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HOW DO I GET STARTED?Simply fill out our Client Sign Up form here! We ask for some basic information: your name, address, phone number, a description of your pet, and requested services. We will respond to you within 24 hours with a welcome email and a link to sign in to your new RidgeWalks/Time to Pet account. Once you sign in, you will be prompted to finish setting up your account by editing your profile, adding your pup or kitty, and adding a credit card for billing. You can also book your requested services directly through your RidgeWalks/Time to Pet account! Account setup is intuitive and user friendly, but if you have any questions you can email us at any time.
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WHO WILL BE MY PET PROFESSIONAL?Once your RidgeWalks account is set up, we will schedule a mandatory meet-n-greet at your home with the main Pet Professional in your area. This meet-n-greet is a great time to review all of your pet’s care instructions, go over gear notes, get to know your Professional, and hand off house and building keys. All of our Pet Professionals are local, trained professionals that have your pet's best interests at heart. Our Professionals are hired as employees (not independent contractors) which means they are thoroughly vetted, background checked and covered by Liability, Workers Compensation, and Disability Insurance. Consistency is very important to us and we strive to maintain a single Professional for each home whenever possible. If your main Professional is out sick or unavailable, we will notify you asap, and another of our fully trained staff will fill in until your main Professional returns.
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WHAT ARE STRUCTURED BUDDY WALKS?RidgeWalks offers structured Buddy Walks with custom care focused on fun, positive enrichment, safety, and engagement with your pup. Structured Buddy Walks are a great way for pups to make friends in a supervised, guided environment, and help reinforce positive behavior through social interaction and mutual observation. Buddy Walks help pups gain confidence, build trust, and grow bonds with other pup and human friends. For the safety and comfort of your pup, we pair your pup with local compatible buddies and introduce potential friends under supervision. We never walk more than 4 dogs in a group, and generally aim for 2 to 3 pups at one time.
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WHAT ARE YOUR PUP SAFETY PRACTICES?The safety and comfort of your pup is our top concern! All of our walks are strictly monitored and our Pet Professionals remain vigilant while walking on the street, maintaining a safe distance from other humans and pups and keeping a careful eye on scavenging opportunities. All RidgeWalks Pack pups have a backup measure in place during walks for added security. Our Pet Professionals carry nylon slip backup collars and safety clips for use in addition to your pup's regular collar and gear. Before leaving your home, all pups must have 1.) Properly adjusted collar/gear 2.) ID tags 3.) A backup slip collar and/or safety clip. If you prefer us not to use the additional backup collar, just let us know and we will use our safety clip as a backup measure instead. RidgeWalks issues Blueberry 4’ nylon clip leashes, backup collars, and clips to our Professionals and we consistently check in with our Team to make sure all gear is in excellent working condition.
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HOW DO KEYS WORK?The security of your home is one of our top priorities! We always ask for two sets of keys in case of emergency. All client keys are stored in a locked key cabinet and filed in our secure online system by number, accessed solely by the RidgeWalks owners, Tim and Christine. Our Pet Professionals use locked carabiners when out on visits. Your home address will only be visible to your Pet Professional on the day of your visit via the Time to Pet app.
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HOW DOES BILLING WORK?Clients have continuous access to all past, current, and upcoming invoices through their RidgeWalks/Time to Pet account. We email weekly billing invoices every Friday evening for the previous week of service (Saturday-Friday). Invoices are due every Friday. You will have the option to pay directly by credit card or through our business Venmo. Tips are welcome and 100% of tips go straight to our amazing team!
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WHAT IS YOUR CANCELLATION POLICY?Any services that are cancelled after 6 pm the evening before the the scheduled service will result in a full charge for that service. We accept same day service requests (as available) for an additional $10 fee. HOLIDAY CARE: Due to increased demand for Holiday Care, we ask that cancellations for all Holidays be made 1 week prior to the Holiday. Cancellations made under 1 week from a Holiday will be charged full price. Holidays include New Years Eve & Day, Easter, July 4th, Thanksgiving Day & Thanksgiving Friday, Memorial & Labor Day.
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WHAT ABOUT EXTREME WEATHER?As long as your pup is willing and able to walk comfortably, we will make sure they get their full walk time. If a walk ever needs to be cut short (extreme heat, cold, snow or rain) we will always let you know ASAP and will spend extra social time inside your home with your pup whenever possible. Elderly and flat faced breeds are especially sensitive to temperature extremes, and we take special care to go at your pup's speed at all times. During winter walks, we happily accommodate winter wear requests, and use booties, Musher’s Secret, or natural Pawtection rub to protect your pup’s paws from salty sidewalks. During summer months, our Professionals take extra care to avoid extended exposure to direct sunlight, and carry extra water and travel bowls in case anyone needs a mid-walk cool-down.
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DO YOU WALK ALL BREEDS?Yes! We happily welcome pups of all breeds and temperaments!
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CAN YOU TAKE MY PUP TO THE DOG PARK?We currently do not offer services requiring off leash activity for the safety and security of the pups in our care.
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WHAT MEDICATION CAN YOU ADMINISTER?We are trained to administer medicine via oral syringe, pill, and inhaler. For intravenous medicine, please contact your local vet tech.
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WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO REACH YOU?Through our Client Sign Up Form, or by email! We can be reached by email at: info@ridgewalksnyc.com. Our clients can also easily reach us through the Chat feature in their RidgeWalks/Time to Pet accounts, and we will respond promptly. We can also be reached by phone at 646-883-5092, although we often have our hands full with our pups and kitties during the day and we will generally let phone calls go to voicemail and respond when we are free, unless it is an emergency.
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