Methodology · Version 1.1
We publish what qualifies a provider to appear, what the algorithm does, how AI assists research, what “source checked” means and what remains for owners to confirm.
For pet owners, generate a transparent shortlist from market, pet type, primary need and preferred care setting so they can contact providers who publicly describe relevant capabilities.
The primary success event is a qualified outbound visit to a provider after the owner sees both the source evidence and a tailored call checklist.
Profiles use a provider-controlled website as the source for services, area, experience, insurance or credential claims. We quote or closely paraphrase only what is relevant and link to the reviewed page. A “provider-stated” label means the claim was published by the business but not independently authenticated by us.
We do not import Google reviews, ratings, photos or permanent Places content. We do not create customer testimonials. Providers may submit corrections with a public supporting URL.
The market and pet type must match. A provider receives five internal points for serving the selected pet, three for publishing the selected specialty and two for offering the preferred setting. A provider must serve the pet type and earn at least seven points to appear. Results are ordered by score and then alphabetically.
This is a transparent project heuristic, not a veterinary assessment or validated quality score. It does not evaluate personality, availability, price, facilities, incident history or the skill of the assigned worker.
Our editor located the displayed capability on the linked page on the stated date. It does not mean inspected, endorsed, background checked, licensed, insured or currently available.
The provider publishes a capability associated with the selected need.
The provider publishes the chosen care setting. “Alternate setting” flags that another relevant provider may use a different setting.
AI agents may locate provider-controlled pages, propose structured fields, compare claims and flag changed sources. Agent output is a research draft, never publication evidence by itself. A named human reviewer opens the source and accepts or rejects every public field.
Automated checks may flag a record for review but cannot silently rewrite it or renew its source-check date. Machine-readable records include market, source URL, review date and limitations so downstream agents can preserve provenance. Research-queue and watchlist markets must never be described as covered.
Chicago is the only live pilot. A new public market requires at least 20 source-checked providers across four care categories, five provider-confirmed profiles, sources reviewed within 30 days of launch, at least 80% evidence coverage for specialty fields, a working correction path and a named reviewer.
Research pages remain unpublished until the gate passes. See the market status and expansion standard.
Payment cannot increase a provider’s Care Match score, convert an unsupported claim into a supported one or accelerate a correction. Basic profile inclusion and corrections remain free. Paid provider tools may add presentation, update alerts or reporting without changing relevance.
If sponsorship, affiliates or display advertising are introduced, each unit will be plainly labeled “Sponsored” or “Advertisement” and kept outside navigation, matcher inputs, personalized results, provider cards, evidence, checklists and no-match states. Commercial performance is measured separately from match quality.
The methodology and provider research are maintained by Aaron Bergquist. The Chicago pilot was reviewed August 12, 2026. Records are current for 90 days, review due from day 91 through 120, and stale after 120 days.
Providers and owners can report a factual error or closed business at corrections@petcarenearyou.com. Safety allegations are not adjudicated through the directory; urgent animal welfare concerns should go to appropriate local authorities.
Pet Care Near You is a discovery service, not a care provider, marketplace, veterinary service, inspection body or credentialing organization. Listings are informational and do not guarantee quality, safety, availability or results. Owners remain responsible for due diligence and veterinary guidance.