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Providing loving, attentive in-home care
Home
Services
Service Area
Fairfax, Oakton, and the Town of Vienna
Other areas considered (travel surcharges may apply)
Services Offered
In-home Petsitting
- Daily feeding, fresh water, litter box and bird cage servicing
- Medications administered, as needed
- Daily activities log
- Daily walks, if desired
- Playtime and quality attention
- Daily house sitting duties, such as taking in mail, newspapers and packages, as necessary; watering plants; turning lights on/off
Silver Whiskers' mission is to provide the highest quality in-home petsitting services to pet owners in Fairfax, Oakton, and the Town of Vienna, whose pets may have special needs that require patience, gentle care and astute observation. Silver Whiskers is happy to petsit any and all of your pets, young or old, and specializes in senior pets and birds.
Those pets that others may consider to be high maintenance, Silver Whiskers Petsitting considers to be its special niche!
In-home Petsitting Rates
Silver Whiskers Petsitting rates are based on the number of daily visits and inclusive of all of your pet's needs, including administering medicines as necessary, going on walks, special diet preparation, etc.
The per visit rate decreases as the number of daily visits increases in order to serve the best interest of senior pets, particularly older dogs who need extra daily care, such as more frequent bathroom outings and/or smaller meals fed more frequently during the course of the day. Also inclusive in these rates is watering plants, if necessary, taking in mail and newspapers daily, and alternating lights on/off, if desired.
The rates are based on an average visit of 45 minutes, not including travel time. During the course of a day, certain visits will naturally take more time than others. Mealtime visits generally take between 45 minutes and an hour, whereas mid-day outings and bedtime visits may require slightly less than 45 minutes.
I do not charge extra for additional pets as my goal is to meet the needs of an entire family of pets. However, if visits consistently take more than one hour, I will work with you to find a reasonable hourly rate rather than a per visit rate.
- 1 daily visit: $27 total
- 2 daily visits: $52 total @ $26 per visit
- 3 daily visits: $75 total @ $25 per visit
- 4 daily visits: $88 total @ $22 per visit
Mid-day Outings / Walking
Currently fully-booked and not accepting new mid-day outing clients
Many people need assistance with their puppies and senior dogs during the workday. Mid-day outings provide a bathroom / exercise break for your pet while you're at work. A mid-day outing averages 30 minutes and includes a walk around the block or a stroll through the yard—whichever your pet prefers. Any additional services, such as administering medications or feeding meals, will constitute a petsitting visit and will be charged accordingly.
The following rates apply for mid-day outings when contracted on a regular, weekly basis. Unfortunately, Silver Whiskers is unable to provide mid-day outings during weekends due to the high volume of petsitting clients on Saturdays and Sundays.
- 5 mid-day outings per week: $75 total @ $15 per day
- 4 mid-day outings per week: $64 total @ $16 per day
- 3 mid-day outings per week: $51 total @ $17 per day
- 2 mid-day outings per week: $36 total @ $18 per day
- 1 mid-day outing per week: $19 total
Field Trips
Many dogs, particularly puppies and young dogs, benefit from a wide variety of experiences that enrich their lives and improve their socialization skills. I offer "field trips" to help expose your pup to new people, places and dogs, and to generally broaden his or her horizons. Please note that this service is only available to existing clients who have small dogs under 30 pounds.
I will pick your dog up at your home and take her on a 2-hour field trip. We may go to a breed-specific play group, where your pup will have the opportunity to interact with other dogs of the same breed, or to a mixed breeds play group, where dogs of similar sizes may interact together, all in a safe and controlled environment where I will be with your dog the entire time. We may also have a one-on-one play date with another dog of similar personality, particularly if your dog is shy and may be overwhelmed by a large group of dogs. We may even go on a hike at a nature trail, where your pup may meet other people and dogs and discover a lot of new scents and sites that your backyard lacks.
Whatever type of field trip you prefer, the ultimate goal is to socialize and enrich your dog's life, while giving you a 2-hour caregiver's respite. Your dog will return home happy and ready for a nap, albeit possibly a little dirty if our field trip was outdoors. But dirty paws are not a bad trade-off for an experience that enhances your dog's socialization skills and improves her comfort zone with new dogs, people and places.
Please note that this service is only available to existing clients who have small dogs under 30 pounds. I need to know your dog, and your dog needs to know and trust me, before we go on a field trip together. I require copies of documentation that your dog is up-to-date on all vaccinations before taking her on a field trip.
Cost: Starting at $50 per 2-hour Field Trip, including round-trip transportation. Your dog will ride in an appropriately-sized crate for her own safety.
Free Initial Consultation
The initial consultation between you, your prospective petsitter and your pet is an invaluable experience for all involved and is essential in order to find the best match for you and your pet. However, since so many petsitters charge an initial consultation fee, the process of screening numerous potential petsitters can grow quite costly. Therefore, I do not charge an initial consultation fee.
I do, however, ask that you take the time to fill out an information form on your pet and any special needs your pet may have before our appointment so that the initial consultation will be as productive as possible. Rather than my spending the whole visit taking notes, we'll review your completed forms and I'll have more time to interact with your pets. Based on the information you provide, I will make myself a check-list to take with me when I go to your home to petsit.
I will also keep a log at each visit, recording pertinent information about your pet's activities during the course of each day. The form can be downloaded as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file, which you can print and fill out. If you do not have Adobe Reader, you can download it for free from Adobe's Web site.
Travel Fees
I currently do not charge a mileage fee for those clients within my normal service area of Fairfax, Oakton, and the Town of Vienna.
If you live outside my normal service area, I may still be able to provide petsitting services to your pets; however, an additional travel surcharge will apply.
