To our dear pet parents,
We know this is a stressful and confusing time as concerns about COVID-19 start to affect daily life around our country, and closer to Miami-Dade. Some locals are canceling travel plans and working remotely, so Equipaws Pet Services is also starting to feel the impact.
While we know that many of you are exercising caution, we want to encourage you to try and maintain your pet’s normal routine as much as possible. Regular exercise is extremely important for dogs and dramatic changes to their day-to-day life can compound anxiety and stress for your pup.
Should you or a member of your household become infected with the novel coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends limiting contact with your pets. Though there have not yet been reports of pets becoming sick with COVID-19 nor reports of pets spreading the disease to humans, the CDC advises sick owners to find help in caring for their pets and to avoid contact directly with them.
Our staff and our clients’ safety has always been a top priority for Equipaws Pet Services, which is why our pet care specialists are following the CDC’s recommendations when they enter your homes.
We have taken the following measures to you and them safe:
- They will be provided with disposable surgical gloves to put on when coming into your home.
- They will wash their hands before and after coming into contact with your pets.
- As always, they stay away from other people and pets on walks as much as possible.
- Should one of our pet care specialists show any signs of illness, they will be required to stay home from work until they are fully recovered.
- Should one of our pet care specialists arrive at a pet parent’s home and find that the pet parent is sick or that there are any signs of someone in the home being sick, they have been instructed to call our management team and leave the home.
- As you know, disinfecting solutions have been out of stock. However, we have supplies on order and are awaiting their arrival so we can distribute them to our team.
We are also postponing events until everything has normalized, just to be safe.
Temporary Travel Cancellation Policy
Since many flights and events have been canceled, we have made temporary adjustments to our cancellation policy for clients using our travel care services – Pet Sitting, Overnight Pet Care and boarding services. All travel arrangements made and paid between March 1 – April 30, 2020 will be able to receive full credit and use their payment for future reservation dates should you be unable to travel due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
For daily dog walking clients: we understand the severity of the situation and want to be as flexible as possible. However, our team is relying on these visits for their livelihood and plan their days around them. Please tell us with as much notice as possible if your schedule changes, preferably by 6:00 PM the night before your schedule service during this time.
Finally, Equipaws Pet Services is a small, local business that depends on our regular clients. Our commitment to our staff means we strive to provide competitive compensation and SEP-IRA benefits to our full-time employees. While many businesses are undoubtedly affected by the current uncertainty, our services are often uniquely impacted when travel plans are canceled or when office workers stay home. The dog walkers & pet sitters who take such good care of your pups are all affected by booking cancellations or reductions in service requests.
If possible, we hope you’ll continue to support Equipaws Pet Services during this time. Whether it’s giving your pup the exercise they need, helping you create a quiet and productive work environment at home, our pet sitting and dog walking services are here for you and your pets
If you have any additional questions about our safety and sanitary procedures or other concerns related to coronavirus and COVID-19, please contact us.
Let’s continue being kind and supporting each other!
Flavia and your Equipaws team
A founding member of the Equipaws family, Frankie can mostly be found working behind the scenes, helping co-create online branding, managing several social media accounts, designing brand collateral, writing copy, and managing events. She also fills in for pet sitters and dog walkers when needed in Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, and South Miami. Her own small pack consists of Boots the Shih Tzu mix and Nutmeg the Chiweenie.
