Terms of Service

This page outlines our relationship to you, your home, and your pet. We encourage all prospective and existing customers give the Terms of Service a good read before signing the online, client portal agreement.

We’re glad you’re here and thank you.

First Things First
These Terms of Service are legally binding.

The Terms of Service are a legally binding contract between you and us and your acceptance of these terms are verified when you sign our online client portal. If you access or use our services, or continue accessing or using our services after being notified of a change to the Terms of Service, you confirm that you have read, understand and agree to be bound by Rover-Time’s Terms of Service. “We”, “our” and “us” currently refers to Rover-Time, LLC.

New Client Charge
New clients are responsible for a one time New Client Charge* of $25. This fee can be applied to a future invoice if we complete five visits within the first month of signing up with Rover-Time. The fee covers:

• A permanent profile in Rover-Time’s client portal.
• A meeting with a member of our team who will take additional notes on your pet(s) that we’ll add to your online customer profile.
• Ongoing support to ensure that your pet and their primary walker are highly compatible. We will work together to develop a routine that makes every visit a safe and enjoyable experience for your pet.
• Key processing, nondescript key tagging, and key storage in our secure office.
• Access to our mobile client portal and app with GPS walk technology.
• A digital report card sent at the completion of each visit including detailed notes from your walker and occasional mind-blowingly adorable pictures of your pet.

* In the instance that Rover-Time determines your pet(s) will not be a good candidate for our services, the new client enrollment fee will be refunded.

Hours
We trek throughout Chicago seven days a week in the morning and late at night – rain, snow, and shine – from 8am to 9pm. The majority of our business occurs between 10am and 5pm. Requests between 8am – 10am and 5pm – 9pm will be fulfilled based on walker availability. Contact us to find out if we can help you!

Our office hours for scheduling are Monday through Friday 8am to 5pm, Chicago time and the best way to do this is via the customer portal. Requests that are submitted by way of the client portal, or by email, voicemail, or text are checked on Saturdays and Sundays with some frequency but we do not have an on-call manager monitoring the portal around the clock.

Scheduling

We perform confirmed dog walks within three-hour windows. We know your dog’s routine is important and we like to plan things out as far as possible. We can be limited by availability and the team’s capacity, so please schedule ahead as much as possible to ensure your needs are fully met.

Weekend walks need to be requested by 10am on the Friday of the desired weekend. You will not be able to reserve a weekend walk after that time. If you have an emergency walk request, please use the subject “Emergency” in your email to the Help Desk but we reserve the right to regretfully decline if we do not have an available team member. Emergencies constitute flight cancellations or a death in the family.

On holidays, we’re solely focused on caring for your animals while we enjoy our families, so we’re not available to talk scheduling.

Services & Rates
We pride ourselves on the level of customer service we provide. Every pup is treated as VIP, but priority service and availability is given to our loyal customers who purchase our bulk walk packages. A la carte walks are subject to availability and are only confirmed after meeting the needs of our Happy Hound and Frequent Frolicker customers because they have prepaid for all of their services with us. Our basic rates are posted here. Packages include a discount and perks, but require payment up-front, in full. If you are ever unhappy with our service we’ll refund you a package’s unused portion at any time.

As a gentle reminder, there is a six-month expiration date for our prepaid packages. Depending on your scheduling frequency, this shouldn’t present any changes but it is something worth keeping in mind before purchasing.

A small surcharge, based on the number of dogs needing a stroll, will be added to same-day requests made after 10am, to off-hour requests made before 10am or 5pm on weekdays, or for any walk requests made on weekends.

Payment
All customers are asked to keep a form of payment on file. A la carte walking services will automatically be charged between the hours of 10am – 12pm every Friday. A copy of your invoice will be sent for your review at the time your payment is processed. You may pay with an auto-debit from your bank account (ACH payment) or we accept Visa and Mastercard credit card payments.

Invoices for walks requested after 5pm or on weekends (off-hour service), cat sitting, and hourly babysitting will be sent at the time your appointment has been confirmed on our schedule. Payment due dates will be scheduled in the following ways:

• Payment for weekend off-hours services will be due in advance of the service and charged on the Friday previous to your scheduled weekend walk(s.)
• Off-hours services scheduled between Monday-Friday will be due on the Friday following the service and charged along with weekly a la carte services.
• The due date for cat sitting services will be dependent on the first day of service.
• Any outstanding payments for Happy Hound and Frequent Frolicker packages will automatically be charged on the day following the invoice due date.

Whoops, Cancellation
Stuff like sickness and emergencies can come up and out of nowhere. Our team of walkers work really hard to be available for you when you need us most, often during those last-minute emergencies and trips. We get that cancellations happen, so if you are an a la carte or Happy Hound package client, you will not be charged for any walk that you cancel prior to 4pm the business day before. Customers on the Frequent Frolicker package are able to cancel a walk on the same day without charge so long as the cancellation request is sent by 11:00 am that day. We truly appreciate your advance notice as often as possible.

To cancel a confirmed walk, please log into the client portal and click on “Review Upcoming Services” to look over the walks we planned together. Select “Request Cancellation” to notify the office that the walk is no longer needed. Walks rescheduled for the same week will not be charged a fee. Here are two guides, one for Mobile and one for a Web Browser with step-by-step instructions if you’d like more information regarding how to cancel services in the client portal.

Because cat sitting and hourly pet sitting services require a greater degree of schedule coordination, customers may only cancel these appointments up to 24 hours before the start day of the assigned sitting dates. Canceling a service with less than 24 hours will incur a charge of half the price of that first service.

It never happens, but since we’re human, if we miss a walk we will refund you the cost or rebook with the credit.

Holiday Schedule
Regular, midday service is canceled on the following holidays.

With some notice, we’re happy to consider adding a visit to your home on these days. On the holidays that we have an available walker, we charge $40 per stroll with a $5 surcharge for every additional dog. Contact us to check our availability!

Month	Day	Weekday	Holiday
January 2021	1st	Friday	New Year’s Day Observed
May 2021	31st	Monday	Memorial Day
July 2021	5th	Monday	Independence Day
September 2021	6th	Monday	Labor Day
November 2021	25th & 26th	Thursday & Friday	Thanksgiving Holiday
December 2021	23rd & 24th	Thursday & Friday	Winter Holiday
December 2021	31st	Friday	Day off for New Year’s Day

Rover-Time Team

Routines & Loyalty
We know how important it is to keep your dog on a routine and we work really hard to have the same walker care for your pooch. Your walker balances dog walking with normal life; they get sick, and they take the occasional vacation, but we fill in for each other so that you and your fur child don’t have to do a thing. We reserve the right to schedule a substitute walker when needed or the Team Manager will assist.

If you don’t book Rover-Time for three months or more, you’ll be considered an inactive client and will be subject to our availability moving forward. Unfortunately, we’re unable to hold spots on our walker’s routes.

Winter Weather Disclaimer
Please be advised that if the weather proves to be at a detriment to our dog walking team, your arrival window may be delayed or your dog’s walk may need to be shortened to less time. We also reserve the right to cancel if the conditions are unsafe for traveling to your home. Due to inclement weather being an unforeseen event, notifications may take place the same day as your scheduled visit with as early notice as we possibly can give.

Advice
We do not warrant that any information or advice that may be presented by Rover-Time or one of our walkers with respect to your dog is appropriate, accurate, medically sound, current, or suitable for your dog. If you have any specific medical or care-related questions with respect to your dog, we recommend that you consult a qualified veterinarian or animal behaviorist.

Pictures
Occasionally it’s fun to take photos of your dog during a walk. You agree that we own the photo and may post or use the image for any purpose whatsoever, including on our website and promotional materials. If you are unhappy with any picture, you may contact us to remove it.

Your Home & Fur Children

We want to know it is safe to be in your home. If you hire us for dog walking services, you hereby represent, warrant, and undertake:

• To comply with all applicable laws with respect to your premises;
• That your premises are safe and are suitable for a dog walker or any member of the public to visit;
• That you own, or have the right to permit the dog walker to attend and enter, your premises; and
• That you will treat the dog walker appropriately and with respect and you will not threaten the dog walker or engage in any violent, criminal, discriminatory, or unlawful behavior or conduct with respect to the dog walker.

Keys Please
To walk your pups or guard your kittens, we need access to your home. You may choose to provide us with keys or leave a lockbox with a code. If you provide us with keys, then we request two copies: one as a master set permanently locked in our main office (and used only in dire emergencies), and the walker keeps the other set. We will only enter your home to perform dog walks and you can ask for the keys back at any time. If you do provide us keys, you agree that we will not be responsible or liable to pay any costs, expenses, or damages associated with changing your locks or which you incur as a result of the lost key, and to hold us harmless and expressly release us from any and all liability arising from any loss of your key.

Accessibility Issues, Oh My!
If we’re unable to enter your home or we can’t find your dog, or we are delayed for more than 10 minutes at your home trying to get to the bottom of it all, we’ll likely leave your home and bill you in full. (We get seriously worried if the locks are changed or your pup is off at daycare, so keep in touch! If this happens, we’ll likely blow up your cell or work phone to make sure that something isn’t really, really wrong! Please help prevent mini-heart attacks and us billing you for a walk that we wanted to provide.)

Collar & Leash
We count on you to provide suitable walking equipment, at the very least, a collar and leash. If they aren’t available we will be unable to walk, but we will still bill for the visit.

Dog Aggression & Fearfulness
We like working with a variety of dogs, peculiarities, and temperaments. If your dog is aggressive, dangerous, or suffering from crippling fear that prevents a safe walk from occurring we reserve the right to refuse to walk him or her, and we may need to terminate service moving forward.

Ownership & Care

If you are receiving a dog walk you represent, warrant, and undertake to Rover-Time that:

• You are the lawful owner of the dog, or have obtained the right from the lawful owner of the dog to receive the dog walk for that dog;
• You will at all times comply with all applicable laws and regulations that relate to the ownership and care of a dog;
• You have obtained, and shall maintain, all applicable licenses and consents related to your ownership and care of your dog;
• You have placed, and will at all times maintain, a clear and appropriate collar or tag on your dog that allows the easy identification of your dog;
• Your dog will have, or be wearing, an appropriate collar and leash that our dog walker may use with your dog during the walk and that both the collar and leash are safe, in working order, free of defects, and conform with any applicable laws, regulations or standards with respect to your specific dog;
• Your dog does not pose any threat to the health and safety of any other dog or animal or any person (including, but not limited to, any dog walker);
• Your dog does not pose any threat to the property of any entity or person (including, but not limited to, any dog walker); and
• Your dog is fit to attend the dog walk and has received any and all vaccinations required in accordance with applicable law.

Legal Stuff

We are not responsible or liable for any harm or damage to your dog or any animal or person or entity that arises from your breach of this section and you agree to indemnify us and hold us harmless, and expressly release us, from any and all liability arising from your breach of this section.

Feeding
We don’t charge an additional fee to help with a feeding, but build the time spent feeding into the walk. You are solely responsible and liable for purchasing and choosing the dog food and instructing the walker on how much food to give to your dog, when and how to feed your dog, and any other food-specific instructions or requirements. You acknowledge and agree that: (a) we will only feed your dog if you expressly request us to do so; and (b) we are not liable or responsible for any failure to feed your dog or any damage or harm that may be suffered if we do feed your dog. You hold us harmless, and expressly release us, from any and all liability arising from feeding, or not feeding, your dog.

Medical Emergency
When you sign up for service you are authorizing Team Rover­-Time to take your pet to the nearest professional veterinarian, allowing that member of the team to authorize treatment. Please understand that all costs in connection with this emergency treatment, including transportation, veterinary, medical, and medications, and costs necessary for this care will likely be your responsibility.

Rover­-Time takes every necessary step to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our customer’s pets while they are under our care but due to the unpredictable nature of working with an animal, injury could occur on walks, during transport, during sitting services, or while being boarded in which event, we ask you to release Team Rover-Time of any and all liability, financial and otherwise, which arise in any way from services and/or products provided or as a consequence of your association with the company.

As a customer of Rover-Time you are waiving any and all claims, actions or demands of any nature, foreseen and unforeseen, that you may have against Rover-­Time relating to the care, control, health and/or safety of your pet arising during drop ­off, pick ­up, transport, while on walks, during sitting services, and while in boarding.

Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Rover-Time from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees) arising from your violation of this agreement.

Inability to Walk your Dog
You acknowledge and agree that if you breach any term in this agreement that we may be unable to take your dog on a walk.

Modification
We reserve the right, at our discretion, to change these agreement terms at any time. Such change will be effective 10 days following posting of the revised terms on our website, and your continued use of our dog walking service thereafter means that you accept the changes.

Ceasing Service
You may cease to use Rover-Time’s dog walking service at any time. We have the right to terminate this agreement and our dog walking service, or any part thereof, at any time. If you object to any term or condition of these terms, or any subsequent modifications thereto, or become dissatisfied with the dog walking service in any way, your only recourse is to discontinue use of the dog walking service.

Contacting Rover-Time
Please also feel free to contact us if you have any questions about Rover-Time’s Terms of Service. You may contact us at julia@rover-time.com or at our mailing address below:

Rover-Time
4210 N. Monticello
Chicago, IL 60618