At Homeward Bound, we take the safety of our clients and their pets, our employees and our community seriously. That’s why we closed down for 111 days during Governor Sununu’s Stay at Home Order. We took this time to do our part to help stop the spread of novel coronavirus.
When we reopened for dog walking and vacation cat care on July 6th, 2020, Homeward Bound had new protocols in place that we ask both our employees and our clients to follow.
Daily Employee Questionnaire
Scroll through the form below to see the questions employees are required to answer each day before reporting for work.
COVID-19 Employee Safety Protocols
Symptom and Temperature Tracking
Before our employees leave for work every day, they are required to take their temperature and fill out the COVID-19 Daily Questionnaire form pictured here. If they answer yes to any of the questions or have a temperature above 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit they are required to stay home and notify the office immediately.
Masks
Employees wear masks whenever they are within 6 feet of others and whenever they are in the client’s home. During dog walks, the general Homeward Bound policy is to avoid other people and pets, so you may see our employees on the street without a mask.
Hand Hygiene
Employees sanitize and/or wash hands before, during and after their visits with your pets. Anytime they touch anything, employees will sanitize their hands with hand sanitizer provided by Homeward Bound.
Social Distancing
Our employees are keeping at least 6 feet between themselves and clients if they do have contact with clients.
Limit Time in Client’s Homes
If client’s are going to be home when we arrive to walk the dogs, we ask that they have their pups leashed up and ready to go so we do not have to enter the home. We are then able to have the client hand off the dog while both client and employee are masked. If clients are not going to be home when we arrive, we ask that clients place everything we need as close to the door as possible. After the walk, we will then enter the house to refresh the water bowl.
Disinfect Surfaces
We do our best to limit what we are touching in the home and anything that we touch within the client’s home will be sanitized with disinfecting wipes as retrace our steps through the home on our way out. This includes faucets, door handles, alarm and lockbox key pads.
Limit Contact With Pets
Perhaps the hardest part of all of these protocols is limiting our snuggle time with the pets. We missed them bunches in our time away! The first thing we want to do when we are reunited is give them snuggles, pets, and love! However, we understand that pets may carry the virus on their fur, therefore to keep them and their pet parents safe we refrain from all the snuggles and cuddles! They’ll be time for that when COVID-19 goes away!
Client Safety Protocols
- Notify us immediately if they have symptoms or have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
- Notify us if they have had close contact with anyone diagnosed with COVID-19.
- Keep everything we need for our walk together and preferably close to the door we enter.
- If the clients are going to be home, we ask that they prepare the dog for the walk by harnessing and leashing. We will then have them hand off the dog outside of the home.
- Practice social distancing.
We have a responsibility to each other to help keep everyone safe during this pandemic. We appreciate our clients and employees conducting these new protocols so Homeward Bound can do our part in stopping the spread of COVID-19.COVID-19JULY 8, 2020
