Founding Sitter Program
I'm launching WellKept Pet in Washington this year for the professional, insured pet caregivers (sitters, walkers, and trainers) the big platforms have stopped serving well. Our first 25 Founding Members get reduced fees, free onboarding, and priority placement, and they help shape how the platform works from day one.
Join the waitlistOther platforms maximize sitter count and let pet owners sort out the quality. We do the opposite: we keep our standards high so the bookings you get are real, the owners trust the people they're hiring, and your professionalism is rewarded.
Every active sitter carries professional liability and animal bailee insurance. This is a feature, not a barrier. Owners pay more for verified professionals, and so do we.
We use Checkr (the same vendor used by Uber, DoorDash, and Instacart), and we re-screen periodically.
We don't dictate pricing. You know what your time is worth.
Accept what works, decline what doesn't. No penalties for saying no.
Real humans, real responses, not a knowledge base.
Your reduced 10% rate is locked through the founding period. No surprise increases.
10% take rate for the first 12 months (vs. 20% standard). You keep 90% of every booking.
Checkr screening covered by WellKept Pet ($49 value).
Up to $150 in platform fee credits applied against the platform's portion of your first 10 bookings.
Permanent "Founding Member" badge on your profile, visible to all owners.
First-page placement in your service area until we have meaningful local volume.
A real person who reads every message and acts on the feedback.
Say you book 20 stays a month at $70 each. Here's what that looks like in your bank account your first year, on a typical platform versus with us:
Example math, not a guarantee — based on a hypothetical sitter at $70/night with 20 bookings/month.
On a typical platform
$13,440 a year
$1,120 a month after their 20% cut.
As a Founding Member
$15,120 a year
$1,260 a month after our 10% Founding rate.
+ Up to $150 in platform fee credits during your first 10 bookings
+ $49 saved on your background check (we cover it)
= $1,879 more in your pocket vs. a standard signup elsewhere
Tell us about yourself: services you want to offer, neighborhoods you cover, experience with pets, references if you have them. Takes about 15 minutes.
We verify your identity and run a Checkr background check. We pay for the check; you'll get an email from Checkr with steps. Usually completes within 3–5 business days.
Photos, services, rates, availability. We'll review for completeness and quality, and approve you to start receiving booking requests.
Upload your Certificate of Insurance (COI) during onboarding. We verify it before you can take bookings — most are reviewed quickly.
Your COI must be verified before you can accept your first booking — there's no grace period. Once it's verified, you're cleared to take bookings.
Founding Members keep 90% of every booking through the first 12 months. Your first-month fee credits are automatically applied against the platform's portion of your first 10 bookings.
Professional pet-care insurance with at minimum $1,000,000 general liability and $25,000 animal bailee (care, custody & control) coverage. Lost-key coverage where applicable.
We recommend Pet Care Insurance, Pet Sitters Associates, or Business Insurers of the Carolinas. Annual cost: roughly $175–$360 depending on services and add-ons.
When something goes wrong (and occasionally it does, even with great sitters), your insurance protects you and the pet owner. The platform's coverage is a backstop, not a substitute. Carrying your own coverage is what separates a professional from a hobbyist, and it's part of what we sell to owners.
We don't reimburse insurance premiums, and we don't run a "guarantee" fund that lets sitters skip carrying their own. Both of those approaches create more problems than they solve. Instead, we lower your platform fees so more of every booking stays in your pocket.
We're prioritizing sitters with prior pet-care experience, certified trainers (CPDT-KA, KPA, IAABC, or equivalent), and providers willing to serve under-supplied service areas. None of these are required.
After 12 months as a Founding Member, your platform fee transitions to the standard 20% rate. You keep your Founding badge permanently. We give you 60 days' notice before the rate change.
If we ever raise the standard rate above 20%, Founding Members are grandfathered at 20% indefinitely.
The big platforms take roughly 20–25% from sitters and don't require insurance. Founding members here keep 90% of their rate — we take just 10% from your side (plus a small 5% fee on your client's total), and every provider carries professional insurance. The result: better-vetted sitters, clients who pay for quality, and you keep more of what you earn.
Great! Upload your COI during onboarding and we'll verify it right away, so you're cleared to take bookings from the start.
If you don't book through us, you don't owe us anything, and we don't owe you anything beyond the free background check. Since insurance must be verified before your first booking, you'll only purchase it when you're committed to taking bookings — so there's no risk of paying for coverage you don't use.
Yes! You're an independent contractor, not an employee. Use other platforms, your own clients, anything. We don't ask for exclusivity.
Payment processing (via Stripe), background checks, identity verification, the technology platform, owner-side marketing, customer support, fraud prevention, and dispute handling. We aren't running a margin business at 10%. The founding rate is below our cost. That's the point.
Hop on the waitlist and check "Sitter" or "Trainer" (or both, if that's you). We're contacting founding-cohort applicants first, in order received.
Join the waitlistQuestions? founders@wellkept.pet