Terry at the Dear Labby blog wrote a great post this week about the supplies every pet sitter should carry with them in their car. His suggestions included:
- poop bags
- litter scoop
- ant traps (non-toxic)
- leashes, collars
- sunscreen, hat
- first aid kit
- fanny pack
- towels
- paper towels
- flashlight
- pillowcase
- can opener, scissors
- phone number of emergency vet
- hand sanitizer
- maps/GPS or cell phone with maps application
- trash bags
As a part time sitter my kit is in need of a lot of additions. How about yours?
I would also suggest carrying some marketing materials such as business cards, flyers, bulletin board ads, and spare pet sitting forms.
What other supplies do you recommend a pet sitter should carry?
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve got a Hounddog bag which has most of the above within it. I also keep extra dog and cat treats in my glove compartment. I also have a dog bowl and plenty of bottles of water for the dogs to drink as not every off leash park has water!
I keep a red clipboard that has all my biz. stuff within it.
In re ants – A lemon juice mixture also works surprisingly well. I can’t remember where I learned this home remedy to get rid of ants, but mix up about half lemon juice and half water. Put this in a spray bottle and spray everywhere ants are seen and anywhere they can enter. This includes spraying around the outside of the house. Works wonders if you want to eliminate ants! ( source http://hubpages.com/hub/Home-Remedy-to-Get-Rid-of-Ants )
Human treats are also important to pack. During very busy days there often isn’t even time to wait in the drive-thru so I try to plan ahead. On hectic days I have a packed lunch with several drinks and extra snacks.
I always keep some 9 volt batteries for chirping smoke detectors. Seems they always want to die when the owner is gone. This noise is so upsetting for the pets.
I also keep Benedryl in my kit for myself (you never know when a wasp is going to crawl up your pant leg!) and pets (to be administer of course, with permission of pet parent and/or vet).
I carry most of the above, plus graphite spray (it’s sort of like WD-40) for sticky locks, and an extra pair of running shoes. A pair of dry shoes makes all the difference in a day!
I really like the idea of carrying the 9-volt batteries! Those alarms always seem to run out when clients are away. I’ve also needed one for a garage door opener and had to make a quick trip to the store. I’ll add that to my kit!
A change of clothes is also handy. I recently slipped and slid into a lot of mud when I was trying to get the dogs from getting wet from sprinklers that just went on. What a mess I was.
I looked awful, but the dogs were mostly dry and not a spot of mud on them.
I think that treats and maybe a dog toy is important too, never thought of having a kit in the car thanks for the idea