A worried pet parent checks her phone at an airport looking worried.
I had been in the air for four hours. The moment my phone connected to the airport wifi, the messages came through.
First: "Hey! Just checking — is Max allowed chicken? He's been staring at my lunch."
Then: "Also what time does he usually go to bed? He seems restless."
And then, the one that made my stomach drop: "Sorry to bother you — do you know if he's allergic to anything? I gave him a small piece of cheese and now I'm a bit worried."
I spent the next 45 minutes — jet-lagged, in a foreign airport, surrounded by strangers — searching through emails, old vet texts, and a notes app I hadn't opened in two years, trying to answer questions I should have been able to answer in seconds.
Max was fine, as it turned out. The cheese was fine. But I wasn't.
Because I realized I didn't have a system. I had information — just scattered across every app I'd ever downloaded and half-forgotten about.
I had his vaccination record in an email from 2023. His medication name on a label in a kitchen drawer 2,000 miles away. His vet's number in my phone under a contact name I'd misspelled. His feeding schedule in my head, approximately.
This is not a story about being a bad pet parent. Max is adored. He gets the good food and the long walks and the spot on the sofa nobody admits he's allowed on.
This is a story about the gap between loving your pet and being genuinely, practically prepared for the moments when you can't be there.
The Questions Most Pet Sitters Have to Ask
If you've ever left a pet with someone else — a friend, a professional sitter, a family member — they've needed to know answers to at least some of these pet sitter questions
What does your pet eat, and how much, and when?
Are there any foods they absolutely cannot have?
What do you do if they seem unwell?
What's the vet's number? The emergency vet's number?
What are they like with strangers? Other animals? Children?
Is there anything the sitter needs to know that isn't obvious?
Most pet parents answer these questions on the fly — a voice note on the way to the airport, a quickly typed message, a list scribbled on a piece of paper that gets lost in the chaos of leaving.
And then their pet sitter — however wonderful and caring — is guessing.
Dog waiting at home while owner is away — a common pet parent worry
What I Built Instead
After the Max cheese incident, I spent an afternoon building what I now call the Caregiver Handover page inside CalmPaws™.
It's one page. One shareable link.
Before I go anywhere — a weekend trip, a work flight, a single overnight stay — I send my pet sitter that link. It has:
Max's feeding instructions, portions, timing, and everything he cannot eat
His current medications with exact names, dosages, and when to give them
His daily routine — walks, nap times, what "restless" actually means for him
My vet's number and the nearest 24-hour emergency clinic
What to do if something goes wrong and they can't reach me
Notes on his personality (anxious around loud noises, friendly with most dogs, does not enjoy the postman)
And because it's part of CalmPaws™, when I update anything — a new medication, a change in feeding — her page updates automatically. I don't resend anything. It's just always current.
The next time I travelled, I sent the link before I left the house. She replied: "This is amazing, thank you."
No panicked airport messages. No 45-minute email search. Just a quiet flight, and a pet sitter who had everything she needed.
The Simple Fix
You don't need a complicated system. You need one page that answers the questions before they're asked.
The free CalmPaws™ emergency sheet is the starting point — it covers the essentials in about five minutes. The full system includes the complete Caregiver Handover page, so your sitter always has exactly what they need, automatically updated, shareable in one tap.
Get the free CalmPaws™ emergency sheet if you've ever Googled 'what to leave for your pet sitter' — this is that answer. Enter your email and it arrives instantly → HERE
CalmPaws™ — Set it up once. Feel calm for years.
🐾Tag a pet parent who's had a panicked message from a pet sitter. They need this.
Tag a pet parent who's had a panicked message from a pet sitter. They need this.
Tag a pet parent who's had a panicked message from a pet sitter. They need this.