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Bark Review

Tuesday, January 21st

2025 Pet Sitter Service Reviews

Top Consumer Reviews Best-In-Class Blue Ribbon Award Bark Review 5 Star Rating

Bark

5 Star Rating
  • Free to join
  • Zero searching required: providers reach out to you
  • Exotic animals acceptable
  • Variable care types and locations
  • Variable timetables
  • One-stop shop for many types of service beyond pet sitting
Top Consumer Reviews Best-In-Class Blue Ribbon Award

Bark, despite its name being primarily associated with dogs, presents itself as a versatile online service marketplace that collaborates with small pet sitting businesses to connect customers with local service providers. With a user-friendly website layout, Bark streamlines the process of contacting pet sitting professionals in your vicinity, making it both intuitive and efficient. Additionally, the site offers to connect you with a variety of professionals like hedge trimmers or plumbers, which makes this site a good one-stop shop for local help.

Free to get started

To get started with Bark, you just need to enter your zip code, email address, and phone number, so that you can quickly initiate the search process. Additionally, you will be prompted to answer a few more questions about the specific care you require, ensuring a tailored experience. Then, you just have to sit back and wait for professionals to respond to your leads. It's a zero-effort search for the customer. The best part is that the site is free to use and the only time you pay is when you accept a price proposal from a particular service provider.

Wide options for care types and skills

Unlike platforms that inundate you with profiles of pet care providers and require you to navigate through customer reviews and service rates, Bark takes a more personalized approach. It carefully selects professionals from your area based on the specific criteria you specify. For instance, if you require a last-minute lizard-sitter who can stay at your house for a week, and do extras like administer medication or give your lizard a bath, Bark will only notify pet sitters who meet your requirements. This tailored approach saves you the hassle of individually contacting multiple providers. Instead, up to five Bark freelancers will have the opportunity to respond to your lead allowing them to provide you with quotes. You can then review their profiles and make an informed decision about whom to hire.

Exotic pets included

One standout aspect of Bark is its support for a diverse range of pets. As Bark partners with businesses and professionals worldwide, the types of pet care services available will depend on your location. However, what sets Bark apart is its inclusivity towards various species. Whether you have rabbits, reptiles, fish, birds, or any other non-traditional pets, Bark enables you to search for care providers who can meet your unique needs. So, you don't need to worry about finding reptile or bird care if you're searching through Bark.

Best Pet Sitter Services

How long do you want your sitter?

Further, you can tailor the time of service from a variety of options including those where the pet sitter stays in your home full time to just occasional check-ins. The pet sitting styles offered at Bark are:

  • Where the pet stays with the sitter at their house
  • Where the sitter visits the pet
  • Kennels

Customers can also ask Bark to suggest sitters for you based on your pet needs. So, if you're not sure what kind of service you want for your particular pet, Bark is here to simplify the process even further for you.

Top-rated service across the board

In terms of user feedback, satisfaction expressed by Bark's customers highlights the platform's efficacy. Many users attest that Bark delivered exactly as advertised, connecting them with professionals they may not have discovered otherwise. Across third-party review sites, Bark has an average rating of 4.4 stars out of 5, with repeated comments about how quick the process was to connect them with a professional.

Customer support readily available

Should you require assistance, Bark offers customer support through email and phone, with dedicated service available on weekdays from 9 am to 8 pm Eastern time. While some customers felt that sometimes it was hard to find someone urgently or didn't appreciate that they couldn't browse professional listings themselves, most customers agree that the company is doing exactly what it promises with reliable professionals.

Best one-stop shop, including care for exotics

Considering its functionality as a pet sitting lead-finding service, Bark proves to be a solid choice. It curates a select pool of highly-rated professionals for you to choose from, narrowing down the options. However, as with any service, it is essential to thoroughly read through pet sitter reviews and ask relevant questions to ensure that Bark has indeed connected you with the best pet sitting fit for your specific needs. Despite not being designed strictly for pet sitting, this service stands out as our top site in that category. The features and focus on pets other than cats and dogs make this the most competitive site as well as a one-stop shop for care. It's worth your time to check out the leads here. For this reason, Bark is the best pet sitting service online, especially for customers who need assistance watching exotic pets.

Where is the Best Place to Find a Pet Sitter?

Are you planning a fun getaway, but you're worried about your furry friends? Sometimes you can find a relative or a neighbor to watch your puppy, lizard, or bird. However, that doesn't always work out, and you still need someone you trust to watch the extra members of your little family who can't travel with you. Thankfully, there are lots of services that help connect pet owners to pet sitters out there today.

While pet sitters used to be a word-of-mouth service, or based on who you knew locally, the addition of pet sitting services online has made it much easier to find animal carers anytime you need them. Online platforms provide a convenient way for pet owners to find reliable and trustworthy pet sitters. With just a few clicks, pet owners can connect with potential sitters from the comfort of their homes.

The Best Pet Sitter Services Compare Pet Sitter Services Compare Pet Sitter Service Reviews What are the best Pet Sitter Services Best Pet Sitter Service Reviews

Pet Sitter Service FAQ

This will differ greatly based on a number of factors. How many dogs you have, how long you need them watched, and if they need to spend the night are just a few of the price considerations. Sitters generally set their own prices, so you can work out the specifics with them.
You can! Almost all of the services offer a background check for the sitters. You can then find the ones who have done this, and hire them with a clear conscience. Still, with the internet, you should always be wary of profiles with little information offered.
Using a service to find a petsitter can be a great choice. You can find people with exactly what you want in a sitter. It also works great if you don't know many people where you live who can watch your pet for you.
You do get to choose the sitter. Usually you pick preferences of what you are looking for and the site will recommend options. Ultimately you will pick the person who takes care of your pet, just make sure to look at different options.
This is an unfortunate possibility when using an online service. Most services recommend meeting with a potential sitter before you hire them, to avoid this. Always listen to your gut feeling, especially when it comes to your pet's care.
There is a lot of variety! Tons of people are eager to pet sit, so all you need to do is find the right match for you. There are lots of options for choosing your sitter, from the person to the level of care they will give your pet.
This depends on you. Some people prefer having their pets stay at home for the animal's comfort, while others don't want strangers in their house. There are plenty of options to choose from, and you can look at several options before deciding the right fit for you.
You absolutely can! A lot of people are more comfortable having an informal ‘interview' first to meet each other. It's important to make sure you are comfortable with any caregiver before deciding to hire them.
Compare the Best Reviews

Continued from above...

One of the primary benefits of using an online pet sitting service is security. According to a survey conducted by Pet Sitters International (PSI), approximately 40% of pet owners preferred using online pet sitting services or apps to find pet sitters. One of the main reasons for this is that users found a higher level of trust in online pet sitting services.

The same survey by PSI mentioned above showed that over 70% of pet owners felt confident in the professionalism and reliability of online pet sitters. This is partially due to the qualifications and details about the individual pet sitters provided on pet sitting sites.

Furthermore, pet sitting websites and apps offer a wide selection of pet sitters with various backgrounds, experience levels, and availability. This allows owners to find the perfect match for their specific needs and requirements, even on short notice.

So, how do you find the best place to hire a pet sitter? There are so many choices out there today, it can seem overwhelming when you start browsing. With your furry family members involved, we understand why you want to take extra care in finding the perfect match.

If you're not sure where to start, we've got your back. Here's a list of things to help you narrow down your search for the best pet sitter.

  • Price: Many pet sitting sites are free to use. Although some do charge for memberships, this could be worth it depending on the features you're looking for. Keep in mind what you're willing to pay for and compare those features to the free services.
  • Pet Types: While lots of pet moms and dads have puppies or kitty cats, some pet parents have more exotic animals like birds, reptiles, or fish. It's important to make sure that the sitting service you're looking at offers options for the type of pet you have.
  • User Interface: Shopping online is popular everywhere nowadays. For that reason, there's almost no excuse for a poor user interface. Keep away from sites that frustrate you, and make it easier on yourself to find that next pet sitter.
  • Security: For a lot of pet sitting situations, you're letting a stranger into your home. To that end, you want to make sure a pet sitting service does the background security checks for you before you hire. Look for things like ID verification or background checks before you hand over your house key.

To help you feel completely confident about leaving your pet in the care of someone else, Top Consumer Reviews has evaluated and ranked the most popular places to hire a pet sitter out there today. We hope this will make choosing where to find someone to take care of your furry friends a stress-free process so you can enjoy your vacation and know your family is in great hands.

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