Resentment on the part of the family member who agrees to the pet sitting duties because they feel obligated to say yes when he/she really would prefer to be doing something else entirely.

The teenager down the street sees the pet sit as an opportunity to use your home for having a get-together with other friends or worse yet to throw a party.

Lack of experience and training in taking care of animal(s) resulting in your pet(s) being poorly cared for or, even worse, being inadvertently harmed or lost.

John and I have cared for our own and other people’s pets for a long time.  The number of successful pet sits we have performed  is in the tens of thousands.  We have never had an animal escape from us.  We have never lost a house key for a pet sit.  We know the signs and what to do when an animal is sick.  We have fostered hundreds of animals in our home for the Humane Society for SW Washington.  We also have numerous dogs, cats, birds and some chickens of our own.  We are trained in first aid and CPR for dogs and cats.  I am trained in disaster preparedness for animals.  John and I spent a week as volunteers in Gonzales, Louisiana caring for the abandoned dogs after the Katrina hurricane.

Both of us serve as back up for each other in the event that is necessary.  We never take a vacation together for more than 12 hours because it interferes with our pet sit responsibilities.  We have a 30 year old son who lives locally that is also available in the event of an emergency.  We have good relationships with local veterinarians and other pet sitters in the area.

In other words we take the responsibilities of providing pet sitting very seriously and we have a great deal of experience successfully caring for other people’s animals.

So when you consider asking your grandmother or aunt or the friend’s daughter down the street to care for your animals while you are at work or away from home, please consider the risks and possible negative effects of that decision carefully.

We are here to assist you.  We love what we do.  We are good at what we do.  And we want you to know that your decision to allow us to be the caregivers for your animals is much appreciated and that we take this responsibility very seriously.

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Related articles

• Pet Sitters Give Animal Parents Peace of Mind (baxterspetsittingblog.wordpress.com)
• Benefits of using a Pet Sitter? (baxterspetsittingblog.wordpress.com)
• Prepare your pets & home for your pet sitter (baxterspetsittingblog.wordpress.com)

He loves to check out the neighborhood and make sure everyone knows he has been there.  He also likes to jump onto your lap and let you know he expects you to pay attention to him.

Archie is a playful pug who just wants to be pampered 24/7.  We are grateful to be able to be his parttime pamperer.

Schatze gets 3 walks a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year (for almost five years, no missed appointments). And she loves her life of luxury! To borrow a saying:

“Neither rain nor hail nor sleet nor snow nor heat of day nor dark of night shall keep this pet sitter from the swift completion of his/her appointed rounds.” Herodotus, 500 B.C. .

She lives with an Octagenarian who loves her dearly and makes sure she gets the right amount of exercise, proper diet and meds. Schatze is an Octagenarian too in dog years!