Whether it’s the holiday season or you simply want to thank your senior pet sitters for their help throughout the year, there are some gifts that are great choices since they can’t usually purchase these items on their own. If your senior pet sitters are family members who live in your home, doing some things to improve your home will inadvertently help them out as a gift. Otherwise, you can do favors and tasks that enhance their lives as much as they enhance your life. Senior pet sitters can take a huge weight off your shoulders as they pet sit your four-footed family member while you go to work or accomplish errands. As much as you appreciate senior pet sitters, they’ll appreciate you for a thoughtful gift if you decide to go with one of the gifts below.
There are plenty of reasons why you might want to gift a senior pet sitter something that they can’t buy on their own. Some seniors may be on a fixed income through social security. They may also want to save their funds for the rest of their retirement and avoid large, lavish purchases. While you may pay them a little as a senior pet sitter, many of them could benefit from having help with bigger buys, such as a pool, landscaping the yard, and other services or expensive goods. Gifting something like this to your senior pet sitters tells them that you care about them and that you appreciate the work that they do.
Everyone loves to feel appreciated through gifts, so giving a gift that they can’t buy for themselves will make them feel even more excited to be on the receiving end of a present. Some pet sitters might not realize how much their work means to you until you give them a thoughtful gift. Even if some of these gifts also double as a gift to yourself, your pet sitters will thank you for thinking of them when you get these gifts that they can’t buy for themselves.
Landscape Your Yard
Since a pet sitter might spend plenty of the day outside watching your pooch play outside, do their “business,” or take a bath, calling up a landscape business to landscape your yard can be a gift to yourself and your pet sitter. When a yard has been freshly landscaped, it makes it a more comfortable and enjoyable environment for guests and those who live in the home. If your hedges haven’t been shaped in a while or you can’t remember the last time you cut your grass, hiring a professional local landscaping team can make a huge difference. When you hire a senior pet sitter, landscaping can be an important part of your household routine. This is because you don’t want your pet sitter to fall or struggle through an unlandscaped yard.
Install a Pool
With a senior pet sitter, it can pay to offer them perks to the job that isn’t exactly monetary. If you install a pool and let your pet sitter use it, they might not even want to take an hourly rate for the job. Even if they still get paid, they’ll appreciate the opportunity to cool off during or after a pet-sitting shift. If your pet loves to play in the water, your pet sitter can have fun in the pool while pet-sitting. Calling an inground pool company is the first step to installing a pool. Once the pool is installed, you’ll be able to enjoy it with your family, friends, and the senior pet sitter in your life.
Clean Your Carpets
When you work a lot of hours, you might let the state of your carpets go by the wayside. As a pet parent, carpet cleaning is a job that you should take seriously, though. This is because fur, pet dander, and other pet-related materials can accumulate in the carpet over time. As they build up, they can make your carpet a hazard for people with allergies or other conditions that are triggered by pet dander and fur. Outside of this, you’ll want your home to look and feel good when your pet sitter visits. A dirty carpet is a surefire way to make visitors feel uncomfortable.
Additionally, some senior pet sitters may have health conditions that are brought on by carpeting that hasn’t been cleaned in a while. While it’s not your fault that they have these health conditions, it is kind if you do what you can to help reduce their symptoms. Cleaning your carpet and cleaning any other fabric surfaces in your home should reduce allergens and irritants. It should also make your home feel like a more inviting atmosphere for guests. If you want to do yourself and your pet sitter a favor, scheduling a carpet cleaning today is a small but great one to do.
Fence Your Yard
One of the greatest joys of being a senior pet sitter is watching your pet play. When you move to play time outside, they can enjoy watching your pet while relishing some rays of sunlight and fresh air. This is good for your pet and for your pet sitter. Before you let your pet have a free run of the yard, it’s best to call your local fencing company to have them install an appropriate fence. Otherwise, you run the risk of getting a call from your pet sitter that your pet has escaped. This kind of situation could have devastating consequences.
While no one wants to think about it, an unfenced yard with a free-roaming pet can lead to injury, losing the animal, and even death. Because of these risks, fencing your yard can also give you and your pet sitter peace of mind around your pet going outside. Before settling on a specific type of fencing, you should research different options for fences. Some fences may be better suited to letting a pet run loose than others. Some fences are a physical barrier between your yard and the road or other yards that are made out of metal, wood, or related materials. Other fences such as electrical fences don’t appear different to anyone looking at your home from outside, but they make a difference in where your pet will go and how your pet will respect the boundaries of the yard. No matter how you decide to fence your yard, letting your pet sitter know that your pet is safe to go outside with them without a leash can be a gift in and of itself. They’ll appreciate it if they don’t have to worry about your pet running away or getting into trouble in the neighbor’s yards.
Furnish Your Yard
As we said in the previous tip, senior pet sitters tend to enjoy being outside like the rest of us. To truly allow them to enjoy the great outdoors while they’re pet sitting, you’ll want to gift them comfortable outdoor furniture such as a porch swing, porch seats, and a table with options for creating shade. Outdoor furniture can make your home a place of relaxation for your pet sitter. As they’re watching your pets run around in the yard, outdoor furniture gives them a place to sit and keep an eye on the pets in a comfortable seating area.
Of course, furnishing your yard has benefits for more than just your pet sitter. It also helps you have the same perks. If you want to kick your outdoor furniture up a notch to suit your pet, you can add outdoor pet furniture to enrich your pet and give them a place to lay in the sun. As your pet and your pet sitter are soaking up some sunlight, it will leave them happier and healthier over time. No one wants to be cooped up in the house on a gorgeous day. This is what makes outdoor furniture a great gift for you, your pet, and, of course, your senior pet sitters.
Buy Local Baked Treats
If your senior pet sitters love to spoil your dog or cat rotten with treats, buying locally baked treats for your pooch or kitty can be a gift that keeps on giving. If you’re visiting local bakeries, you can pick up some treats for your favorite furry friend and for your senior pet sitters. Some bakeries have options for treats that are safe for pets to consume alongside treats that are safe for humans to consume. Other bakeries might only have treats that are suitable for people or treats that are suitable for dogs. Still, if you know your pet sitter has a sweet tooth, picking up some cookies or other goodies can be a small way to let them know you appreciate their work. If they wouldn’t usually buy baked goods for themselves, then you can do them a favor and get baked treats for them as a gift.
Remove Invasive Pests
When you have a pet sitter, it’s important to make sure that he or she feels comfortable and safe in your home and yard. Part of this process includes regularly contacting a pest control service to get rid of any unwanted or invasive pests. If you have a problem with fleas, cockroaches, mice, or other pests, your pet sitter may not look forward to coming to your home. In fact, they may also consider quitting if you don’t resolve the issue. While pest control services are something that you should contact whenever you notice a pest problem, maintaining a pest-free home can be a great gift to your pet sitter and yourself. Your pets may also feel more comfortable and healthy if they live in a pest-free home.
If you need to exterminate invasive pests, you might have to leave your home for a few days. Alternatively, you may be able to stay there and simply avoid the area where pest control measures were taken until it dries or the issue is resolved. For this reason, keeping your pet sitter in the loop about what you may need during this time is important. A pet sitter might appreciate having more hours with your pet when you need to board the pet at their house while your home is undergoing pest removal. Additionally, they’ll appreciate not having to worry about pests when they go to your home.
Make Your Tub Safer
If your senior pet sitter helps you get grooming tasks done such as bathing your dog or cleaning out fish tanks, making your tub safer can be a great gift for them. Installing a walk in bathtub can increase the safety of your bathroom for seniors and folks with limited mobility. What’s more, it can make it easier to bathe a bigger dog because the dog can walk right into the tub instead of being hoisted over the edge of it.
Cool Off With a Sprinkler
In the middle of the summer, nothing’s more refreshing than taking a run through a lawn sprinkler. If a pool feels out of reach, hooking up a lawn sprinkler and letting your pet sitter know that he or she can use it to cool off when pet sitting can be a nice gift. If your pet loves water, the joy of watching your pet run through the sprinkler can be enough of a gift for the animal lovers and pet sitters in your circle.
Pick Up Local Trash
If your senior pet sitter has a hard time accomplishing everyday tasks such as removing trash from their home, calling a local trash service for him or her can be an unexpected gift that he or she can’t buy on their own. When we remove trash and clutter from our homes, we feel like our life is less cluttered. By offering to pick up your pet sitter’s trash, you’re repaying the favor of pet sitting and then some.
Getting a gift for your senior pet sitters that they can’t buy on their own is a great way to say thank you. After all of their hard work, a gift can let them know that you truly appreciate them. Of course, the best gift of all for pet sitters is cat snuggles or puppy tail wags. Still, an unexpected present never hurt anyone!