1. Parties and relationship
This Walker Agreement (the “Agreement”) is between K-Walks LLC (“K-Walks,” “we,” “us”) and you, the person applying to provide dog-walking and pet-care visits through the K-Walks platform (“you,” “Walker”). By accepting this Agreement you confirm that you have read it and agree to it. It applies together with the Privacy Statement and the account, privacy, conduct, and acceptance sections of the Terms of Service.
You provide services as an independent contractor, not as an employee, partner, or agent of K-Walks. You control how you perform each visit within the customer’s instructions and K-Walks’ care standards, supply your own transportation and phone, and are responsible for your own taxes. Nothing in this Agreement creates an employment relationship.
2. Eligibility and approval
You must be at least 18, legally able to work in the United States, and able to handle dogs safely. Your walker account opens only after K-Walks reviews and approves your application; K-Walks may decline, pause, or end your access at any time (section 11). Before approval, K-Walks may ask for references, a background check, or an in-person meeting.
3. Claiming and keeping visits
Care requests reach the open board according to the routing K-Walks has set: the head walker may take every new request first, either for a set period or until they release it. Claiming a request is a commitment to perform that visit at the scheduled time. If you cannot keep a claimed visit, release it from your portal as early as possible; the visit returns to the request queue at the customer’s time and the head walker is notified. A visit can be released online only while it is at least 24 hours away. Inside 24 hours, propose a new time or contact the head walker, who can reassign or cancel it. Repeated late releases or missed visits are grounds for suspension.
4. Proposed times and customer decisions
You may propose a new time for a visit assigned to you. The customer may accept it or decline it; a declined proposal cancels the visit and you are notified. You may withdraw your own proposal before the customer answers, and the visit then keeps its agreed time and stays yours. The head walker may confirm a proposal, restore the original time, reassign the visit, or cancel it.
Customers may ask to move a visit assigned to you, or to switch it to a different service (which changes its duration and price). Answer such requests promptly from your portal by approving or declining them; the app checks your calendar before a new time is applied, and the visit keeps its current time until you decide. The head walker may answer a request on your behalf.
5. Performing each visit
For every visit you agree to:
- Arrive within 10 minutes of the scheduled start.
- Start and finish the visit in the K-Walks app so the customer’s report is complete.
- Follow the customer’s written care and access instructions.
- Keep dogs leashed unless the customer’s instructions and local law allow otherwise.
- Carry water, waste bags, and a charged phone.
- Never leave a dog unattended outside the home, and never bring another person or animal on a visit without K-Walks’ permission.
- Record bathroom breaks, water, notes, and at least one photo when the customer has allowed photos.
6. Safety and incidents
You may shorten, modify, or end a visit when needed for the safety of the dog, yourself, or others (aggression, severe weather, unsafe conditions). Report any injury, illness, escape, bite, property damage, or lost-key event to the head walker immediately and record it in the visit notes. In a veterinary emergency, follow the customer’s instructions and K-Walks’ emergency procedure; do not seek non-emergency treatment without authorization.
7. Customer cancellations, late fees, and no-shows
Customers may cancel online. When a customer cancels a confirmed visit assigned to you less than 24 hours before its start, you are alerted and asked to decide whether the $15 late-cancellation fee is added to the customer’s next invoice or waived; decide promptly and in good faith, waiving the fee for genuine emergencies. When you cannot reach the pet at the scheduled time, wait 10 minutes and try to contact the customer and the head walker; if the visit still cannot take place, record it as a no-show in the app. The customer and the head walker are notified.
8. Customer invoicing
K-Walks invoices customers for every visit. You do not collect payment from customers for K-Walks visits and may not accept side payments for them.
9. Confidentiality and property
Customer names, addresses, access instructions, alarm codes, keys, pet health information, and visit photos are confidential. Use them only to perform visits, never share or post them, and return keys and access devices when asked. Photos and reports you create during visits may be used by K-Walks and the customer as described in the Privacy Statement; do not post identifiable customer, home, or pet photos publicly without written permission.
10. Responsibility
You are responsible for damage or injury caused by your own negligence or by ignoring customer instructions or this Agreement. K-Walks is not responsible for your personal property or vehicle.
11. Suspension and termination
K-Walks may pause or end your access at any time for missed or late visits, unsafe handling, dishonesty, confidentiality breaches, customer complaints, or any conduct that harms a person, animal, property, or the business. When you are paused, your upcoming visits return to the board and your open proposals are withdrawn. You may end this Agreement by notifying the head walker and completing or releasing your remaining visits. Section 9 survives termination.
12. Communications and acceptance
K-Walks communicates with you through the walker portal and the email on your account. Your electronic acceptance of this Agreement has the same effect as a signature; the version and time of acceptance are recorded. K-Walks may update this Agreement and will ask you to accept a new version before your portal opens.
13. Governing law
This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules.