Why We Background-Check Every Sitter — Twice
1,000 views
Pet sitter background checks are the first thing we’d want to know about too if we were hiring someone to come into our home.
Before Scritches, before pet sitting even entered the picture, Tony and Liza Bacon spent a combined 45 years as Metropolitan Police officers in London. That background shapes almost everything about how this business runs — and nowhere more than in how we choose the people who go into your home.
The question we always come back to.
Who do you actually want holding a key to your house, alone, with your pets and your belongings? It’s a simple question, but it’s easy for pet care businesses to treat it casually — a quick background check, a friendly interview, done. We don’t think that’s good enough.
What our vetting process actually involves.
Every independent contractor who works with Scritches goes through a thorough application review, a multi-stage interview process (including a video call before anyone is even considered further), comprehensive criminal background checks through a dedicated screening provider, reference checks, and a shadowing period with an experienced sitter before working independently.
The background checks themselves go beyond a basic database search — they include driving records, national criminal history, and sex offender registry checks. That’s not us being paranoid. That’s just what “trusted” needs to actually mean when someone’s walking into your home while you’re not there.
Why “twice” isn’t an exaggeration.
Background checks aren’t a one-time box to tick at hiring. We treat vetting as an ongoing standard, not a single event — which means the level of scrutiny that got someone hired stays the level of scrutiny that keeps them working with us.
It’s not just policy.
Twenty-plus years in policing changes how you think about risk, trust, and accountability. When Tony and Liza built Scritches, they didn’t set out to build “a pet sitting company with a background check.” They set out to build the standard they’d personally want if it were their own home and their own pets on the other side of that decision.
Curious what our sitters actually do on a visit? Take a look at our full range of pet sitting and dog walking services, or get in touch to meet your sitter before booking.
For additional guidance, see National Association of Professional Pet Sitters.
