How are they vetted?
Approximately 30 people a week enquire about becoming a petsitter (Animal Aunt) for us in spite of the fact that we have never advertised for staff. We actually take on 3-4 of these each week. After an initial conversation to determine if they are likely to be suitable we send a registration form to them to get full details of their background, experience with animals, and four referees names for us to write to. We write to each of the referees not only asking them to confirm the honesty / integrity / skills of the applicant, but also for anything that may make the person unsuitable (drink, drugs, severe financial problems, previous behaviour etc.) We do not use any person until we have received all four references. Approximately 4 people per week are selected to come to our office for a three hour interview / briefing. During this we explain carefully exactly what house and animal sitting involves, and what we and the clients expect of them. A lot of the briefing is devoted to passing
