Emergency Backup Protocol
What happens if your sitter can't make it. Written down, so you don't have to ask.
Most pet-care apps say they'll “help” if a sitter cancels. We'd rather tell you exactly what happens, in order, including the part where we might not be able to fix it.
You get your money back, automatically.
If your sitter cancels, you get back everything you paid for care that hasn't happened yet, automatically. No form, no request, no waiting on a decision. If they cancel partway through a visit, you pay only for the part already done. If we had already charged your card, the refund is issued the moment the cancellation goes through, and your bank may take a few days to show it. If we had only placed a hold, it is released. This applies whenever the cancellation happens before the visit starts, however close to the start that is.
We contact you the same day.
You get an email and a text the moment it happens. Our Easley team is alerted too, and we'll contact you the same day during support hours (Monday–Sunday, 9am–6pm Eastern Time (ET)). If it happens outside those hours, we contact you the next morning. You can also call us at (864) 607-8798.
We help you find a replacement, and you choose.
We start with the sitters you already know: your Favorites and anyone you've booked before. Then we look at Vetted and ID Verified sitters with availability on your dates and send you their profiles. You pick. We never place your pet with someone you haven't approved yourself. If there's time, you can request a free meet & greet with the new sitter, in person or by video, before you commit.
Your new sitter is briefed before they arrive.
Your pet's Care Guide goes to the replacement sitter through the app the moment you book them, exactly as it went to your first sitter. It covers:
- About & personality
- Compatibility with other pets and people
- Health, medications and doses, allergies
- Feeding amounts, times and restrictions
- Daily routine, potty and crate schedule
- Escape risks and safety notes (digger, jumper, door-dasher, leash behaviour)
- Your vet and your emergency contact
Keep it current and the briefing is automatic. There is nothing to re-type at the worst possible moment.
The Community Care Fund still applies.
Any booking made and paid through WinniePaws, including the replacement, comes with the Community Care Fund: we reimburse eligible unexpected vet costs up to $250, no negligence to prove, usually within 3 business days of an approved claim. The fund is a discretionary program, not insurance.
What we can't promise.
We are a local network in Greenville and surrounding areas, not a national pool of thousands. On a holiday weekend, or with a few hours' notice, we may not find you a replacement. If that happens you will know quickly, you will already have your refund, and we will tell you exactly who we tried. We would rather say that here than let you find out the hard way.
What we ask of you.
Keep your pet's Care Guide, your vet, and your emergency contact up to date in your profile. It is the single thing that makes a last-minute handover safe.
Reach us.
(864) 607-8798, Monday–Sunday 9am–6pm Eastern Time (ET) · support@winniepaws.com
Last updated: October 16, 2026. If we change this protocol, the change and its date will be shown here.