30/05/2024
Written as an answer to a comment that Licenced home boarders charge too much and labelled us "greedy". Written by Kari Self and shared with her permission.
My finalised script. Thank you to those who contributed. I know we could all share loads more. ...but for now.
"I speak for thousands of licenced businesses, particularly home boarders up and down England when say the following...in response to owners who state that Licenced home boarders are greedy!!
We appreciate some humans are first time dog owners or are new to home boarding as opposed to kennels & many, many, many are unaware that anyone looking after your dog in the businesses home (not owners) require to be licenced by their council, compliant to government regulations and inspected by their councils animal welfare team.
Many also are not aware that the majority of carers on Rover, Bark, Pet Backer, Pawshake, Holidogs and other such 'canine caring' platforms also require to have an individual licence pertaining to their own home and business.
Just because these platforms say the carer is insured by them, they are NOT if the individual does not have a licence.
It's simple: NO LICENCE = INVALID BUSINESS INSURANCE =INVALIDATES OWNERS own DOG/PET INSURANCE.
Only by using licenced service you protected by the businesses insurance.
Always ask to see that person's licence...do not assume they have one just because they say they are registered or fully insured, or licenced. Many multiple people falsely claim they are.
If you haven't seen that licence and checked the expiry date...then they are not licensed. And if you used a licenced service last year, or whenever your dog last used them, ask to see it again...do not assume they are still licenced!! Glendee Kennels traded without a licence for 2 years and yet hundreds of owners kept using them & recommending them to others. But they were not legally trading nor insured.
Weather you knowingly or in unknowingly use and unlicensed service you risk your dogs health and safety & welfare
We do not take kindly to owners referring to licenced businesses as GREEDY...yes you read it right.
We offer a service where we are insured, trade legally & where your dogs needs are our priority
Unlicensed carers on Rover averagely charge £40/dog/night then with Rovers fees on top and no insurance to cover any anomalies or incidents an owner pays around £60/ night!!
Firstly each of us work for far less than the minimum hourly wage.
Home boarders are limited to the number of dogs per day.
The average number of dogs is 4 (less if we have our own dogs).
If we are lucky we sleep for 6 hrs. So let's base our hourly rate on 18hrs work / day...at a average of £35/dog/night. Per hour we get paid £7.77 !! (4 dogs x £35/night x 18 hrs 🤦🏼♀️) For one dog it's less than £2/HR. Far less than the minimum wage & then we have to pay all the extras on top. No we are not greedy.
Licenced home boarder businesses pay for:
• Planning applications
• licence applications
• renewal applications
• inspection fees
• awarded licence
• modifying their homes & outdoor spaces
• change of use applications
• mortgage applications
• income tax
• NI class 4
• accountants
• qualifications some of which are compulsory
• first aid training & kits
• business overheads, extra utilities and insurances
• equipment both within and outside of their premises
• printers, laptops, stationery,
• wear & tear on their homes/ premises & vehicles.
• all maintainance costs
• ensuring their premises are safe & secure
• require to be compliant to all regulations set out...which includes replacing height of our fencing outside, erecting double barriers, putting safety gates up in our home
• replace garden ground cover
• replacing flooring, carpets, because someone's dog has decided to use the inside as a toilet!!
• registering their businesses with a vet
• using their vehicles to transport dogs to fulfill exercise & enrichment needs, going to vet.
• extra storage space, fridges, freezers to appropriately and safely store the dogs food in
• extra ventilation & heating equipment. Aircon etc
• all the running bills of extra equipment
• bedding, toys, treats, enrichment equipment, the list is endless...
• replacing furniture & furnishings
• replacing personal items, clothing. ( On average I get through a quality pair of walking boots every 4-6 months doing this job)
• we monitor their play. Do not think that when the sun is out and we are in our garden lazing in the sunshine getting a tan when we have 4 different dogs from 4 different households, with 4 different personalities, energy levels etc etc. No our eyes and hears are alert to sounds, body language, movement.
Your dog gets 24/7 human contact.
We are not kennels!!
Under our regulations and for the health and safety of all our dogs we are expected to ensure our homes are disinfected between dogs, multiple times a day if necessary to particularly if there are spillages, leaks. Our washing machines are on several times a day/week. Everything from toys, to bedding, throws, bowls, towels anything a dog uses is clean and disinfected
We have to assess each individual dog on their behaviour as one, but as a group to ensure they are all compatible..
The majority of us do not get a full night's sleep
We have to keep detailed records of the dogs visits. Register them all.
Have compliant documents, policies and procedures in place written, updated, maintained.
Dogs on average get 2 walks a day. An unregulated dog walker gets paid on average £15/HR. For two walks a day it's £30...so if your dog stays with a licenced home boarder you are only paying on average £5 for boarding which is £0.27/ HR/ dog.
So do you think we are greedy now??
We have high standards, we are held accountable for every aspect of our job 24/7.
As well as all the licensing & insurance costs vand other major costs, licenced home boarders look after your dogs, giving up their
social and family life, with no staff to come run it for them, to run a legitimate and legal business , where as an unlicenced one will just go out and leave your dog unattended and with other dogs too....with no accountability or care for the welfare of your dogs.
I, myself and known to give up my valuable days off to support my clients, so that they can go out with their friends. We are passionate about our businesses and we are certainly not in it for the money.
And I can go on....but I won't because by now I'm sure you get the gist.
No one ever questions a trade person who charges £60+/HR, like a plumber to tighten a loose bolt, or a hairdresser to cut and style your hair for 2 hours at £70+, or a nail technician who charges £30/HR!!
We get less than £2/HR for one person's dog & in many cases less than £1.20/hr!!
So no we are not greedy!
You get what you pay for. Quality, professional, licenced, insured businesses who are accountable and responsible, legal. We are not committing a criminal offence by not being licenced.
A Licenced business has contracts in place to safeguard you and your dog...but rarely will we take an emergency or a desparate owner, as dogs must go through our assessment process to ensure everyone is safe & everyone is compatible....so please don't expect that we will.
Multiple owners are dropped/ let down by their unlicenced carer last minute leaving them desperate to find someone else.... And I'm sure we will see and approve hundreds of posts over the next few months with people looking for a licensed service, because of such unlicensed people and their lack of care, accountability and responsibility.
I'm sure many of us can tell you horror stories about unlicenced businesses.
Only 10 days ago an owner in the Watford area, came back from her holiday only to find the unlicenced person refused to give her, her dog back, and others to their owners too.
And last summer in Luton, a Hitchin couple left their dog with an unlicenced person they found on Rover. The dog jumped out of a first floor window in a panic, desperate to find her owners. Not only did she damage her chest and legs in the fall but went missing for 16 hours in an unfamiliar town. Owners tried to claim against Rover they were unsuccessful because the person wasn't licensed. Instead Rover dropped the unlicensed person. And when I reached out to this said unlicensed person because they were local, informing him that if he was to a board a dog in his home he needs to be licensed by law, to which he responded "Thank you for your concern and your tip off. I will pass it on to those that need this information" on other words he couldn't give two hoots whether he was breaking the law.
Would you leave your child with an unregulated, unregistered, Unlicensed child minder or child care facility...or get into a car with a person who you knew didn't have a licence or insurance?? We doubt it.
Remember when you pay for your dog to stay with a licenced home boarder our lives for that duration of time revolves round your dog & keeping them, healthy, safe, enriched & loved.
So suggesting that we are greedy & that greed is our motivation for caring then that's simply in a word is insulting.
If you do not value the work we do & how we support and care for animal welfare then may I suggest you leave our groups & go risk your dog under the care of unscrupulous, UNLICENCED, law breaking humans who put money before welfare.
They are the ones who are greedy....not us !"
