Recently someone in the community was raving about the place they take their dog to board and saying that using a petsitter just isn't for them because.. "..he
needs more attention then someone just to come in let him out for
potty, feed and water him maybe play for a few minutes then leave." The person later stated this is just what they perceive petsitters to do, when it doesn't appear they have ever used a petsitter before. Though this comment wasn't directed at me, when I read it I certainly took offense. What do people perceive petsitters to do then??
Not all petsitters create themselves equal. There are those who do it on the side for extra income and there are those like me who do this full-time. There are those like me who invest in their business and invest in the pets they take care of and purchase insurance, and those who do not. There are those who either have background knowledge (like I am a former vet tech) or further themselves by getting pet CPR trained etc, and those who do not. Et cetera, et cetera...
So here's an idea of what I do during the busy season (Thanksgiving-New Years). I'm currently working 6 weeks straight with out of town families and my normal dog walks/runs/visits. During this current 6 week stretch, there were many many days where I was leaving the house for the day while it was still dark out. I'd go to 2-4 homes back to back to do the first visit of the day, letting dogs out for potty, feeding breakfast to everyone, giving medications, rolling garbage cans out to the curb, cleaning litter boxes etc. Then I might do some of my own errands while I was in town (we live 20 minutes out of town so grocery trips are at the tail-end of my morning visits). I come home for 2 hours then I go back out if someone is needing a lunch visit, or a lunch dog-walk. The come back home for 2 hours, make my husband's lunch because he works a swing-shift and leaves for work around 3pm. Then I go back out again for some dinner visits, bring in garbage cans, collect mail.. and the sun has already set behind the mountains by the time I get home. I'll get a few more hours at home in the evening and then go back out around 8pm-9pm to do some end-of-the-night potty/bedtime visits. Often times when I am home, I'm following up on emails with pet parents or researching different ideas to help a leash-puller, or maybe on the phone with a pet parent who needs some advice.
I don't believe in bare-minimum... if a client wants me to visit their cats 3x a day, I do it! Some dogs get visits 4x a day, some dogs get walks tacked onto their petsitting visits to help work out the wiggles while their families are away. There's usually a fair amount of cleaning up I do too, if a dog tears apart a toy, or spills a water dish, or cleaning up used potty pads, scooping up poops in the yard... there's always something to clean. Lights are rotated to give the lived-in appearance, packages are brought inside, newspapers are collected. Belly rubs are handed out one by one, I go out into the yard with dogs to play with them during the day and at night in case there are owls hoping for a small canine meal. Sometimes I bring over my own homegrown catnip to the cats that like it and sometimes (pretty often) I'm laying on the floor next to a cat or dog giving them some lovies.
During these busy times, petsitters sacrifice a lot. We work over holidays, unable to see friends and family. One of our own dogs started acting out because he wasn't getting the attention he normally gets. My poor husband doesn't get a decent home cooked meal while I'm this busy, but he understands. The farm chores all get postponed for a few weeks until I have the time and energy to start prepping garden beds for the next year. I also get a lot of joy from giving away at least half of our garden produce every year, some of my pet parents that I see on a consistent basis get to enjoy our organic locally grown produce.
I do consider petsitting a labor of love. I really do love helping people out and being someone they can rely on to take care of their pets and homes. A very large amount of money I earn goes straight back into my car for gas, extra oil changes, and needing tires replaced sooner than the average person. It also goes towards my insurance that I purchase every year, which protects the pets and homes I watch (most boarding places refuse insurance and instead make you sign a liability form).
So yeah, I take offense when someone says petsitters only take care of pets for a few minutes.
