Pet Sitter — Overnight & Holiday Care

Royal Tails — Pet Care in Your Castle

Independent Contractor | Niagara Region

Royal Tails is a premium in-home pet care service serving families throughout the Niagara Region. We provide personalized care in our clients’ homes, allowing pets to remain comfortable in their familiar surroundings while their people are away.

We are looking for an experienced, dependable Pet Sitter to join our team with a particular focus on overnight and holiday pet sitting.

This is not primarily a dog-walking position. The successful candidate will be responsible for providing attentive, qualified care for pets while their families are travelling, including overnight stays in clients’ homes.

Compensation

Approximately $48–$120 per day, depending on the overnight booking, number of pets and care requirements.

This is an independent contractor position, with bookings offered based on client needs and your availability.

Responsibilities

As a Royal Tails Pet Sitter, you may be responsible for:

- Staying overnight in clients’ homes with their pets
- Following individualized feeding, medication, exercise and care instructions
- Providing evening and morning care routines
- Providing walks, outdoor time, play and enrichment appropriate to each pet
- Providing companionship and reassurance throughout the stay
- Caring for multiple pets within the same household
- Administering medications when required and within your experience and comfort level
- Monitoring pets and communicating promptly if you notice a concern or change in behaviour, appetite, mobility or overall wellbeing
- Maintaining clean food and water areas, litter boxes and other basic pet-care areas
- Following established household routines and client instructions
- Respecting the client's home, privacy and belongings
- Completing agreed-upon basic home-care tasks associated with the pet-sitting booking
- Providing clients with appropriate updates and photos during their booking
- Communicating promptly and professionally with the Royal Tails team
- Following Royal Tails service standards, safety procedures and care instructions

Overnight Care

Overnight pet sitting involves more than simply sleeping in a client's home.

Our clients are trusting you with their pets, their routines and their home while they are away. You must be comfortable working independently and taking responsibility for ensuring pets receive appropriate care throughout the entire booking.

You must be comfortable

- Staying overnight in unfamiliar homes
- Following detailed care instructions independently
- Maintaining established pet routines
- Caring for pets during evening, overnight and morning periods
- Working with multiple pets
- Handling routine pet-care situations calmly and responsibly
- Recognizing when a situation requires communication or escalation
- Maintaining a clean, secure and respectful home environment

Holiday & Peak-Travel Availability

Holiday availability is an important requirement of this position.

Royal Tails experiences increased demand during weekends, holidays and peak travel periods, including:

- Christmas and New Year
- March Break
- Easter
- Summer vacation season
- Thanksgiving




- Statutory holidays and long weekends

Applicants should have meaningful availability for overnight bookings during holidays and peak travel periods.

We are particularly interested in candidates who are looking for ongoing overnight and holiday pet-sitting opportunities rather than occasional one-off bookings.

Required Qualifications & Experience

Professional pet-care work experience is required.

We are looking for someone who has demonstrated experience working professionally with clients and their pets. Being a pet lover is key, but it does not replace the professional experience required for this role.

The successful candidate will have:

- Previous professional experience in pet care, pet sitting, dog walking, veterinary care, boarding/daycare or a related pet-care setting
- Experience communicating professionally with clients
- Demonstrated reliability and accountability in a professional setting
- The ability to follow detailed instructions and established procedures
- Strong attention to detail
- The ability to work independently without direct supervision
- Good judgment when dealing with pets and unexpected situations
- Comfortable and professional communication skills
- A genuine understanding that pet care is a responsibility, not simply companionship or recreation

Pet First Aid Training or Certification is a highly valued asset. Candidates who have completed recognized Pet First Aid training are encouraged to highlight this in their application.

Experience with the following is an asset:

- Senior pets
- Puppies or kittens
- Cats
- Multiple-pet households
- Medication administration
- Pets with anxiety or behavioural sensitivities
- Pets with mobility limitations or other special-care requirements

Additional Requirements
- Reliable transportation
- A valid driver's licence
- A smartphone capable of supporting client communication and scheduling
- Ability to travel to client homes throughout your agreed service area
- Availability for overnight stays
- Availability for weekends and holidays
- Ability to maintain client confidentiality and respect privacy
- Comfortable staying in clients' homes independently

What We Expect From Our Pet Sitters

Royal Tails is a relationship-based, premium pet-care service. Our clients are trusting us with important members of their family and with access to their homes.

We expect every sitter to:

- Arrive on time and fulfill the services they have accepted
- Follow each pet's individualized care instructions
- Communicate promptly and professionally
- Maintain a clean and respectful home environment
- Provide thoughtful, attentive care rather than simply completing the minimum requirements
- Report concerns or incidents promptly
- Maintain confidentiality and respect client privacy




- Represent the Royal Tails brand professionally

Once a booking is accepted, reliability is essential. Our clients have made travel plans based on the expectation that their pets will be cared for as scheduled.

What You Can Expect From Royal Tails

As a Royal Tails contractor, you can expect:

- A professional client experience and established service standards
- Detailed information about each client and their pets
- Clear care instructions for each booking
- Access to our scheduling and client-management system
- Ongoing communication and support from the Royal Tails team
- The opportunity to build relationships with repeat clients and their pets
- Flexible, independent contractor scheduling
- Overnight and holiday booking opportunities

Service Area

Royal Tails serves clients throughout the Niagara Region, including:

Niagara-on-the-Lake, St. Catharines, Thorold, Welland, Niagara Falls and surrounding areas.

Candidates should be comfortable travelling to client homes within their agreed service area.

About You

You are dependable, professional and comfortable working independently.

You understand that being invited into someone's home while they are away is a significant responsibility. You are attentive to details, respectful of personal space and capable of following a pet's established routine without needing constant direction.

Most importantly, you already have qualified experience caring for pets and communicating with clients — and you understand the difference between casually caring for a pet and providing professional pet care.

How to Apply

Please submit your application through Indeed and include:

- A brief introduction about yourself
- Your professional pet-care experience
- The types of pets you have experience caring for
- Your general availability
- Your availability for weekends and statutory holidays
- Your availability during the Christmas/New Year period
- The Niagara areas you are able to service
- Any experience with senior, medical, anxious or special-needs pets

Please note that professional pet-care experience is required for this position.

Royal Tails — Pet Care in Your Castle

Pay: $48.00-$120.00 per day

Benefits

- Casual dress
- Flexible schedule

Application question(s):
- Are you available to stay overnight in clients' homes as part of your work?
- Are you available to provide overnight pet care during weekends, statutory holidays and peak travel periods, including Christmas/New Year?
- Do you currently hold Pet First Aid training or certification?
- Do you have reliable transportation and the ability to travel to clients' homes throughout your agreed service area within the Niagara Region?
- Which types of professional pet-care experience do you have? Mention all that apply.

Pet sitting

Dog walking

Overnight pet sitting

Boarding/daycare

Veterinary/animal hospital

Grooming

Other professional pet-care experience

- What do you enjoy about overnight pet sitting, and what do you believe is important when staying in a client's home while they are away?

Experience:
- professional pet care: 1 year (preferred)

Licence/Certification:
- Driving Licence (required)

Work Location: On the road

📌 PET SITTER — OVERNIGHT & HOLIDAY CARE (Thorold)
🏢 Royal Tails Pet Care
📍 Thorold