Trust and safety: what Petym checks, and what it does not

Identity verified with PAN answers the first question: is this person who they say they are? PAN is the identity number the Income Tax Department issues, and the department runs a public service to verify a PAN's status against a name and date of birth. A verified identity means a sitter cannot work under a made-up name, and that the person who turns up at your door is the person Petym listed.

The video walk-through of the home is for sitters who host pets, for boarding and day care. Petym sees where your pet would sleep, eat and play: whether balconies and windows are secured, whether there is a shaded, cool room for summer, where the water bowl goes, and whether the gate or main door opens straight onto a busy road. It is done before the sitter is listed, not after a problem.

The housing society's permission for paid pet sitting matters because hosting other people's pets for money is different from keeping your own. A sitter whose society has not agreed can be stopped at the gate, asked to leave mid-booking, or end up in a dispute with neighbours, and your pet is the one caught in it. Petym asks for that permission before listing a hosting sitter.

Pet first-aid training before the first booking means the sitter knows what to do in the minutes before a vet: how to handle bleeding, choking, heatstroke or a seizure, how to move an injured pet safely, and when to go straight to a clinic. Veterinary first-aid guidelines name pet sitters and dog walkers among the people most likely to give first aid, and say a pet should be seen by a vet as soon as possible afterwards.

A named 24-hour vet within reach means the emergency plan is decided before it is needed. Nobody should be searching for an open clinic at 2 in the morning during a Diwali night or a monsoon downpour.

A pet limit for the home keeps numbers to what one person can actually supervise, feed separately and walk safely. It also means each pet gets its own bowl, its own space to rest and its own time on the lead.

No platform knows your pet the way you do. The meet and greet is where you check what a document cannot: whether your dog relaxes with this person, whether your cat comes out from under the bed, whether the sitter asks good questions about medicines and fears, and whether they listen when you explain the routine.

Ask the questions any careful owner asks: how the sitter would handle an emergency, what they would do if your pet stopped eating, how they keep in touch, and who would step in if they fell ill during the booking. The American Kennel Club's advice on choosing a sitter lists the same ground, including first-aid training, a written agreement and a backup plan.

Trust your pet's reaction and your own. If something feels wrong at the meeting, do not book. The meeting is free so that saying no costs nothing.

A sitter uses your home only for the booking: no guests, no parties, no going through drawers, and no posting photos of your home or your address online. Photos in the daily update are of your pet. Agree at the meet and greet whether any room is off limits and whether you have cameras in the house; it is fair to tell the sitter if you do.

On Petym's side, the waitlist today keeps only what its privacy policy lists, and uses it only to tell you when Petym opens in your city. When bookings open, the personal data they need, such as your address and your pet's health details, will be handled under India's data protection law, and the privacy policy will be updated first.

Sitters have privacy too. A sitter's identity documents are seen by Petym for the checks; owners see the profile, not the PAN.

In India, the Animal Welfare Board of India is the statutory adviser on animal welfare. Its guidance for pet owners covers vaccination records and the duty to exercise a dog, and its guidelines for residents' welfare associations cover lifts, leashes and common areas.

For day-to-day care, Petym uses the five welfare needs that PDSA sets out: a suitable environment, a suitable diet, the ability to behave normally, being housed with or apart from other animals as suits the species, and protection from pain, injury, suffering and disease. Every booking is built around those five.

The RSPCA's advice on leaving pets while you travel puts it simply: never leave a dog alone for any period that might cause it distress. That is why Petym offers overnight sitting and visits, rather than leaving a pet with a bowl of food and a hopeful neighbour.