Your parent's dog has a routine, and right now that routine lives in your parent's kitchen and your parent's habits. When you are 500 miles away, the animal is often one of the first things that goes quiet or one of the first things nobody can say for sure got fed. Hiring a sitter for the animal is a real decision, and it is much easier to make well before the call comes at night.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
Check who can say yes to the vet
Start with the vet, not the sitter. Call the clinic and ask three things: whose name is on the file as the owner, which phone number they use for approvals, and whether they will accept a written note from you that names the sitter as someone who can bring the animal in. Ask whether the clinic needs the owner in person for any kind of treatment. Write the answers down. Do not assume the clinic knows you.
Settle the keys before you meet the sitter
Decide how many keys exist, who holds each one, and whether the sitter's key goes back at the end of each visit or stays with them. If there is an alarm code, it should be written on a card the sitter keeps, not sent in a text thread. Ask the sitter how they will get in if the lock sticks in cold weather, and who they should call if they still cannot get inside.
Compare the visit, not the rate
Ask for the visit in the order it happens: feeding, fresh water, the walk or the time outside, cleaning up after the animal, and a quick look at the bowls and the room. Then ask what the visit does not include. Ask whether the sitter will lift the animal, move a crate, or handle a dog that does not know them. Compare the length of each visit to the time the animal actually needs, not the time that is easiest for the sitter to fit in.
Name the limits in writing
A pet sitter is there for the animal. They are not your parent's caregiver, driver, or household helper, and the agreement should say so in plain words. Put the list on paper: what the sitter does, what they do not do, who they call in an emergency, and who they never call. If your parent needs help with their own day, that is a separate conversation with the family and with the people who help with your parent's care. Keeping the two apart means nobody is surprised later.
Settle who approves and who pays
Decide before the first visit who approves a vet visit that was not planned and how that bill gets settled. Many families agree on a spending limit the sitter can approve on the spot, with anything above it waiting for a family member on the phone. Write the limit down, even if it is one sentence. Ask the sitter whether they carry insurance or a bond, and ask what they do if the animal is hurt or gets out during a visit.
Leave a one-page sheet
Put the animal's name, age, feeding amounts, the walk route, the vet's number and address, a backup contact, and what the animal does not like on one sheet. Give the sitter a copy and keep one where you can open it from your phone. Ask the sitter to check in with you after the first visit, so you hear how it went while it is still fresh.
Tonight
Call the vet and ask the three questions above. Write down who holds each key and where the alarm code is kept. Ask the sitter to write back the visit list in their own words so you can see what they heard. If a sitter cannot answer the questions about keys or the vet, keep looking.
What to leave with the vet and the sitter
Leave the vet a written note with the sitter's name, phone number, and the spending limit. Leave the sitter the one-page sheet, a spare key if you agreed to one, and the name of the person who makes decisions when you cannot be reached. Keep a copy of everything in the same folder as your parent's other paperwork, so the animal's file sits next to the rest of the plan. If you need people nearby to check in, Local Help for a St. Louis Parent is a good place to start.