F.A.Q’s & Paw-licies
We currently service 79911, 79912, 79922, 79932, 88008, and some areas of 79936.
Happy Tails role in the home is to care and maintain a safe environment for pets. Your Pet Care Professional will feed and water, administer medications, clean litter boxes, clean up accidents that we can find, exercise and play with pets, and provide other home care options such as bringing in the mail, newspaper and adjusting lights. We will also report to the owner as requested. It is important to communicate to the Pet Care Professional. It is important to express the times or frequencies you would like certain home services performed (such as watering or poop pick-up). Please contact us if you do not see a service that is needed, to see if we can help.
Happy Tails does not prefer to share responsibilities of the home or pets with anyone other than the owner(s). Happy Tails office and your Pet Care Professional both must be directly notified of the owner(s) absence if service is requested and someone else will be in the home. Happy Tails Pet Care Professionals reserve the right to relinquish duties at any time in this circumstance and communication is key. We cannot be held liable if someone else is caring for the home or pets. If a cleaning or gardening service is scheduled, please let us know.
Happy Tails Pet Care Professionals service the neighborhoods they live in! We prefer the same professional to service your pets every time. This way, your pets develop a relationship with him or her and you have a one-on-one relationship with the person providing care to your furry (or scaled or feathered) family. If for some reason your regular Pet Care Professional is not available, a fully informed Happy Tails Pet Care Professional will be introduced to take care of your pets. Your pets will always be happy, safe and secure with Happy Tails.
Yes, and it is required. When you have made the decision to have Happy Tails take care of your pets, then an in-your-home consultation will be scheduled. At the consultation, you are able to see your Pet Care Professional’s interaction with your pet(s), learn about the home, obtain house keys if service dates are needed, and conduct a thorough interview. This consultation lasts approximately 15-45 minutes. There is a consultation fee of $10. This $10 fee will be applied as credit towards your first bill. The $10 fee will be required at the consultation. Acceptable payment methods are cash or check. We ask that all owners or parties involved to be present at the consultation.
Of course! However, schedules fill quickly, especially during holiday seasons, so we suggest that you schedule any holiday or weekend services well in advance. We do not charge extra for weekend care however there is a premium for certain holidays listed on our Services & Rates page. Holiday services are only available to Returning Clients.
Your Pet Care Professional will ask for your time preference for services at your initial consultation, and do their best to service at any requested time in order for services to be tailored to your pet(s). Most client visits are requested anywhere between 7 am to 8 pm. Please understand that we cannot always guarantee a specific time of arrival to your home and ask to allow a two-hour time interval. This two-hour window allows time for the unavoidable circumstances that may arise at the previous client’s or travel.
- All pets: A minimum of one visit per day is required. In certain circumstances, we would require more than one visit per day.
Evaluations will be made at the consultation. There will be no exceptions.
Though we specialize in customized pet care for dogs and cats, we will also provide care for all other types of pets – horses, birds, fish, reptiles, and other farm animals. All breeds of dogs and cats are eligible for our service including those with medical conditions, unless the pet expresses any behavioral issues that prevent us properly caring for your pet.
We are unable to provide service for New Clients over major holiday weekends. Holiday services are only available to Returning Clients. To use our services over holidays, you would need to have used our services at least once over a non-holiday period to become an established client.
Holidays not eligible for new clients: New Year’s Week, Easter Weekend, Memorial Weekend, 4th of July Week, Labor Day Weekend, Thanksgiving Week, Christmas Week.
For our visits, Happy Tails feels it is our utmost importance that we make the environment safe and happy for the pets. We do not time our visits. Every household is different. If your pet is afraid the first visit, we will take time to try to help them trust us. If we need to wash bedding or clean messes, we will be there to get it done. Happy Tails Pet Care Professionals are concerned about your pets happiness, your home needs, and less about the ticking clock! Our services are tailored to what we provide on our Rates and Services page. Every household is different, so when duties are complete and pets are happy and comfortable, the Pet Care Professional will leave the home.
Due to the nature of our particular services, we provide a maximum of 10 consecutive days for vacation services. If you need services for longer than 10 days, please email us.
Contact us as soon as you know there’s a change in your plans! Things happen, some unforeseeable.
- Credit may be given in the event of an early arrival home. Credit will not be given with same day notice of early arrival. If credit amount is less than $50, it must be used within 6 months. Credits over $50 do not expire.
- Any changes to bookings are subject to a $10 change fee.
- Holidays: Any services booked/scheduled over a holiday will be subject to a $30 cancellation fee per holiday day. Credit will not be given with an early arrival home or late departure. The cancellation fee will not apply if cancelled within 24 hours of the booking confirmation. Credit card on file is required for all holiday bookings.
We recommend that you let Happy Tails retain your key(s) for future service, but will return your key(s) at your request. We ask that if possible, two keys are provided. One key is stored at our office and one key is given to the Pet Care Professional performing the pet care or dog walking service. If your Pet Care Professional becomes ill or is otherwise incapacitated, we have a key available for a backup. If two keys cannot be made available to us at the consultation, or if a client would prefer their keys returned, Happy Tails will accommodate most circumstances and will still work with our client. Happy Tails reserves the right to properly dispose of any keys or openers on file for clients that have not utilized our services within 2 or more years. Clients are fully responsible to request a key return before disposal.
If the Pet Care Professional needs to obtain a key each time, a $10.00 key pick-up surcharge will included in the total.
Your Happy Tails Pet Care Professionals will not lock keys inside the home on your last scheduled visit — there may be unforeseen circumstances and your return may be delayed. We want to ensure your pets health and safety.
Pet care is a service and like other service industries, tipping is not required but appreciated when a job is well done. We encourage you to phone in or email us with your comments.
References can be requested prior to the consultation and will include serviced clients specific to your personal Happy Tails Pet Care Professional. Be sure to request references at the time of scheduling the consultation. References can also be emailed prior to your initial consultation if requested.
Clients are responsible for providing their pet’s food, toys, leashes and other supplies & treats. We will replenish supplies; however, a trip/supply pickup charge will apply.
Clients are also responsible for filling out all necessary information and confirming that the dates & visits booked are correct prior to services. While we do perform a consultation and duties are discussed, your Pet Care Professional is best prepared with the online forms. This information allows your Pet Care Professional to fulfill each client’s requests to the best of their ability. It is also important if a sit has not been done in a long period of time, to make the Pet Care Professional aware of any changes.
Upon returning home, clients should directly notify their Pet Care Professional or Happy Tails office. Happy Tails Pet Care Professionals may opt to automatically continue making visits until we hear from you. Happy Tails reserves the right to bill for additional visits at your contracted rate.
Happy Tails will use professional judgment in the assessment of your pet’s medical needs and we will make all reasonable efforts to reach our clients or their emergency contacts before seeking medical treatment. Veterinary information is required from clients for Happy Tails to approve medical procedures and advice, just in case. Medical treatment will be done through the client’s assigned vet, or if he/she cannot be reached, we will use a veterinarian of our choice. The client is fully responsible for all charges of the veterinary clinic.
Happy Tails does not service breeder/kennel operations, which would include:
- Home boarding
- Breeding
We require 100% payment upon your Pet Care Professional’s first visit, unless a monthly payment plan has been discussed. If payment is forgotten, please do the courtesy of mailing payment to the address on your estimate or arrange to pay by credit card, so your Pet Care Professional does not have to make an extra visit to pick up forgotten payment.
Payment can be:
- Left for your Pet Care Professional via check or cash.
- Mailed with check to the address listed on your estimate prior to your start date
- Paid by credit card on file (additional processing fee). You may call us at 915-491-6457 to place a card on file.
- We do not accept Cash App, Venmo, Paypal, Google Pay, or Apple Pay at this time. Zelle is accepted.
Any payment not received within one week of client’s arrival will be subject to a $3.00 surcharge/day.
We do not recommend our pet sitting services (vacation/out of town) for young, high energy dogs. We typically do not provide vacation services for dogs under 1 year old. If they are well-behaved and trained we may make an exception depending upon their behavior with our Pet Care Professional and in the home. We strongly recommend a daycare/boarding environment or live-in type services if you feel your pet is in need of long exercise or has high energy. We can provide walking or playtime services for dogs well-behaved and controllable on leash for non-pet sitting service. Not every pet is a match for in-home care and we reserve the right to refuse service.
Due to El Paso’s inclement and often unpredictable weather we will not service dogs who are outdoor only. Happy Tails Pet Care Professional must have access into the home where dogs can be placed if necessary. We do not accept clients who refuse access to the home to do so. We recommend a set up with kennel or room indoors if the dogs are not used to being in the home. We will not make any exceptions to this policy and Pet Care Professionals will use their discretion to bring dogs inside due to weather while the pets are in our care. We reserve the right to refuse service.