It’s very common for our clients to have pets. I would say over 75% of our regular client list owns some kind of animal. What is not common is for the clients to not take care of their animals. When an outside worker comes into my home, I always make sure that my animals are out of the way. I don’t want them getting outside, or making a nuisance of themselves when the tech is trying to do their job. Not everyone is like this, however, some people have an attitude about their pets. Before I ever enter someone’s residence to work on their central HVAC system I always ask if there are any pets, and if they have been contained. An animal doesn’t have to go in a cage, it can just be put in one of the spare rooms so I can access the HVAC equipment without them getting underfoot. Our main reasons for doing this are twofold, both to protect the animals and the HVAC professionals. All it takes is one pesky kitty hanging around and the HVAC tech might step on it, or frighten it. There have also been cases of aggressive dogs menacing the workers and getting in the way of the HVAC inspection. Pet owners can’t be trusted, they will always think the HVAC worker is wrong and their pet is blameless. There have been a couple of minor lawsuits filed against the HVAC contractor in the past, which is why we have to be insistent on this as our company policy goes forward.