours, traveling or other obligations that keep them away from home.

What is your process for handling client keys?

The only client keys we keep on file are those that utilize Marietta Heart Hounds on a weekly basis. All other client keys stay in control of the owner. We believe this is the saftest option.

Note: Marietta Heart Hounds will not be held responsible for keys that a client asks a sitter to keep on file.

How do the sitters access a client’s home?

We have several options for key exchange.

Our favorite is using a lock box. It makes it extremely easy and safe! The client can purchase a lock box of their liking and leave the lock box on a door or location of their choosing. When their Marietta Heart Hounds sitter arrives, they remove the key and the lock box from the chosen area and hold onto both for the duration of the assignment. Then at the last visit the sitter returns the lock box with the key inside back to the same location. The client can then remove it when they return home. It’s so easy!

If the lock box isn’t a good fit for them, they can also leave a key hidden in a pre-determined location or schedule the key pick-up and drop-off service, which is $15 each way.

Most importantly, what kind of results can people expect when working with Marietta Heart Hounds?

The greatest result is peace of mind. Our clients can travel, work or leave their homes for whatever reason, guilt-free because they know that their pets and their homes are in the best possible hands. Their pets are going to be relaxed, comfortable, loved, cuddled, and exercised. Their houses are going to be safe guarded and kept tidy and neat. They are going to arrive home to happy and healthy pets.