Keys, Dogs, and a Real Paycheck

Love animals? This is the book that turns that into a real, insured, profitable business - without quitting your job first.

Keys, Dogs, and a Real Paycheck is the complete pet-sitting business guide: how to start a pet sitting business, what to charge, how to land your first clients without an ad budget, and how to grow a dog walking and pet care business that pays you all year - not just in December and July.

Most pet sitting books stop at "love animals and charge what you're worth." This one goes further, with real numbers and the paperwork nobody else explains:

• Services & pricing: a three-tier rate card for drop-in visits, dog walking, overnights and boarding, with 2025-2026 market ranges, add-on pricing, holiday surcharges, and the script for raising your rates without losing clients.
• Insurance & bonding: the care-custody-control trap that excludes the very animal you're paid to protect, the seven questions to ask every insurer, and real claim examples from $2,500 to $11,700.
• First clients: the cold-start system - Google Business Profile, the veterinary clinic introduction that actually works, review generation, and how to use booking platforms as scaffolding instead of a 20% tax forever.
• The paperwork pack: service agreement, pet profile sheets, vet release, emergency guardianship form, visit reports, invoices - what each must contain and where to source them free.
• Operations & safety: the 20-point meet-and-greet checklist, the written emergency protocol, and the twelve mistakes that quietly kill new pet sitters.
• The 90-day launch plan: every step in order, with dates, from EIN to your first rate review.

Written for first-time pet sitters, dog walkers, and animal lovers building a home-based business or side hustle - and honest about the part nobody mentions: seasons, loneliness, grief, and the moment you decide whether to stay small on purpose or hire.

Inside you'll also find: the forms directory, the full resource list (associations, insurance, Red Cross pet first aid, SBA steps), and a chapter for readers outside the U.S.

Includes a full disclaimer and AI-assistance disclosure. Get the keys. Keep the paycheck.