Locked Out While Pet Sitting? What to Do and How to Prevent It
Last updated: 03 October 2026
Locked out is a paperwork problem before it's a logistics problem.
It happens more than you’d expect
Dead keypad battery. A lock that sticks in cold weather. A code the client changed and forgot to tell you about. A storm door that was never mentioned. A key that turns out to be for the back door, which is bolted. None of these are unusual, and none of them are your fault — but how you handle the twenty minutes afterward is entirely on you.
Before the first booking: agree three things
- How you get in — on the record, not from memory. Key, code, lockbox, or building access.
- Who else can let you in — building manager, neighbor, a second entrance, a lockbox. If the answer is "nobody," that's worth knowing now rather than later.
- What the client wants you to do if you can't get in at all — wait, come back, or abandon the visit. Get it in writing.
Put a term in the agreement for it
Almost every service agreement covers keys. Very few cover not being able to get in.
Write down: how long you’ll wait, whether the visit is still chargeable if access fails through no fault of yours, and when you’ll tell the client. Without that, the conversation happens afterward with nothing to point to, and you’re arguing about money from a position where it looks like you simply didn’t turn up.
The first twenty minutes
- Try the method the client gave you, exactly as they described it.
- If there’s a code, check for a keypad battery warning.
- Try the second entrance if one was agreed.
- Contact the backup person if there is one.
- Message the client — factual, not apologetic. What you tried, what happened, what you’re doing next.
- Keep waiting only as long as you agreed to wait.
How to tell the owner without sounding like an excuse
Send facts. The time you arrived, what you tried, what the lock did, who you contacted, and what you’d like them to authorize. No long explanation of how frustrating it was. One message, and then one update when something changes.
Write it down afterward
Even if the visit was fine in the end. Log the date, the time, what happened, what you did, and whether the visit went ahead. If the same lock fails three times in a month, you’ll want the record.
The part people forget
Log who holds which key and when it comes back. A one-page key log settles more arguments than any clause about locks ever will.
If you want the forms already written
Our pack includes a key release log, an incident report and a service agreement with space for access terms, in editable Word and printable PDF. The incident report is free to download.
This is general information for pet sitters, not legal or tax advice. Requirements differ by state and city — check with your own state or local authority, and have any agreement reviewed by a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.