The Perfect Pet / House Sitter

A few years a go this Crazy Lady stayed with a friend's dog while she went out of town with her family.  I had no idea that would lead to what I do now -- pet and house sitting.  I guess I just didn't think about people paying others to stay in their home while they were away, but I can certainly see a need for it now.  

Of course it's easier on the pet to stay at home than it is to be in a kennel at the vet's office or someplace like that, although there are some really great boarding kennels out there now.  (It's also a good way for me to earn a few extra dollars because I can honestly tell you that no one gets rich on disability!)

It's also just good for the homeowner because someone in the home not only deters break ins, but it sure helps in other situations.  Just a couple of things that have occurred while I've been on a job have been a broken water pipe and the house getting struck by lightning, after the storm had passed.  (That was one crazy day!)  It's so much better to have someone there to respond as the crisis is happening, rather than coming home and having to respond to the mess you would find after the disaster has struck, and I can tell you that both of the incidents I mentioned could have resulted in disasters for the homeowners.  

And in a roundabout way, that brings me to the point of this blog post...

Because I'm a pet / house sitter I'm often asked, how does one find the perfect sitter?  Well, here are a few tips to help your search.

First, think about your pet.  For instance, if you're seeking a sitter for a dog, is your dog young, high energy, requires daily runs, etc.?  If that's the case, then you probably want to concentrate your search on someone who can spend a lot of time with your baby, take her on daily runs, and really use that energy so that she's not destructive while you're on vacation.

However, if your dog is older and enjoys napping the day away with occasional trips through the doggy door into the back yard, then a lower-energy sitter, such as a grandmother is probably the perfect choice.  

What if you have a puppy?  You might want to concentrate your search on someone who has experience training young dogs.  Match your sitter choice to your pet.

Now that you have an idea of who you're looking for, where do you look for them?  There are several places to check.  You can ask family, friends, and neighbors if they know someone.  You can also do a search at places such as Rover.com, Care.com, National Association of Professional Pet Sitters, Professional United Pet Sitters, etc.  Most sites allow you to search by location and more.  You can usually search by price as well.  

Look for a sitter who's experienced, has references, will meet with you and your pet beforehand, and provides updates with pictures during the stay.  When you meet the prospective sitter, make sure they mesh with both you and your pet.  If anyone is uncomfortable, don't be afraid to say, "No, thank you."

Make sure you check references that are provided, and be sure they come from clients, not from friends and family.  Friends and family are great, but you want to know how the sitter is on the job, not how they behave during a night out or at a family event.  

You also want to make sure you find a sitter that's capable of handling any emergencies that may arise, both pet related and otherwise.  That means checking to make sure they know pet first aid and CPR, while also knowing what to do should a pipe burst or some other home crisis occur.  

If the sitter doesn't ask you about, share with them about your vet, insurance, etc.  Also detail your pet's schedule for feeding and activities, so everyone knows what's involved and expected.  The more information that is shared up front is the less chance for surprises in the end.  

Again, see how your pet interacts with the person.  If something doesn't feel right, don't hesitate to keep looking.  Animals are very good judges of character, and this person will be staying in your home while taking care of a beloved, furry family member.  You need to trust them.  

One thing to always remember is to book your sitter as soon as you know the dates you'll need them.  Good sitters can book up months in advance, so you don't want to wait until the last minute to schedule the visit.

I hope this helps.  If you have questions, please ask them. I'll be more than happy to answer them, expand this post, and help in any way.

Have a great one!

The B**** is Back

Well, dear readers -- if there are any of you left, it has definitely been awhile since I’ve been here, hasn’t it? So what’s happened in the three or four or so years since we last visited?

Let’s take a little stroll down memory lane…

First, just let me say that I have not been hospitalized. That’s an achievement! What I am saying is that my health has been fairly stable, and that’s always a good thing.

Now, here are a few of the big things that have happened.

Jonathan made me a grandmother, and the little guy will be two this summer. He’s incredibly bright, he’s talking in both words and sign language, and he makes me so happy. I flew out to Oregon to meet him when he was 5 months old, and I was fortunate to be there for his first Hanukkah.

Jordan got married, gave me a granddaughter, and moved an hour south of Nashville. She just turned a year old, and she’s a bright one as well. She’ll be walking soon, and she knows quite a few words. She’s just very selective about when she says them, which reminds me so much of her daddy, who was never one to perform on command. She’s also famous for her “model face.” This little girl smiles and laughs all the time, but you point a camera at her, and she will not smile. Instead, she gives you the most serious, deadpan stare, just like a model on a runway. She nails it every time.

I've asked the grandbabies to call me Marmee. That goes back to my love of Louisa May Alcott.

Dad gave us a scare and required open heart surgery. Thankfully, he’s bounced back and is right back to working full time in his business.

Yvonne’s son gave her a grandson as well. He was born just three weeks after my little granddaughter, and he’s just about to turn one. He’s a pistol, whose favorite pastime is chasing his best friend, his dog Roxie.

I did some writing and had a couple of pieces published in some of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books: “A Cousin’s Love” is #85 in Messages from Heaven and Other Miracles and “Mama’s Little Doll” is in Life Lessons from the Cat. They’ve accepted a couple of others as well, but they won’t be published until later this year or next. Corona has screwed up a lot more than the toilet paper supply.

I was doing some occasional dog sitting for friends, so I thought I’d sign up for Rover.com. Yep, that turned into a job. Last September I was home all of about 4 days. The rest of it was spent in different homes sitting with different dogs. It’s no way to get rich, but it’s some nice extra cash every now and then. Plus, I get paid to play with dogs. How bad is that?

Just this year:

• My dad turned 80, and we surprised him with a nice little party and mini family reunion. Only one grandchild couldn’t make it -- he was on the road, but all of the great-grandchildren were there, as well other family and friends.
• A tornado just missed us here in Nashville, while it did a great deal of damage in other parts of the city. We heard it roar by. Then it went along I40 until it ran headlong into Cookeville. That’s where it became an EF4 and really did a number on my hometown. It tore up the area I grew up in and where I had my first apartment. In fact, the woman who lived in the apartment that we brought my older son home to after he was born was killed.
• And now I’m sheltering at home thanks to COVID-19. Yvonne won’t let me leave the house, so I sit here, watch movies, read, and try not to be so thoroughly bored that I start crocheting clothes for the dogs again. I have rediscovered my genealogy work, and I’ve found that fascinating for quite a few years, so that’s been a nice little thing..

Okay, that’s enough of an update for now. I know I’ve left out a ton of stuff, so I’ll address that in later posts. I’m guessing it may not have been too interesting, or I would have recalled it.

Either I lead a very quiet life, or I’m getting really forgetful in my old age.

The Hounds of Hell…

And a few more

We share our little trailer with a few animals.  I have two dogs, and Yvonne has seven cats.  Then we were just recently adopted by another dog.  We didn’t mean to have so many animals, but somehow they just keep getting dumped on us.



Titan chills out with a tennis ball.

The Dogs

Titan is a Weimaraner.  He’s a smart, beautiful dog, but he’s goofy, and there’s just no other way to say that.  He’ll be 7 in July, and he finally grew out of the puppy stage about a year ago.  The puppy stage with this dog was brutal.

Titan is a chewer, and he experiences separation anxiety, which means he chews even more when he is home alone.  A few of the items he has chewed include a staircase, a recliner, a dustbuster, and the left shoe of every pair I owned for a few years.  Those Kong toys for chewing dogs that are supposed to be practically indestructible?  Not for him.  They just usually took about five more minutes than a normal dog toy.  Now, thank goodness, Titan is only into chewing tennis balls and sticks.  Yvonne has a wonderful friend who plays tennis, and she keeps the goofball well supplied, and there’s always a stick to be found somewhere in our fenced-in yard so everything else appears to be safe for the time being, including my left shoes.

At 80 pounds Titan is a big dog, and he is blessed with ADHD.  For the longest time I’d try to walk him, and he would just take off running, usually knocking me to the ground and dragging me along behind.  I’ve experienced more than a few injuries thanks to this dog’s exuberance, and the neighbors experienced a few laughs at the spectacle of me bouncing along behind beast.

Brighid loves to ride in the car.

The second half of the Hounds of Hell is Brighid.  She’s a little diva of a Welsh Corgi of the Pembroke persuasion, and she’s nearly four months younger than Titan.  She’s small for a Corgi, but she makes up for that with attitude.  She thinks everyone who visits has stopped by for the express purpose of worshipping her, and she lets them know she expects them to be totally absorbed in their devotion to her.  She also tattles.  Titan gets by with nothing in our household because she tells us about his every mood.  If you burp in our home you had better make sure you excuse yourself afterwards or she’ll tattle about too.    Since she’s so vocal she has her own Facebook page so she can gather more worshippers.

And that brings us to the one we share.

Lil Bit the Chihuahua unexpectedly joined our home back in September.  She stuck her little head in the pet door and was promptly chased out by the Hounds.  I thought all of the commotion was because Brighid had tried to herd one of the cats out the door again, but when the barking didn’t stop I went outside to investigate and found a little three-pound bundle of energy.  Once I got the two beasts calmed down, the tiny puppy curled up, shivering, in my arms, and she just never left. 

Since Lil Bit was a full-blooded Chihuahua, had just been groomed, and was pretty much house broken, we just knew someone was looking for her, so we kept her around thinking her owner would soon be located.  We posted things all over Facebook, the neighborhood, and in local pet stores.  Yvonne knocked on doors, and I called vets, the nearby apartment complex, and more.  After two or three weeks it became apparent that someone had dropped this little dog in our yard on purpose as not a single person stepped forward to claim her.    

Neither Yvonne nor I were big Chihuahua fans, but this dog has one of the most pleasant personalities I’ve ever experienced.  She is always happy, wagging her tail, playing, and showing affection.  She’s just a little doll.  Until she sees a man.  She does NOT like men.  For some reason, they terrify her.  She learned young.

When Lil Bit is behaving Yvonne claims her as her dog.  When she misbehaves or needs to be fed she suddenly becomes mine.  That’s why we tell people that Lil Bit is the Music City Chihuahua with Two Mommies.  Not too many dogs can claim that title.

I refer to the dogs as My Entourage because it doesn’t matter where I am they’re usually only a step or two behind me.  You can’t lose me in the house.  Just look for the pack of dogs.

The Cats

Lynx is the matriarch of the clowder, which is the appropriate term for a group of cats.  (I bet you didn’t know that one, did you?)   Anyway, Lynx is about 16 or 17 years old.  Yvonne found her by a dumpster when she still lived in Arizona, and that was more than 15 years ago.  Even at her advanced age she’s a beautiful lady.  She’s a bobtailed Himalayan, and she’s strictly a housecat. 

I’m going to lump the next four together since they’re two pairs of siblings, but I can never keep straight which two go together.  All four of them make good use of the pet door, coming and going as they please.

·         Precious – This bobtailed gray tabby and white cat is a gentle sweetheart.  She was hit by a car as a kitten and probably should have died since her pelvis was crushed, but she’s still here several years later.  She has the softest fur and a very strange relationship with Brighid.  I’ve caught them curled up together, but then Brighid is driving her crazy by trying to herd her all over the house, which includes a lot of running and barking and which Precious does not seem to enjoy at all.

·         The Kitty – This little lady is a gray tabby, and she loves to talk.  I mean she really LOVES to talk.  She will carry on a complete conversation with you, and it will last an hour or more if you stop and pet her while it’s going on. 

·         June Bug – June Bug looks like Precious, just with more white.  However, she and Precious are not littermates.  June Bug is our hunter.   The only thing she can’t seem to catch is a mole.  We’re blessed with those in our yard, but she doesn’t take much interest in them.  Anything else, however, needs to watch out when she’s around.

·         Nub – Nub is our gentleman.  He’s a bobtailed tuxedo, very handsome, always very clean, and very laid back.  This cat is rarely in a hurry.  He just strolls through life like he doesn’t have a care in the world, which makes me wonder how he’s always catching birds.  He just loves to turn birds loose in the house.  Then he sits back and watches the mayhem of the Hounds going crazy and me trying to get the bird back out.  Nub seems to think he's more dog than cat.  He may spend the day outside acting like a feline, but he comes in every night to curl up with and sleep with the dogs.    

Titan snuggles with Nub

That brings me to the last two cats, the ones that are Yvonne’s by default, so to speak.  Shadow was discovered under the trailer as a kitten.  She’s a beautiful gray cat with a foul temper.  She’s evil.  I’ve seen it.  Yvonne’s daughter could do anything to this cat, and she would be so docile.  She’d curl up with her, very loving, and look absolutely normal.  But she’s not.  She likes to greet strangers as if she’s a sweet little kitty cat.  She allows them to touch her, and then she turns and attempts to rip out their throat.  She must always be approached with caution.  You have been warned.

Then there’s Nip.  Nip is a skinny tuxedo with a freakishly long tail.  He was adopted at a pet store by our former roommate who left him behind when she moved to Florida.  He’s a devilish sort, and his favorite thing in the world is to torment Brighid.  He loves to wait until she’s asleep, slowly sneak up, bop Brighid on the head, and take off running.  Brighid then jumps up barking like the house is on fire.  She doesn’t trust him and frequently complains about him, but he doesn’t seem to mind. 

Sadly, Nip was injured a few months ago.  We believe he was hit by a car.  While his mischievous personality is intact, his poor body isn’t the same.  He still runs and loves to torment Brighid, but he can’t jump anymore.  Climbing is rough for him, and he limps when it’s cold or rainy. 

So there you have it – our zoo.  We’ll share their exploits from time to time now that you have an idea of who they all are.