Type of animal(s)

Little Dolittle provides a home visit service for the following animals:

• Amphibian

• Cat

• Degu

• Ferret

• Fish

• Gerbil

• Guinea pig

• Hamster

• Insect

• Mouse

• Poultry

• Rabbit

• Rat

• Tortoise

 

Enclosures and equipment

Little Dolittle cannot be held liable for costs relating to damage to cages, vivariums, other animal enclosures, accessories (such as lighting, etc). If lighting or heating stops working then Little Dolittle will do its best to replace the item but the cost must be reimbursed by the owner on their return.

 

Food

Little Dolittle requests customers to supply their own dried/live/frozen food, hay/straw, fruit, vegetables and plants to cover the duration of the booking. In the event that additional items need to be purchased (pet food, litter, cleaning supplies or other necessary items that contribute to the health and wellbeing of your pet), Little Dolittle will purchase these and retain a receipt. The pet owner is responsible for reimbursement of these items within 7 days of the customer’s return.

 

Booking

A completed booking form and pet registration form is required for each booking if you are a new customer. If an existing customer requests home visits then unless the information already held by Little Dolittle is confirmed as still correct by the customer, a booking form/pet registration form will need to be completed and submitted to Little Dolittle.

 

An initial meet and greet in-home consultation will be organised at your home after receipt of the booking form. This will be an opportunity to introduce your pet(s) to Little Dolittle, discuss the requirements of your pet(s), share any concerns, key drop-off arrangements, alarm/padlock codes, location of pet’s supplies at customer’s home, discussion of other services required (watering plants, collecting post, putting bins out, etc). Full written instructions are required from the customer (via the booking form/pet registration form) to ensure that the expected services are delivered. Little Dolittle operates a minimum booking of 3 days.

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During extreme weather situations, we may have to amend the prebooked visiting schedule to your home. We promise to notify you of any changes at the earliest point. We always ask for an emergency contact number whilst you are away but we would recommend that you have a contingency in place with a local contact for if we are unable to travel to your home during extreme weather conditions, i.e. snow. If you are unable to provide details of a contingency plan during discussions with us when booking then we may not be able to accept your booking.

 

Visit Times

Little Dolittle can undertake home visits every day from 8.30am to 5.30pm. Other arrangements can be made on request.

 

Payment

We request full payment in cash or by online banking prior to the start of the booking, at the latest the day before the booking starts. For first-time customers of Little Dolittle we request a deposit of £20 to be paid within 7 days of making the booking. This will secure the booking which is refundable on cancellation up to 2 weeks before the start of the booking. For first-time customers who book at short notice, we request full payment to secure the booking. If you return home earlier than expected and no longer need the home visit service (without prior arrangement up to 2 weeks before the start of the booking) you will need to pay the full home visit fee regardless of returning home early.

 

Our rates are based on number of daily visits (maximum of 30 minutes per visit), the time it will take Little Dolittle to complete the service requested and mileage, where appropriate.

 

Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day - an extra 50% is added to the daily rate.

 

We do not currently have the facilities to accept payment by debit/credit card.

 

Mileage is charged at 40p per mile. We can only accept home visit bookings within a 10 mile radius of Tibshelf (one-way trip). Little Dolittle does not charge mileage for any home visit in Tibshelf.

 

Cancellation/Amendment

We would appreciate as much notice as possible if you need to cancel your booking.

14 days or more before start of booking – any deposit/booking fee paid is returned to customer

7 – 13 days before start of booking – 50% of any monies paid is returned to customer

Less than 7 days – full payment is to be paid to Little Dolittle

If you are delayed for any reason and need extra visits, we will do all we can to accommodate your pets. Any extra visits are charged at our normal visit rates and payable within 7 days of your return home.

 

Health and Welfare

Little Dolittle must have sight of an up to date vaccination record for those animals that require regular vaccinations against diseases that are transferable through the environment. Little Dolittle reserves the right to refuse to deliver a home visit service if a vaccination record is out of date or incomplete.

 

You must ensure that your pet is in good health, free from parasites and is adequately wormed.

 

Pre-existing medical conditions, including pregnancy, must be disclosed on the pet registration form prior to the start of the booking. We take no responsibility if your pet(s) falls pregnant whilst in our care.

 

We request owners to provide Little Dolittle with full information of behavioural, dietary and special needs/requirements upon booking. If your pet needs veterinary assistance whilst in our care we will inform you or your emergency contact immediately. Any veterinary fees, plus any mileage, incurred during the booking must be reimbursed to Little Dolittle by the customer within 7 days of the end of the booking. We promise to take great care of your pet(s) whilst they are in our care. Sadly, small animals can pass away with very little warning and very quickly after showing signs of illness. We cannot accept any liability if your pet becomes ill or passes away whilst they are in our care.

 

We can spot clean daily but request customers provide their own pet-safe cleaning products. Little Dolittle will properly dispose of your pet waste. For cat litter trays we do request that you provide all necessary items such as scooper, cat litter and plastic bags and indicate where you would like these waste bags disposed of. The same applies to any other home based animal.

 

We will also check daily for any damaged enclosures/hutches and if necessary we will make contact with the owner or nominated contact to determine how your pet should be housed for the rest of the booking.

 

During extreme temperatures, Little Dolittle will make all efforts to ensure the animals in its care are as comfortable as possible. We would request customers to provide access to additional supplies for your animals during extreme temperatures (for example, frozen water bottles, ice packs, extra heating, positioning of outdoor enclosures to reduce the impact of extreme weather, cooling fans, etc). Little Dolittle cannot be held responsible for animals becoming ill or passing away as a result of extreme temperatures.

 

We are unable to move pets into separate runs or allow them to roam free unless it is just for the duration of our visit.

 

We reserve the right to refuse to look after your pet(s) if we feel they are showing signs of disease, injury, illness, pregnancy or aggression unless previously discussed at our initial meet and greet.

 

Little Dolittle does not accept any responsibility or liability for any client’s animals that escape or become lost or injured, fatal or otherwise, when instructed to leave the client’s animal(s) in a fenced area. This includes cats given free-roam outside during the day/night. Should you wish for your cat to have free access to a cat flap, Little Dolittle cannot be held liable for any disappearance, injuries or death as a result.

 

Little Dolittle cannot be held responsible for your pets, while they are left alone in their own home, while their owner is away and Little Dolittle is not present.

 

We would ask our customers to ensure they make available a suitable pet carrier to avoid unnecessary stress or injury if it became necessary to transfer them for veterinary treatment.

 

If your pets are showing signs of fighting during the booking, Little Dolittle will make contact with the owner and/or emergency contact to see how best to proceed. If there is a likelihood of fighting between co-habiting pets, Little Dolittle asks pet owners to prepare for this eventuality and provide separate accommodation.

 

Animal welfare is our primary concern and we will always act in your pet’s best interests.

 

Medications/Veterinary Treatment

If your pet is on any medication, please let us know this on the pet registration form. Little Dolittle will be happy to administer medication (if prescribed by a vet) during the booking. Please note, however, Little Dolittle cannot administer injections. Please ensure there is a sufficient quantity of the medication and it is readily available to Little Dolittle during the whole of the booking.

 

As part of the booking, we ask customers to supply the name and contact details of their usual vet’s practice. If your pet requires veterinary treatment during the booking, we will make contact with you or your nominated emergency contact as soon as possible. If the customer is unable to provide vet’s details, then Little Dolittle will use the services of their own vet’s practice. By accepting our Terms and Conditions, you agree to any vet costs incurred by your pet, including round-trip mileage to/from the vets.

 

Health and Safety/Legal

Little Dolittle are fully insured, details available on request.

 

All staff at Little Dolittle hold a valid DBS certificate which can be shown on request.

 

Little Dolittle may bring an additional member of staff (with valid DBS certificate) at no additional cost to you. This may be due to personal safety and/or number of duties to be carried out during the home visit.

 

It is the customer’s responsibility to insure their own property and pet(s). Little Dolittle is not liable for any damages to your property caused by your pet whilst carrying out services discussed. Little Dolittle cannot be held liable for any break-ins or vandalism to the owner’s property during use of Little Dolittle’s services.

 

Should anything occur such as this, Little Dolittle will inform you and/or your emergency contact and report the incident to the police immediately.

 

Little Dolittle does not accept liability for other persons who may be in your home prior to, during or immediately after Little Dolittle’s services have been completed.

 

Little Dolittle will not provide a home visit service to care for an animal which is overly aggressive and therefore may be a danger to Little Dolittle staff.

 

Home visits to small animals does not currently require a licence. All animals are left in Little Dolittle’s care at their owner’s risk.

 

Protection of data and property

All personal data (including key code, alarm code, name and address, etc) will be kept securely in paper format or on a password protected computer. Information will not be passed to third parties and only used for the purpose of arranging bookings and providing pet updates throughout their stay. You may request your data to be deleted from our records at any time.

 

Little Dolittle will be provided with a spare house key and any codes (alarms, padlocks, etc) during the ‘meet and greet’ before the booking commences. All keys and codes will be held securely by Little Dolittle and will remain unidentifiable in a locked key safe.

 

Abandoned Pet(s)

In the event of an owner not returning to collect their house key from Little Dolittle and no communication from the owner or nominated emergency contact within 7 days of the end of the booking, Little Dolittle reserves the right to re-home the animal. Any fees incurred as a result of the re-homing process, plus the fees for the extended care from Little Dolittle, will be recovered, by legal means if necessary, from the owner.

 

Social Media/Website

We regularly share pictures/videos of animals on our social media pages and/or website. We ask all customers to let us know via our booking form if they would prefer that we do not share pictures/videos of their pets. We ensure that all of the pictures and videos we share do not serve to identify the owner/property.

 

Keeping you updated

We are happy to send you regular updates on your pet(s). We know they are a big part of your family and you miss them. We can do this either via WhatsApp, Messenger or email.

 

COVID-19

At Little Dolittle we take COVID-19 risks very seriously and will respect guidance from the government at all times.