Pet Lover Side Hustle 2024: What To Know About Pet Sitting, Dog Walking—To Dos Before Starting

If you're a pet lover, then being able to care for your dog or cat is already fulfilling. But, did you know that you can turn your passion for animals into a side hustle?

There's nothing wrong with making money out of your passion. In fact, you can even use what you will earn to buy new toys for your pets or donate to animal shelters.

North Carolina resident Meghan Lim, a dog and cat lover, shared her experience after turning her passion into two side hustles. If you also love dogs and cats, here's what Lim said.

Pet Lover Side Hustle 2024: What To Know About Pet Sitting, Dog Walking

Meghan Lim said that her main side hustle is her personal finance content creation. But, she also highly recommends pet sitting and dog walking as additional sources of income for pet lovers.

But, before following her advice when doing pet sitting and dog walking, here's what you need to know about these two side hustles:

Dog Walking

FitBark explained that dog walking is a side hustle in which you will visit the house of your client and take their beloved dog out for a walk for a certain amount of time.

Dog walking usually lasts for around 30 minutes. For those who also have a dog and want to try this gig, you can request your client to have multiple visits so you can still take care of your own pets.

Pet Sitting

In the pet-sitting side hustle, you need to take care of the dog while the owners are away. It's very similar to baby-sitting, but you will take care of their dog, cat, or other pets.

It would be best if you would dog sit your client's pet at their own house since the canine will be far less stressed compared to taking him to another place.

To Dos Before Pet Sitting or Dog Walking

Via Business Insider, Meghan Lim provided all the things you should do before accepting dog walking and pet sitting gigs, such as the following:

Always Meet Owners Before Accepting Pet Sitting/Dog Walking

Before accepting dog walking, pet sitting, and other types of pet-related side hustles, make sure to meet the owners first. This will allow you to know their expectations, requests, and how their pets behave with other people.

Inform Clients Regarding Your Main Job

If you have a job, even if it's part-time or freelance, the best thing you can do is inform your clients. This will allow you and the pet owners to make adjustments to your schedule if ever they say yes to your pet service.

Know How Much To Charge

Lim usually earns around $1,000 per month for dog walking, pet sitting, and drop-in visits. She said that the standard rate for doing a 30-minute dog walk is around $20.