The full picture on the Scritches opportunity.
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🐾 About Scritches
Scritches Pet Services is one of the largest and most established independent pet care operations in the Phoenix metro area. We operate across the whole of Phoenix metro with ~40 active independent contractors and hundreds of regular clients.
Critter Caretakers was founded in 2010 in Mesa. Tony and Liza acquired the business in 2018 — starting with just 6 sitters — and built it into Arizona’s most awarded pet care business, voted Best of Mesa 16 times, with an A+ BBB rating, ~100 five-star Google reviews, and 4 ThreeBest Rated Awards. We rebranded to Scritches in early 2026 and continue to grow. We have more clients than we can currently handle and need your help.
Scritches is owned and operated by Tony and Liza Bacon — two former Metropolitan Police officers from the UK, based in Surprise, Arizona since 2018. Liza manages day-to-day operations including IC onboarding, scheduling, and client management. You’ll work primarily with Liza.
🏆 Awards & reputation
Best of Mesa 16x. A+ BBB. ~100 five-star Google reviews. 4 ThreeBest Rated Awards. One of Arizona’s most established pet care businesses.
📍 Coverage area
Full Phoenix metro — West Valley (Surprise, Goodyear, Peoria, Glendale, Avondale, Buckeye) and East Valley (Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe, Phoenix).
🛡️ The Rialto Standard
A proprietary vetting process developed from 45 years combined police experience. Every IC undergoes deep background investigation — not just a surface check.
📱 Technology
We run the entire business through Time to Pet — bookings, GPS tracking, visit reports, client communication, and payments. Everything in one platform.
🤝 Independent Contractor Relationship
⚠️ Important — please read this first
This is an Independent Contractor position. You are not and will not be an employee of Scritches in any capacity. We cannot offer benefits such as health insurance, dental, sick leave, or paid time off. As an IC you are responsible for your own taxes, insurance, and business expenses. You set your own availability and choose which clients to accept.
We offer you a new client which you accept, then you reach out directly (all contact through Time to Pet) and organise their free Meet and Greet. If all goes well you become the Primary Sitter for that client and are offered any future requests first.
We are available to you 24/7. We should be your first point of contact for any issues with schedules, pets, or clients — not the client directly. There is no need to give clients your personal cell number.
You give us a 3-month rolling availability and we work to match you with clients for those times.
⚠️ Client commitment — please take this seriously
If you accept a client and then hand them back for any reason, this creates significant problems — we have legally committed to the client and they may have booked travel based on that commitment. Only accept clients you are confident you can continue to serve. This needs to be avoided at all costs.
We encourage ICs to have private clients — this is not an issue. However, any lead that comes through a Scritches connection must be passed to us. Purely independent connections are yours to keep. Any clients you refer to us will always be offered to you first.
📱 Time to Pet Software
We use Time to Pet software to connect us with you and both of us with clients. It comes with a smartphone app and we run the whole business through this platform.
Time to Pet gives each client a full profile — name, address, home access instructions, emergency contacts, vet info, and per-pet profiles covering feeding, medications, and behavioural notes. You get full access when assigned to a client.
GPS check-in on arrival
Start the timer as you get out of your car. Records your arrival time and GPS location. The client is notified you’ve arrived.
Complete the visit
All tasks as specified in the pet profile. Take photos throughout. Clients can see live updates through their app.
Write the visit report
A short sentence or two, attach photos, optionally record a short video, and check the completion boxes for house tasks and per-pet reporting.
GPS check-out when you leave
Stop the timer when the visit time is up. Records departure time and location, and automatically sends the completed report to the client.
📺 Useful resource — completing a visit in the app
This short 3-minute video walks through exactly how to complete an event and submit the report to the client once you’ve finished your visit. Well worth a look:
help.timetopet.com — Completing an event via the mobile app →
💰 Fees & Time Slots
You receive 100% of all visit fees, 100% of all tips, and 100% of any holiday fee increases — nothing is held back. You are responsible for your own taxes and will receive a 1099 form each January. Fees increase the longer you are with us and the more valuable your contribution to the team.
| Service | Duration | Your fee |
|---|---|---|
| Drop-in / walk | 30 minutes | $14.00 |
| Drop-in / walk | 45 minutes | $15.00 |
| Drop-in / walk | 60 minutes | $18.00 |
| Sleepover | 7pm thru 7am | $60.00 |
| Extended sleepover + 2hr midday visit | 7pm–7am + 2hr midday | $90.00 |
| VIP live-in | 7pm–7am + 10am–4pm | $120.00 |
We do not charge clients more for additional pets — we pay for your time regardless of the number of animals in the household.
Minimum visit policy: Dogs require at least a 45min AM and 45min PM slot. If no doggy door, add a 30min midday visit. Cats: minimum 30min visit per day.
Mileage supplement: $0.70/mile for any visit over 10 miles from your home. Early AM and Late PM (out-of-hours) visits carry a $6 client surcharge, of which $4 goes to you. Holiday visits carry a $9 client surcharge, 100% of which goes to you.
Payments are processed monthly — invoices finalised on the last day of the month, submitted to the bank on the 1st, processed within 1–3 business days. A mid-month payment around the 15th can also be arranged.
Time slots — all visits must start and end within the agreed slot:
💳 Satisfaction guarantee
We guarantee clients a full refund if not satisfied — typically due to late arrival, short visits, or incomplete tasks. If the reason is solely within your control and avoidable, we may need to withhold payment for that visit. Genuine emergencies and unavoidable delays are always handled fairly.
🛡️ Insurance, Bonding & Background Check
Before your first client visit, three requirements must be met. We want to be completely clear on these before we both decide to move forward.
Insurance & Bonding — all ICs must be covered by pet sitting insurance and theft bonding. Three options:
Background Check — we run a thorough background check through SentryLink (~$20). This includes a police background check. You pay this upfront — the fee is refunded in full if you pass and are still with us after 3 months. Background checks are non-negotiable — clients need this assurance and bonding cannot be obtained with a theft-related criminal history.
We are exploring having ICs form LLCs and may offer financial incentives for this in future — to be discussed at a later stage.