a good pet sitter is worth their weight in gold...

[strollingbones]

i do not trust many people with the task of taking care of my animals....so it is real important to me when i find someone i can trust...one of my close friends did it for me but has moved....i knew at the time..that she claimed credit while making her husband do it...but i was good with that...thor loves her husband and he is good to the dogs....cats ...he is rather indifferent about but does feed them and count heads...so he becomes her ex husband.....ouchie...and then i have several emergencies where i have to call him and ask him to step up and do the pet thing at the last minute...he has done it with no bitching....last weekend it took me 3 pet sitters to get thru 2 days...so suddenly i find myself....liking the ex hubby more than the friend....or perhaps i just realize he never was this horrid person she made him out to be...he is getting ready to close his mother's house...i ask him if he would like some help....he accepted...that floored me...

paybacks are a bitch but i am more than glad to help him and his siblings....he has really come thru for me...i have had horrible experiences with pet sitters....

so who does your pet sitting?

my sitters in order:

son...he is the first one to be called and normally does it...

ex hubby of good friend...he is next in line to be called....dependable and the dogs like him

my ex boss....he is the last one to be called...he forgets...i have to call him and remind him...but he is not afraid of the dogs....

 

[Mr. H.]

It's good to have a trusted friend or relative to do the job. If you go with a professional, make sure they are both insured and bonded. We hooked up with a good local outfit and have been with them for a couple of years now. They have two to three who rotate on their staff. They stop by the house 3x/day if needed. Morning, afternoon, evening. They even bring in the mail and get the paper off the porch. $5 a pop/ $15/day.

 

[strollingbones]

thanks...i live in the country....no need for a walker...and i would never trust the mutts to a stranger....i would stay home first....i have had a dog sitter that nearly killed my dog before....no chances....

 

[Gracie]

I trust NOBODY with my pets any more. If I need someone, I take them to my vet, who will board them at his pet hospital. At least they are in a place where their doctor is right there. Only drawback is..they are stuck in a cage. My pets don't go in cages.

Last time I trusted someone, Hubby and I went to Maui for a week. I called her the night we arrived to make sure all was well. No answer. I called and called and called. No answer. The next morning, I called and she answered. I asked where the hell she had been and she said in jail. So my dogs were alone all day, no food, no lights, no tv, no PERSON. For the first time...completly and utterly alone. In the dark. For over 24 hours. So I called an ex tenant of mine at the apartment complex I used to managed and begged him to crawl in a window and stay here at the house and sit my kids. He agreed. And he was here the whole 6 days. I was ready to come home the second day but I didn't have to, but I worried myself sick. I asked if he kicked the bitch out and he said he sure did. When we got home, all was well and I gave him 100 bucks. Then about a month later, he moved in as a roomie. He wanted me to give him Gracie...he fell in love with her. I said no..I loved her too but he was welcome to be with her any time he wanted. He lived here about a year, then met a gal and got married..and STILL wanted to take Gracie. I said sorry, no. So he went to the pound and got a dog that looked like her.

So in answer to your question....nobody ever watches my dogs any more. Hubby goes to the store, I stay here. I go to the doctor, he stays here. They are NEVER alone.

 

[Gracie]

thanks...i live in the country....no need for a walker...and i would never trust the mutts to a stranger....i would stay home first....i have had a dog sitter that nearly killed my dog before....no chances....

The inlaws live with us now. They killed my other dog. They didn't mean to. Thanksgiving day, 10 years or so ago. They let her out late at night as they packed their car to go home. Without a leash. Parked on a busy street. A truck was speeding and hit him. He died on the way to the ER that is 30 miles away. I will NEVER trust my dogs to THEM either. She offers all the time and my response is "Oh hell no. You'd just kill another dog".

Guess I never got over it.