There are many good kennels and catteries in most major towns and cities of the United States. These provide a wide choice of accommodations and amenities for your pet. Accommodations can be simple indoor rooms with a cement floor and an outdoor play area. Or, they can be private rooms in luxury “dog hotels” with carpets, art on the walls and plasma TV. Kennel services can start from about $25 a day for the simple type to over $100 a day for the “five star” variety. Kennel centers also charge extra for added services such as group play or a dog spa. A cattery can be just as expensive, starting at $24 a night for a single room.Although pet care centers are well-equipped to provide for your pet’s basic needs, like food and grooming, they have one important shortcoming. Pets are creatures of habit and feel uncomfortable in strange places. Leaving your pet in a kennel or cattery will put it in unfamiliar surroundings making it feel ill-at-ease and even stressed-out. Deprived of your company, a center may not be the most comfortable place for your pet.
House sitting is one way to provide care for your pet while you’re away on holiday. A house sitter will live in and mind your home, keep it safe and secure and see that it’s well-maintained as well as look after your pet. Your pet stays at home in a familiar environment and gets undivided attention.
The beauty of house sitting is that it’s often available for free. There are many people, especially retirees or those with independent means, who want to visit other cities and countries. Retirement is the chance for them to realize a lifelong dream of travelling to new places. House sitting is one way they can do it without having to pay for accommodation. They can pick the places they want to house sit in, choose the homes they want to look after all at no cost and no long-term commitments. Many of these house sitters are pet lovers, having lived with pets of their own, so that taking care of your pet while house sitting is an added incentive for them.
Younger house sitters may also do the job for free in order to save money. Getting free accommodations helps them save money otherwise spent on boarding houses. The money they save is often used for schooling or as down payment towards a home of their own.
House sitting is becoming increasingly popular and the growing number of house sitters gives you the opportunity to choose the ideal person or couple to look after your home and your pet. Free home and pet care is one way you can stretch your holiday money and not blow it away on pet care centers.