14/09/2025
Well, another Summer over! I hope you’re all enjoying this grey and wet weekend ☔️
I wanted to make a quick post about my new cancellation policy. I have already sent messages to clients whose dogs I have scheduled weekly, but for all of my ad hoc dog, cat and small animal clients if you could please take the time to read below -
As stated above, my cancellation policy will be changing from October. Because of the way I run my business (only doing 1 - 1 households and not group dog walks, as well as all of the cats and small animals I look after) I get to know all of my clients and their pets very well. Because of this, the majority of the time client relationships develop into friendships and I try and go above and beyond to help as a friend, rather than a service provider. For the longest time I have only charged for same day cancellations, because I know things in life can pop up unexpectedly and I’ve never wanted to take advantage of that. But unfortunately things in life also pop up unexpectedly for me too. And this year I have felt the loss hard with cancellations and not being able to fill them. Unfortunately it’s time for me to really get my business head on, and although that won’t stop me from still putting my clients and their pets first, it does mean that I will also be having to put myself and this business first with them. Because if I don’t, then I don’t believe I will be able to continue doing this years down the line.
Going forward I need a longer timeframe to be able to try and fill cancelled slots. So my new cancellation fees will be as follows:
For dog walks and dog sittings - if a service is cancelled within 48 hours before the day which a service is booked a full charge will still be applied. If cancelled within 72 hours before the day of a service is booked a 50% charge will still be applied.
For cats/small animal visits and sittings - the service needs to be cancelled 72 hours before the day it’s due to start or a 50% fee of the service will be charged.
Also going forward from next year I need to have a plan in place for the hot summer days where dog walks aren’t possible. At meet and greets I do discuss this, and clients have always agreed for me to do a pop in/garden time instead. However this year a lot of owners have been at home, so if a walk hasn’t happened and I’ve not been needed for a pop in, I haven’t charged for any service. I won’t be able to continue doing this, as this also results in big losses for me during summer months. So going forward I am still going to have to charge for those days, unless the cancellation policy above has been used.
I hope you can all understand, and that all of the above makes sense! Apologises for the long read, and if you do have any questions please message. Thank you everyone ❤️
