The joy of multiple pet families.

There are folks who are dog people, and some who are cat people. So many of the clients we serve have multiple pet families -- dogs, cats, birds, even a snake (gotta give a shout out to Cecil!). At one point, we had two guinea pigs -- Burps and Giggles (very cleverly named by a 4 year old).


Karl and I are proud owners of three dogs and six cats -- I think it helps give us a bit more cred when we're chatting with potential clients, who've had a difficult time finding a reputable pet sitter. Having a large group of furry friends in your house is work!  Dealing with random urine spots, kitty vomit, the enormous amount of pet hair, the cat who likes to meow very loudly in the middle of the night, and so on........oh, and don't forget the large amount of poop in the backyard. Hey, it's good fertilizer, right?  :)

The pet info form that we send out to clients is pretty detailed -- imagine, though, when you have a client with nine pets!  Inevitably, we'll have extra notes, which is great and helps us do an even better job. You'll get nine different personalities, each with various quirks and issues. It's a lot to keep track of, but we pride ourselves on being able to handle it. We've looked for cats under the bed or covers, seen dog poo in a variety of colors, sat on the floor next to a dog so he or she will eat, hand fed dogs (and treats to a cat!). We've pretended to eat a dog's kibble in order to make them jealous, therefore getting them to eat (Karl does that a lot -- I think he may have been a dog in a former life). We've hung out with cats who see you and think "jungle gym" and cats who see you and freak out. We've been locked out, set off alarms, made mistakes, gotten pooped on, called a dog or cat by the wrong name when talking to a client, and gotten all manner of scrapes and scratches. Once you do a sit a few times, you begin to learn the personalities........and yes, it is possible to learn the personalities of nine different animals. Remember the pet info form I mentioned before?  Never leave home without it -- especially if a client has attached special notes or extra instructions. Trust me.