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Sitter guide 10 min read

How pet sitters handle emergencies

Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on

Quick answer

In an emergency, a Petym sitter keeps themselves and the pet safe, gives basic first aid, calls the owner and takes the pet to the nearest 24-hour vet on the city's list. Poisoning, trouble breathing, heavy bleeding, collapse, seizures and heatstroke always mean going to a vet at once.

First aid buys time; it does not replace the vet. Veterinary first-aid guidelines say almost every emergency should end with professional care, even when the pet seems to recover.

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What does a sitter do in the first minutes?

  1. Make it safe

    Check for danger to yourself and the pet: traffic, other dogs, electricity, fire. Do not put yourself at serious risk; the first-aid guidelines advise against first aid when the risk to the helper is high.

  2. Approach carefully

    A hurt or frightened animal may bite or scratch. Speak calmly, move slowly, and protect yourself first.

  3. Check the basics

    Is the pet responding? Breathing? Bleeding? Use PDSA's Dr ABC: danger, response, airway, breathing, circulation.

  4. Give first aid that cannot wait

    Press on heavy bleeding, cool a pet with heatstroke, move a pet away from a hot or dangerous place. Nothing more complicated.

  5. Call the vet on the way

    Ring the nearest 24-hour vet on the city's list so the clinic can prepare, and ask for advice on first aid and moving the pet.

  6. Call the owner

    Tell them what happened, where you are going and what the vet has said. If you cannot reach them, keep trying and leave a message.

  7. Go

    Move the pet carefully, keep it warm or cool as needed, and get it to the vet as quickly as is safe.

  8. Write it down

    As soon as you can, log what happened, the times, what you did and what the vet said, and share it with the owner.

Which signs mean a pet needs a vet straight away?

The Merck Veterinary Manual's examples of emergencies that need immediate veterinary care, with signs a sitter might see.

What first aid helps in the common emergencies?

From the 2026 RECOVER first-aid guidelines for dogs and cats, written by veterinary emergency specialists. In every case, the next step is the vet.

How do you handle and move an injured pet safely?

An injured or painful animal might bite or scratch, even one that knows you. Protect yourself first.

Do

Don’t

What is Petym's emergency process?

When Petym opens in a city, every sitter will have passed pet first-aid training before their first booking and will have named a 24-hour vet within reach. In an emergency the sitter calls the owner and takes the pet to the nearest 24-hour vet on the city's list. Petym publishes city pages of emergency vets so that owners and sitters know the options in advance.

The owner can help before any booking. Write your own vet's name and number on the pet's plan, list every medicine and condition, and say how you want to be reached at any hour. If your pet has a known condition, such as seizures, diabetes or a heart problem, ask your vet what a sitter should do if it flares up and write that down too.

Who pays the vet in an emergency, and any cover for vet bills, are decisions Petym will set out in its terms before bookings open. Until then, Petym does not describe any cover, and no sitter should promise one.

What should a sitter carry and keep ready?

PDSA's suggested pet first-aid kit, plus the details a sitter in India needs to hand.

The kit list is PDSA's; the last two lines are Petym's practical additions for Indian cities, where the nearest 24-hour vet may be across town.

  • Bandages, wound wash and wound dressings; cotton wool, self-adhesive tape.
  • Blunt-ended scissors, tweezers and tick tweezers.
  • Vinyl gloves and antiseptic wipes.
  • A foil blanket, and a blanket that can double as a stretcher.
  • A smaller kit for walks and travel.
  • The owner's numbers, the owner's vet, and the nearest 24-hour vet's address and phone, saved on your phone and written on paper.
  • Money or a way to pay for an auto or cab to the vet, and the route worked out before the first night.

What if a pet has eaten something poisonous?

Act fast and do not try home remedies. Call the nearest 24-hour vet, say what the pet ate, how much and when, and take the packet with you. The RECOVER guidelines advise against making a pet vomit at home as a routine step. Never use salt or any other home remedy to make a pet sick: ASPCA warns that too much salt is itself harmful to pets.

Poison helplines such as the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center are US services: the ASPCA's runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and a consultation fee may apply. In India, your first call is the vet. Common poisons in Indian homes include chocolate and mithai, raisins in sweets, sugar-free gum with xylitol, onion and garlic in leftovers, rat poison, human medicines, and lilies for cats, whose pollen licked off the coat can cause kidney failure.

Which first-aid habits do more harm than good?

What happens after the emergency?

Keep the owner informed at every step: at the clinic, after the vet's examination, and when there is a plan. Follow the vet's discharge instructions exactly and add any new medicines to the pet's plan, logged as they are given. Keep receipts and the vet's notes for the owner.

Then write a plain account: the time, what you saw, what you did, who you called and what the vet said. It helps the owner, the pet's own vet and Petym, and it is the honest record a review should rest on.

Going away soon? Tell us your dates.

A checked local sitter feeds, walks and keeps your pet company at home, follows your care sheet to the letter and sends a photo every day. Petym is opening city by city: send your dates and we will tell you when a sitter can take them.

Apply to become a sitterHow it works

  • Meet your sitter first, free
  • PAN-checked, first-aid trained
  • A photo every day
  • Pay through Petym, never cash

Questions owners ask

What does a pet sitter do if a dog is injured?

Make the scene safe, approach carefully because a hurt dog may bite, give basic first aid such as pressing on a bleeding wound, call the vet and the owner, and take the dog to the nearest 24-hour vet. A Petym sitter calls the owner and goes to the nearest 24-hour vet on the city's list.

Should a sitter wait for the owner's permission before going to the vet?

Not when a pet is in danger. The sitter should call the owner straight away but go to the vet without waiting for an answer if the pet has trouble breathing, heavy bleeding, a seizure, heatstroke, poisoning or has collapsed. The Merck Veterinary Manual lists these among emergencies needing immediate care.

Can a pet sitter give my dog medicine in an emergency?

Only what your vet has prescribed, as written on your pet's plan, or what the emergency vet gives or tells them to give. Sitters should never give a human medicine: some, such as paracetamol for cats, can cause severe illness even in small amounts.

Should I make my dog vomit if it ate something toxic?

No, not unless a vet tells you to. The 2026 RECOVER first-aid guidelines recommend against inducing vomiting at home as a routine step. Call the nearest 24-hour vet, say what was eaten, how much and when, and take the packaging with you.

What should I leave my sitter in case of an emergency?

Your phone numbers and a backup contact, your vet's name and number, every condition and medicine your pet has, what your vet says to do if a known condition flares up, and the vaccination card. Petym sitters will also know the nearest 24-hour vet on the city's list.

Who should a sitter call if a pet may have been poisoned?

The vet, first. Petym did not find a national pet poison helpline in India. Well-known helplines such as the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center are US services that may charge a consultation fee. In India, call your vet or the nearest 24-hour veterinary hospital straight away.

Who pays the vet if my pet has an emergency during a booking?

Petym will set out how emergency vet costs are handled, and whether any cover applies, in its terms before bookings open. Until then it does not describe any cover. Whatever the arrangement, a sitter's job in an emergency is to get your pet to the vet first.

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Sources

Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources

  1. Merck Veterinary Manual: What to do in a dog or cat emergency (opens in a new tab)checked 21 October 2026
  2. PDSA: First aid for pets (undated) (opens in a new tab)checked 21 October 2026
  3. PDSA: Heatstroke in dogs (opens in a new tab)checked 21 October 2026
  4. International Cat Care: Cats and poisons (opens in a new tab)checked 21 October 2026
  5. ASPCA: Animal Poison Control (opens in a new tab)checked 21 October 2026
  6. ASPCA Animal Poison Control: People foods to avoid feeding your pets (opens in a new tab)checked 21 October 2026
  7. RECOVER Initiative (Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care, 2026): RECOVER guidelines: first aid for dogs and cats, clinical guidelines (opens in a new tab)Peer-reviewed study · checked 21 October 2026