Caretaker background checks extend to pets

It makes perfect sense to have a background check run on a potential candidate when you’re looking for a nanny for your children. Pet Sitters International has taken it a step further, ensuring that all of their pet-sitting professionals undergo annual criminal history screenings so clients can ensure their fur-babies are in the best possible hands. Pet Sitters International is a network of pet-sitters in the United States, Canada and other countries around the world. When you have to leave your four-legged family members for any length of time, you want to ensure their safety just as you would for your own children. The screening process is intended to prevent animal cruelty, neglect, and identity theft, which are very real threats if you resort to negligent hiring practices. The third-party screening system does an address trace and checks potential sitters’ county court records, which turns up the most accurate employee criminal history information. Each county in the country is required to hold onto records for at least seven years. After a potential pet sitter has undergone and passed a third-party background screening, an icon will appear in his or her profile on the PSI website to indicate that the check has been passed. PSI is the first pet-sitting organization to use a background check system to ensure the quality of their sitters. The background check policy will only apply in the U.S., as other countries have their own laws and systems on conducting background screening.]]>