Being a Pet Care Professional can be one of the most rewarding hobbies, side jobs, or full-time careers. Whether it is pet sitting, grooming, or training, this profession can involve a lot of interactions with unknown people in unfamiliar places. These safety tips for Pet Care Professionals should be top priority to review when getting into this field.
Since 2018 I have considered myself a Pet Care Professional. I have done pet sitting in my home, as well as in other’s homes. Then, in 2021, I started offering training services and wedding day services. For myself, this is only a side hustle. During the day I am a Peace Officer. With that career, I have gone through extensive training to protect myself as much as possible while out in the community.
As a Pet Care Professional and Peace Officer, I wanted to combine the two and create a collective of safety tips that other Pet Care Professionals could utilize to keep themselves safe while making money in such a rewarding profession.
Make Sure Someone Knows Where You Are
This is as straightforward as it comes. If no one knows where you are, then you cannot get help when the worst happens. The more people that know where you are the better. You should be telling your significant other, parent, sibling, etc.
For my day job, when we go out into the community we print out where we will be from start to finish. That is posted on a bulletin board for easy access for if we send out a distress call back to the main office. As a Pet Care Professional, you should be doing the same thing.
Paper Calendar
For those professionals who are more of a visual person, a calendar is always a great go-to. There are a lot of options at the local store or off of Amazon. Make sure the calendar is a larger size with spacious lines. This way you can write in clearly where you will be at what time. Utilizing a handwritten calendar is a better option than a dry erase or chalk because there is a less likely chance of something accidentally getting erased.
Google Calendar
There are some people who have to have everything in their phone (I am one of them). There is a great feature in the Google Calendar app that allows you to add people to a created event. After the event is created and the person is added, it will automatically show up in their calendar on their phone. For each event, there is a description section. In there more information can be written like the client’s contact information.
Airtable
There are many different programs that can be used to help organize a business but the one I found most useful was Airtable. It can be used to track clients, income, expenses, mileage. This list goes on and on. When it comes to safety, the best feature is for the client section. There is the ability to input all the client’s information along with the appointment date and time. Each Airtable base can be shareable with other people. If you invite your emergency contact to the base, they have complete access to your appointment days and times.
Stage Your Vehicle
Parking
Pet Care Professionals spend a lot of time in client’s homes and in neighborhoods that they are not familiar with. One proactive way to make sure you have an easy way out is to precisely park your vehicle.
If something happens when at a client’s home and you need to get out of the area as quickly as possible, it helps if your car is parked on the side of the road and a little bit away from the client’s home. Also face your vehicle towards the closest exit to the neighborhood.
If you pull in and park in the driveway, then when you go to leave you have to reverse and then pull away. Also if you are in the driveway, that is a shorter distance between the home and your car. The more distance you can put between yourself and the client’s home, the better off you will be. If your client is in an apartment complex and you need to park in a spot, back in so you can drive right out.
Leave It Running
Having your vehicle running will decrease the time needed to leave a situation incredibly. This is especially important for Pet Care Professionals that are doing meet & greets with clients for pet care services or initial appointments for training. Basically, for those situations you aren’t familiar with yet.
It is very easy to leave the ignition running and bring the unlock fob with you into the client’s home. Keep the fob nice and secure in your pocket so you can easily grab it and unlock your vehicle on the way out the door. Then you can jump in and just drive away.
Self Defense
As a Peace Officer, I have had a lot of training in hands-on self defense. Most of that is not relevant when it comes to the pet care industry. Although, I can relay some pointers that can help create a safe environment when interacting with new, unknown people.
Know Your Exits
Position yourself where you can easily access the exit point. Know where you came in from and make sure you keep yourself near that exit. A lot of new homes can be confusing and if something happens where you need to leave, not remembering the exit’s location can put you in a troubling situation.
Reactionary Gap
This is a police term through and through. The reactionary gap is the distance between you and another person that allows you the most time to react appropriately. For Police and Peace Officers, they use six to eight feet in between them and who they’re addressing. It is not a bad practice to use that rule when working with new clients in the pet care field.
Check out this Police1 article on the Reactionary Gap. The Reactionary Gap: Reminders on Threats and Distances
Watch Hands
Another police practice! When people are going to become a threat, they use their hands. So if you are feeling uncomfortable when interacting with someone, watch their hands. By how they are using their hands you will be able to tell what may come next. If someone is fidgeting with a pocket or a waist line, that is a red flag. The more fidgety the person is with their hands, the more likely they are planning some kind of movement.
When In Doubt, Get The Hell Out
Just leave. It is that simple. If you are uncomfortable you have every right to leave and make sure you get home at the end of the day. You can make this a smooth transition by following through with staging your car appropriately and making sure you’re near that exit.
If you are concerned that you may alarm the client and cause some kind of issue, fake an emergency. Always have your phone on you. It is so easy to pretend it went off and answer an emergency phone call.
The most important part of this is to make sure you tell someone you are leaving the appointment because of an unsafe situation. My husband and I have a code word that we use. If I text him that word, he knows that I am leaving a situation abruptly and to stand by for a phone call. Once I am within safe distance, I call so he knows I am safe. This way, if I didn’t call him then he can alert the authorities that I may be in danger.
Conceal Carry
You read right, conceal carry. Look up your state laws on weapons that you can carry and get one. It can be anything from pepper spray to a taser to a firearm. As long as you do it legally and you’re familiar with the state laws. Using a concealed carry object should be your last resort when it comes to a situation where your safety is on the line. But, just like in the law enforcement world, your top priority is to go home at the end of the day.
Firing A Client For Safety Issues
When working with people, there will always be the awkward situation of firing a client. Especially in a situation where you felt unfelt or uncomfortable. After you have gotten yourself out of the situation, give yourself at least 48 hours before contacting the client. This way adrenaline and emotions are not running high.
There are many routes you can take when letting the client know you will no longer work with them. To avoid retaliation, I always suggest a white lie in an email. Simply write a professional email to the client letting them know you will no longer be moving forward with the pet care. There are a lot of excuses that you can utilize.
- The distance between you and the client was out of your care radius.
- There was a family emergency where you need open availability for the foreseeable future.
- The pet’s training needs are was above your training skill set.
- The pet’s care needs are above your medical skill set.
- The pet’s care needs are above your age experience.
Your safety needs to be top priority when it comes to a job as a Pet Care Professional. Use these tips to keep yourself safe while working with clients and their pets. This list is ever changing and growing so keep it handy and review it often to keep yourself as up to date as possible.