Business Hours and Policies

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Meet & Greet
Last Minute Walks
Standard Scheduling Policies
Standard Pricing Policies
Walker Assignments
Bad Weather Adjustments
Cancellation Policies

Operating Days

    • We are open 365 days a year.
    • Existing customers that require service on holidays are encouraged to schedule their appointments at least three days in advance. Nevertheless, we usually have the capacity to handle last minute requests if you are already a customer.
    • Appointments for new customers, that have not yet created an account, that require service on a holiday, may be waitlisted.

Operating Hours

Weekday Hours of Operation (Non-Holiday)

8:00 AM to 9:00 PM

    • Weekday Walks scheduled before 8:00 AM and after 6:00 PM may be subject to an additional surcharge of $5.00.
    • Weekday Walks scheduled before 8:00 AM and after 6:00 PM as part of a vacation package (example, we are scheduled for four (4) walks per day for five (5) consecutive days) will not incur a surcharge. ie. The first of four daily walks is 7:oo AM – no surcharge)

Weekend Hours of Operation

8:00 AM to 8:00 PM

    • Weekend walks may be subject to an additional surcharge of $5.00.
    • The surcharge will not be applied to regularly scheduled Saturday or Sunday service. (Example: Rover is scheduled for a 30-minute walk every Saturday at 12:30 PM.)
    • Walks scheduled before 9:00 AM and after 5:00 PM may be subject to an additional surcharge of $5.00.
    • Walks scheduled before 9:00 AM and after 5:00 PM as part of a vacation package (example, we are scheduled for four (4) walks per day for five (5) will not incur a surcharge.

Holiday Hours of Operation and Exceptions

Applicable Holidays

The holiday hours available below are rough guidelines. Please call or send a message so we can adjust times to accommodate your service needs.

    • Thanksgiving – 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM – then after 7:00 PM.
    • Christmas Eve – 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
    • Christmas Day – 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM
    • New Years Eve – 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
    • Easter Sunday – 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM – then after 6:00 PM.
    • Mother’s Day – 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM
      • Holiday Walks will be subject to a Holiday Surcharge of $5.00 per walk.
      • Holiday Walks scheduled as part of a vacation package will be serviced at the time requested or an adjusted time per owner’s acceptance.
      • Holiday Walks scheduled as part of a vacation package may be subject to a single $5 holiday surcharge. (Example: Four (4) walks scheduled for Thanksgiving. Only one $5 surcharge will be applied, not four total surcharges of $20.)

Meet & Greet

    • The first Meet & Greet is Free. (Meet & Greet is when a Walker meets the owner and the pet, and receives instructions about routine, feeding, medicine, home entry rules, etc.)
    • The second Meet & Greet is also Free. (If you are going on vacation and need 4 walks a day for multiple days, we may send a second walker (or you can request a meeting) to go over details.) In general, in these situations, the second Walker will “shadow” the first Walker at the first service call, to become familiar with the pet and procedures.
    • The third Meet & Greet, we might have to charge $17.00.

Last Minute Walks

Last Minute Dog Walking Emergencies (Regular Customers)

Regular customers with Shore Dog Walkers account are encouraged to text or call 917-817-1069 (call if its after 9:00 PM) us if you need us to let your dog out in the event you are unexpectedly stuck somewhere and can not get home.

For example, you are stuck in Pittsburgh because of flight delays; you had a last minute family emergency; you missed the last boat to Atlantic Highlands, etc.

Regular customers will be charged the regular price for the services required (15 min or 30 min) and $5.00 if it is an after-hours service call.

Last Minute Dog Walking Emergencies (Not a Regular Customer)

If this your first time calling and you do not already have an account, text or call 917-817-1069 (call if its after 9:00 PM), we will try to accommodate your dog walking emergency.

Emergency Pricing:

      • In Service Area – $50.00 (+$10.00 if after 9:00 PM, +$10.00 for each additional dog.)
        • If you live in our service area, and subsequent walks are needed the following day or days, we will charge our standard rates.
      • Monmouth County (out of Service Area.) – $100.00 (+$20.00 if after 9:00 PM, +$20.00 for each additional dog.)

 

Standard Scheduling Policies

Always try to use the APP.

In general, if you are an existing customer, you should be able to schedule an appointment on the APP up to three hours before service is required during normal service hours (excluding some holidays.).

If you are making a same day appointment (or an appointment for the next morning after about 8:30PM the night before) please send a text to 917-817-1069 or message us on the APP to make sure we see it.

 

Standard Pricing Policies

In general, Shore Dog Walkers resets the Service Prices for New Customers once a year, at the beginning of each New Year. For example, a new, first time customer who starts service on February 1, 2024 will be subject to the latest effective pricing schedule that went into effect on January 1, 2024.

New prices for existing customers will only go into effect after the one year anniversary of the last price adjustment. (Example: Your first appointment with Shore Dog Walkers was November 30, 2023. You will not be subject to the January 1, 2024 price adjustment and Shore Dog Walkers will not adjust your “sign-up” price for at least one year, or after November 30, 2024.)

Please refer to our Service Price page (Rates) for current pricing for new customers.

 

Billing and Invoices

Our billing week begins on Monday and ends the following Sunday.

We usually invoice customers for services once a week, for the previous billing period, on Mondays and Tuesdays. (Let us know if you want it sooner.)

Example: Three 30 minute walks, Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

          • Monday, January 8 – $25.00.
          • Wednesday, January 10 – $25.00.
          • Friday, January 12 – $25.00.
            • Total for Billing Week Ended Sunday, January 14 – $75.00.

Invoice is emailed on Monday, January 15, and are due upon receipt.

Payment Methods Accepted

          • Cash
          • Personal Check – payable to “Shore Dog Walkers LLC” or “Lisa Wheeler.”
          • Venmo – @Lisa-Wheeler-15 or @shoredogwalks.
          • Zelle – 917-817-1069

Billing Mistakes and Corrections

If something does not look right on your bill, please let us know. One common mistake we make is sending a duplicate bill of one that was already paid. This typically happens if you usually pay by one method each week (Venmo) and then switch to another method, like Zelle. Just let us know if you get a bill that you already paid.

Also check your invoice for;

          • Shortened services – If a 30, 45, 0r 60 minute walk is scheduled, but due to really bad weather, the Walker decides to shorten the appointment to just 15 minutes, so your dog can get its business done and get back inside, we will only charge for 15 minutes.
          • The Walker will let you know the appointment was shortened in the Service Notes or by text.
          • You can also check the Clock-in and Clock-out times.
          • Shortened walks will be shown on the invoice as corrected – i.e. 15 min instead of 30 min, etc., Or,
            • as a credit.
            • as a refund if that is your preference.

Check your Walker Service Report Cards, at least occasionally

The Time-to-Pet APP is set up to provide the pet owner with a report card of the Service provided.

We encourage Pet Owners to review the time and length of Service Calls, at least on occasion. (Example: 30 minute walk – Walker clocked in at 12:00PM – and Clocked out at 12:33PM – “Good to go.”)

Pet owners can also check the route taken for a walk.

APP Issues

Please note that Times and Locations are subject to Walker Forgetfulness (they forgot to clock-in or out), and poor cellular or GPS signal.

Some parts of our service areas regularly have issues with signal strength; in particular, near the Little Silver Train Station and Downtown Sea Bright, among other areas.

 

 

Walker Assignments

Our general policies when assigning walkers are as follows.

        • Regularly scheduled “standing” appointments (ie. Every Weekday, 30 Minute Walk at 12:30 PM.)
          • The same walker is assigned each day.
          • A backup walker, that has met the owner, or has co-walked your dog with the primary walker will also be assigned. The backup walker is for days the the primary walker is unavailable (vacation, sick, does not walk on Fridays, etc.)
          • Factors, such as Walker experience, owner preference, dog size, dog sex, dog temperament, and walker proximity to the dog’s residence are considered when assigning walkers.
            • We walk 9 pound puppies that just need to be let out into the yard so they can do their business and we walk a 170 lb. female St. Bernard that is very protective and will not let a male walker in the house. In short, we adjust who we assign as primary and secondary Walkers, depending on the situation.
        • Irregularly scheduled appointments. (ie. Every few weeks, 30 Minute Walk at 7:00 PM on a Friday night.)
          • Ideally, we assign one of our Walkers who already knows the dog, or has done a meet & greet with the owner.
          • Dog type and temperament are taken into account. (ie. If your dog does not like male walkers, we will not send one.)
            • Dogs that have a preference for female walkers, who are not necessarily aggressive towards men, but might be frightened and refuse to stay put to attach a leash. Similarly,
            • Some dogs (usually male dogs with male owners) respond better to a male voice if they start mis-behaving or acting up.
          • Please Visit our Team Page to meet our Walkers.

Bad Weather Adjustments to Time and Price

In the event of bad weather, especially when flooding occurs, the Walker may cut a scheduled long walk (30, or 45, or 60 minutes) to a 15 minute walk/let out. (Enough time for the dog to do its business.)

The price will be adjusted to the shorter time length rate. Nevertheless, please check your weekly invoice in case we overcharged.

We do not charge a cancellation fee for bad weather. Please see our cancellation policies for more details.

 

Cancellation Policies

There is no charge for cancellations made at least two hours before a scheduled appointment. Cancellations are accepted via this APP, or phone or text.

We reserve the right to charge $15 for last minute cancellations. (Unless last minute cancellations are a constant occurrence, like more than twice a month, we generally do not charge for last minute cancellations.)

The following is a partial list of situations when we would not charge for a last-minute cancellation:

          • Bad weather.
          • You arrived home from a vacation, so the last walk or two are not necessary.
          • You are a regular Daily Service customer, and you got home early from work.
          • Emergencies. (Pet emergencies, family emergencies, travel emergencies, etc.)

The following is an example of a situation when we might charge for a last-minute cancellation:

You requested three walks a day on a Saturday in the Summer at the last minute.

We rearranged our regular dog walk schedule and our personal schedule and asked one of our walkers to cover the last let-out at 9:00 PM, and then you cancelled 30 minutes before the first Saturday AM walk.

Cancellations after the Walker has already arrived at the Dog’s house will be invoiced for the Service.

To Summarize:

        • Cancelled at least two hours via APP or text or phone call. – No Cancellation fee.
        • Cancelled within two hours of appointment (App, text, call.) – No Cancellation fee if for emergency, bad weather, etc., (maybe subject to charge if not weather related or emergency related and its the 3rd time in a week.)
        • Cancelled when the Walker is at the door to take Rover for a walk, but he is at the Vet for a non-emergency scheduled check-up. – Price of Service. 

We are reviewing our policies with respect to Vacation Package Cancellations.