When Pet Sitting Doesn’t Feel Safe

Caring for the Pets is Important. Feeling Safe while Doing it Matters Too

When you work as a pet sitter, you spend a lot of time thinking about the animals.

Have they eaten?

Do they have fresh water?

Have they had enough exercise?

Are they comfortable?

Are they happy to see me?

But there’s another question that deserves just as much attention:

Do I feel safe here?

It’s something I didn’t always think about enough when I first started pet sitting.

I was focused on providing good care, being flexible for clients and making sure the animals where looked after properly. But over time, I’ve learned that the environment I’m working in matters too.

And sometimes, you only realise that after you’ve experienced a situation that makes you genuinely uncomfortable.

A Beautiful Setting Doesn’t Always Mean a Comfortable Working Environment

I once looked after two dogs at a property outside the main built-up areas.

It was a very different environment from the type of pet sitting I do now. There was plenty of land, trees and a very rural feel. The house had a rustic, almost cabin-like appearance, and the property was quite secluded.

During the daytime, it felt completely different.

But my visits were also in the evening.

As the season progressed, it was getting dark earlier, and the outdoor lighting was not sufficient for me to comfortably see what I was doing.

So I started taking my own camping light with me.

YES…a camping light!

Not because I was camping.

Because I needed enough light to see the dogs and my surroundings.

And that should probably have told me something.

When You Start Thinking About Your Own Safety

The dogs themselves weren’t the problem.

They needed their normal care, and I was there to provide it.

The problem was the environment.

For the evening visits, it was isolated. It was dark. I was there alone. And when the dogs were outside, I needed to be able to see them properly while also being aware of what was happening around me.

I became increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of being there after dark.

Eventually, I started arranging me visits earlier.

The client had told me that I could come at whatever time suited my schedule, So I made a conscious decision to arrive while there was still daylight.

It wasn’t about avoiding the work.

It was about making the working environment more comfortable and manageable for me.

Then came one particular evening that really brought everything home.

The Car that Made My Heart Stop

It was towards the end of the booking.

The dogs were still outside, and I had my camping light with me. I remember thinking that there were only about five more minutes before I would bring them back inside.

Then a car pulled up.

All I could see in the darkness were the headlights.

I had no idea who it was.

I was alone on this secluded property, it was dark, and suddenly someone had arrived.

My immediate reaction was fear.

I remember moving behind a bush and watching the car, trying to work out who was getting out.

For those few moments, I genuinely thought something might be wrong.

I was carrying a personal safety item in my bag as a precaution…a men’s deodorant spray, and suddenly I was very aware of it.

Then the car door opened.

It was the client’s mother and father.

I cannot describe the relief I felt when I realised who they were.

Nothing had actually happened.

They hadn’t done anything wrong.

But that wasn’t really the point.

I didn’t know who was arriving.

And for those few moments, I had been genuinely frightened.

Sometimes The Moment Tells You What You Already Know

Looking back, I don’t think I needed that experience to tell me that the environment wasn’t right for me.

I’d already been bringing my own camping light.

I’d deliberately been scheduling my visits slightly earlier so I wouldn’t be working in complete darkness.

I’d already been thinking about how isolated the property was.

And it made me realise something important:

I don’t want to work like this.

Not because there was necessarily anything wrong with the property or the people.

It simply wasn’t an environment where I felt comfortable and secure working alone.

And that’s a valid reason to make a different choice.

When Changing Your Schedule Becomes A Boundary.

There was another issue towards the end of the booking involving the timing of my visits.

I’d been told that I could come whenever it suited my schedule, and I’d chosen to come a little earlier because I specifically wanted to avoid being there when it was completely dark.

The decision wasn’t unreasonable.

I wasn’t trying to make the client’s life difficult.

I was trying to make sure that I could carry out the booking safely and comfortably.

The experience made me realise that I didn’t want to keep adapting myself to environments that made me feel vulnerable simply because I had agreed to care for the pets.

There is a difference between being flexible and ignoring your own boundaries.

I’ve learned the difference through experience.

The Countryside isn’t the Problem

I want to make something clear.

This isn’t an article saying that countryside pet sitting is unsafe.

There are beautiful rural properties where a pet sitter could feel completely comfortable.

The issue is the combination of circumstances.

For me, it was:

• A very secluded location

• Evening visits

• Limited outdoor lighting

• Being alone on the property

• Having to bring my own camping light to see properly

• Feeing nervous about unexpected arrivals

• And ultimately, realising that I didn’t feel comfortable working there in the dark

Put together, those things changed the experience completely.

And that’s something every pet sitter should consider when deciding which bookings are right for them.

Your Safety is Part of the Service

As pet sitters, we’re often focused on what the client and their pets need from us.

And rightly so.

But professional pet care is still work.

We’re travelling to unfamiliar properties. We’re working alone. We’re entering people’s homes and dealing with animals in environments we don’t control.

Our own safety can’t disappear from the equation simply because we’re there to provide a service.

Before accepting a booking, it’s worth considering things such as:

Can I safely access and leave the property?

Will I be working in darkness?

Is there adequate lighting?

Am I comfortable being there alone?

Can I safely carry out the required care?

Does anything about the location make me feel uneasy?

Sometimes the answer will be yes.

And sometimes the answer will be no.

Learning What Works for Me

That booking taught me something I hadn’t fully recognised before.

I don’t want to work in isolated, rural locations.

I prefer city and main built-up areas where I feel comfortable travelling, arriving and leaving, particularly when I’m working during the evening.

That’s now one of my business boundaries.

It doesn’t mean someone else couldn’t happily work in the same environment.

It simply means I know what works for me.

And that’s one of the advantages of experience.

You learn what you enjoy.

You learn what you’re good at.

You learn what you’re willing to compromise on.

And you also learn what you’re never doing again.

For me, working alone in a secluded property after dark, carrying my own camping light because I couldn’t see properly, was one of those lessons.

Caring Doesn’t Mean Putting Yourself Last

I’ve learned that being a caring and flexible pet sitter doesn’t mean accepting every booking or every environment.

I can care deeply about the animals and still decide that a particular location isn’t suitable for me.

I can provide excellent care without putting myself in a situation where I’m frightened.

And I can establish a boundary without feeling guilty about it.

Because ultimately, the pets aren’t the only ones who deserve to feel safe.

The person caring for them does too.

The dogs I looked after deserved good care, and I was committed to give them that.

But I also deserved to feel comfortable and secure while doing my job.

And these days, if a booking doesn’t meet that standard for me, I simply don’t accept it.

I’ve learned what works for my business.

I’ve learned what works for me.

And sometimes, knowing where you don’t want to work is just as valuable as knowing where you do.

Because caring for pets is my job.

Looking after myself while I do it is part of that job too.