Anonymous wrote:While it seems pretty much overkill, I guess I should play Devil's Advocate to get a different perspective.

Maybe for this woman, her pet is truly her child. Odd, I know, but some people who have no one in their lives to love, turn to their pets to fill that void inside.

After all, animals give unconditional love and support as well as accept you on your good days and bad ones.

The loyalty and love one can feel for a pet can be very strong no doubt.

So perhaps as in hiring a nanny, this woman just wants to be 120% sure that her baby will not be in harm's way.

Please don't take it personally.

+ 10000 like!

MB here. I think you were probably right to decline this job. The information you were asked for seems over the top. I can see needing vehicle information if there is an HOA that might have you towed or if you were parking in her designated spot or something, but she should have told you that upfront.

I can see asking for your home address, because she doesn't know you and if something happened to her pet, she would want to contact you. Emails and phones can be easily changed.

But the contact info of your employers and your license number? Way over the top and a violation of your privacy.

You provided a background check, which means that the contact information for whoever ran it is on the page. If she had any questions about how it was run, she could have contacted them. My background check has my driving record attached, my license is on there. If it were a gated community or there was a specific spot in an apartment complex, you might need to provide vehicle information, but she should have stated why she needed it. I would only provide contact info for whichever references are relevant, and if your primary position is as a nanny, it isn't relevant for petsitting. My background check has my city, state and zip on it, but there's no reason a potential employer needs the number and street name until I fill out a W4.

While it seems pretty much overkill, I guess I should play Devil's Advocate to get a different perspective.

Maybe for this woman, her pet is truly her child. Odd, I know, but some people who have no one in their lives to love, turn to their pets to fill that void inside.

After all, animals give unconditional love and support as well as accept you on your good days and bad ones.

The loyalty and love one can feel for a pet can be very strong no doubt.

So perhaps as in hiring a nanny, this woman just wants to be 120% sure that her baby will not be in harm's way.

Please don't take it personally.

I have local friends watch my house and pet, but if I hired someone I would never ask for all that.

If I met with them I might ask casually "Where do you work for your main job?" If it was a gated community where security was tight I might need to provide info about your car to the security guys but I would explain that to you.

That woman was weird.

Yes, I think I probably would have turned her down also. (And I'm an MB.)

She sounds way too uptight and worried. If you don't need the work terribly then it's not worth the hassle. And I think that's way too much information to request if you've already given a background check and references.

Yes I would have turned her down as well. I'm willing to submit to a background check for a full time position, AFTER I have recieved an offer (contingent upon passing a background check), but no I wouldn't give all of that personal information for a 1 time pet sitting gig, and I wouldn't be interested in working for someone so paranoid that they'd expect me too. Sounds like she needs to find a kennel for her pets or take them with her if she's that nervous.

I posted an ad on a local neighborhood listserve (I live in the neighborhood) offering my babysitting/petsitting services.
A woman contacted me asking about petsitting during Thanksgiving. We met and she seemed very, very nervous about hiring someone she doesn't know.
As I always do, I offered the woman a current copy of my background check. Afterward I emailed her the contact info for 3 petsitting references with the promise of more if she would like them. I received an email today asking me for my driver's license number, my home address, the make/model/license plate number of my vehicle and the contact info for my employers. I told her that it wouldn't be a good fit and wished her luck in her search.
I have been a professional nanny/petsitter for 10 years. I have nothing to hide, but I'm not so in need of clients that I am going to hand out this information. Would you have done the same?