Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a Professional Pet Sitter?
Susan has a Master’s Degree and is an ordained minister. People are often surprised by that. Erick has a Business Degree and before he retired, a Security Clearance. People are surprised by that, as well. We have chosen to be Pet Care Professionals because it’s our passion. There are people that think we do this because we couldn’t make it in the corporate and nonprofit world. It’s often because there’s a misunderstanding about what a Pet Care Professional does. Besides the obvious responsibilities that are involved in pet care, we are yard maintenance/handymen/detectives/pet EMT responders/counselors/resource specialists. A higher power has called us to ensure that EVERY pet in our community feels loved and safe when their pet parents are away.
We attend numerous networking and community events in McKinney. When people hear what we do, the response usually is “What a fantastic job! You get to play with dogs every day!” And sometimes, there’s the disappointing response of, “is that even a REAL job?”.
We are small business owners. We provide employment to numerous people in our community and are SO proud to be contributing to the economy of McKinney. We know how to create a business plan. We know the difference between a Sole Proprietorship and an LLC. In addition to pet care, we understand Marketing, Human Resources, Social Media, Customer Service, and ever-changing technology.
Our love of caring for critters is not glamorous. We are outside every day. This means we are in the oppressive Texas heat, drenched in sweat. We walk pups in the pouring rain and on days when it’s so cold that the wind stings our faces. We wrangle cats that require meds. Snakes, “fancy rats”, gerbils, guinea pigs, exotic birds, fish, chickens, bearded dragons…each pet we care for is precious to us. We scoop litter and clean up vomit. We have been asked to wipe dog butts. Have you ever seen blood splatter at a crime scene on a TV show? Now imagine that it’s poop and not blood. We’ve had to clean that up.
So, what’s the “upside”? Giving clients “peace of mind.” Dog kisses and belly rubs. Playing with a cat whom we would “never see”. We develop deep relationships with our incredible clients and fiercely love their pets. We grieve when clients move, have a different work schedule that means we no longer see their pup every day, or a pet crosses over the rainbow bridge.
We are trained and educated professionals. We are not the kid down the street or your neighbor. We applaud their great intentions, but what happens when a better offer comes along? We have many clients that called at the last minute because the teenager they hired chose to go to a movie, or worse, decided not to show up! or the neighbor decided to go on vacation. We do not “bail” on our clients. This is not just a job to us, it’s who we ARE.
We are professionals, not hobbyists. We are trained and educated in pet care. We understand fence aggression, separation anxiety, and we know the 6 levels of a dog bite. We are pet CPR/first aid certified. We are fully insured. We PAY TAXES.
At the end of the day, we smell like a dog and are usually covered in fur and slobber.
But, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
