Overnight sitting in York
Overnight pet sitting in York, in your own house.
I stay the night in your home and look after your animals there. Nobody travels, nothing gets packed, and the house is lived in while you are away.
Overnight in your home
£50a night
Each extra pet
£25 a night
Bank holidays
Nights start at £60
Walks are included in an overnight dog sit. Nothing is held until we have met at your house.
Half of this is the house.
The animals are the reason you are calling. The empty house is the thing you think about on the second night.
An overnight sit is what it sounds like: I arrive in the evening, I sleep in your house, and I am there in the morning. Arrival and departure times are agreed with you before the booking and written into the care notes, so there is no vague window to worry about.
While I am there the post comes off the mat, the bins go out on the right night, the plants get watered and the lights go on and off the way they would if you were home. The nights I hold for you are yours.
It suits you if
- Your dog hates the car, or a cattery would be the worst week of your cat’s year.
- Something needs giving at a set time, or an older animal needs watching.
- You have a dog and a cat who need entirely different things on the same evening.
- You would rather the house was not sitting dark for a fortnight.
It is not for you if
- You want your dog boarded at my house, or dropped at daycare — I do neither.
- You want dog walking as a booking on its own.
- You need someone in the house every hour of the day. I am there overnight, and how long your animals are alone in the day is something we agree at the meet and greet and write down.
- Your dog cannot be left at all, or has a bite history I only find out about afterwards.
One night, in order
The same shape every night of a stay.
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Evening, when I arrive
I let myself in the way we agreed when we set the booking up. Whoever is waiting at the door gets seen to first, then the lights go on in the rooms you would normally have them on in.
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Dinner, walk, garden
Your dog is fed at his usual time and walked — walks are part of an overnight dog sit, not an extra on the invoice. The cat gets food, fresh water and a clean tray. Medication as prescribed, at the times written in the care notes.
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The rest of the evening
Post off the mat, bins out on the right night, curtains and heating the way you have them. You get regular photos and messages, as often as we agreed before you left. If your cat has spent the whole evening on top of the wardrobe, that is what the message says.
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Overnight
I sleep in the house. Your dog sleeps where he sleeps every other night — if that is the end of your bed and you are happy with it, that is where he sleeps.
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Morning
Out into the garden first thing, breakfast on time, medication, water changed, trays done. I have a retriever of my own at home, so muddy paws and a towel by the back door are an ordinary start to my day rather than a surprise.
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The day you come home
Washing up done, bed stripped, rubbish out with me, and the house left the way I found it. Access comes back to you the way we agreed at the start.
What £50 a night covers
And what it does not, said plainly.
Included
- Nights slept in your house, not in mine — £50 for one pet
- Feeding, fresh water, litter trays and toilet breaks
- Walks and garden time for dogs
- Medication as prescribed, including injections such as insulin where we have gone through them beforehand
- Post, bins, plants, curtains and heating
- Regular photos and messages, at a frequency we agree
- The house left as I found it
Not included
- Boarding at my house, or daycare
- Dog walking as a standalone booking
- My being in the house every hour of the day
- Vet bills, food, litter or medication costs
- Anything not written into the care notes before I start
- Nights already promised to someone else
If you only need someone in and out twice a day rather than overnight, that is a drop-in visit instead — £15 for 30 minutes, £22 for an hour. Cats in particular are often better served by two visits a day than by a stranger in the house all night.
“Tamara was great with Buster, he was super chilled out and had clearly had a lovely day.”
Verified Rover booking
Keys, security and what happens if
All of it agreed in writing before the first night.
Keys and access
How I get into the house, and how that access comes back to you afterwards, is agreed with you before the booking rather than improvised on the day. Your keys and your home are treated as carefully as your animals are. Alarm codes, the stopcock, a sticking back door and the neighbour with a spare key all go in the care notes.
A house that looks lived in
Post comes off the mat rather than piling up behind the door. Bins go out and come back in. Lights, curtains and heating follow your normal evening, not mine. If a delivery is due or a window has to stay shut, tell me at the meet and greet and it gets written down.
If something goes wrong
Your vet’s details, your emergency contact and who can authorise treatment, up to what cost, are agreed in writing before the booking starts. If something happens I follow what we agreed, so that decision is not being made by somebody standing in an airport queue.
More than one pet
The nightly rate covers one pet. Each additional pet is £25 a night, so 1 pet is £50 a night, 2 pets is £75 a night, 3 pets is £100 a night. The same £25 applies on bank-holiday nights.
Hours I am in the house
Arrival and departure times are agreed with you before the booking and written into the care notes, along with any part of the day your animals are on their own.
What you get while you are away
Regular photos and messages, at a frequency we agree before you go. Honest ones — a cat under the bed is reported as a cat under the bed.
How far out I stay
Overnight stays reach further than drop-ins do, because I am only making the journey once. About fifteen miles of York is the usual limit for a night, against about five miles for visits.
York and the ring of villages
York, Acomb, Clifton, Fulford, Heslington, Bishopthorpe, Huntington, Rawcliffe, Poppleton, Haxby, Copmanthorpe, Dunnington
Overnights, further out
Strensall, Stamford Bridge, Tadcaster, Easingwold, Pocklington, Wetherby
Further out than that, ask anyway. There is no travel surcharge — whether I can take a booking further out depends on what else is in the diary that week.
How the nights get held
Five steps, in this order. Nothing is held until step five, and I will not commit to sleeping in a house I have never stood in.
You send me your dates
Dates, postcode, and what animals you have.
We talk it through
Routines, access, and whether I’m the right fit for your animals.
I come to your home
A free meet and greet in the house I’d be staying in, before anything is booked.
We write the care down
Feeding, walks, medication, your vet, and who to contact if something happens.
Square invoice, dates held
I send a Square invoice; the agreed deposit secures the booking.
Questions about overnights
All questions and answersAre you actually there all night?
Yes. An overnight sit means I sleep in your house, in the bed you have said I can use. Arrival and departure times are agreed with you before the booking and written into the care notes, so nobody is guessing.
Is walking my dog extra?
No. Walks and garden time are part of an overnight dog sit. What I do not do is take dog walking as a booking on its own, and I do not board dogs at my house or run daycare.
How do bank holidays work?
Bank-holiday rates apply on official bank holidays in England. Those nights start at £60 rather than £50, with the same £25 per additional pet per night. Which of your nights I am treating as a bank holiday is written down on the quote, before you pay anything.
Could you be looking after someone else’s animals during my booking?
The nights are yours — I am sleeping at your house, not somewhere else. During the day I may fit in drop-in visits for other clients, the same way anyone leaves the house to work. What matters is your pet’s routine and how long they are happy on their own, and we agree both of those before the booking rather than leaving it to chance.
Send me the nights and I’ll tell you if they’re free.
Your dates, your postcode, and what animals you have. If the nights are already gone I’ll say so straight away rather than leaving you waiting.
What happens next
I reply to say whether the dates are free.
We talk, then I come to your house to meet you and your animals.
Nothing is confirmed until after that.