From Zoo Keeper to Professional Pet Sitter
In honor Professional Pet Sitters Week, we are highlighting members of Pet Sitters International (PSI) and sharing how they transitioned into their current profession of professional pet sitting. One such member is Vanessa Badger, owner of Zoo Sitters LLC in Cape May, NJ.
After obtaining her degree in psychology with a concentration in Animal Behavior Research, Vanessa worked at a zoo caring for a variety of exotic animals, including monkeys, bats, large cats and bears.
From there, she ultimately decided to pursue a career in “Corporate America,” but felt unfulfilled. Her desire to combine her passions—animals and business—led her to pursue pet sitting.
Learn more about Vanessa and her decision to become a professional pet sitter.
From Corporate Excellence to Decadent Dogs
In honor Professional Pet Sitters Week, we are highlighting members of Pet Sitters International (PSI) and sharing how they transitioned into their current profession of professional pet sitting. Rob Nager, owner of Decadent Dog, in Needham, MA, spent nearly 15 years working in corporate sales and business development.
Rob traveled nationally, working with senior executives from leading organizations like Disney and Target. At first, the travel and expense accounts were fun. However, he says the glamour quickly vanished and left him with feelings of stress and doom in anticipation of going to work the next day.
“In the last few years of my career, I had been working for start-up technology companies which were exciting - but risky,” Nager said.
He endured layoffs and got news of yet another one in April, 2002. That summer, he decided to take some time off from his job search to walk dogs.
Catching Kibble…
Check out this beautiful video posted on Peter Shankman’s blog. It features dogs catching kibble at 1000 frames per second for a Pedigree ad.
Sit. Stay. And thank your pet sitter!
Pet Sitters International encourages pet owners and pet lovers alike to celebrate Professional Pet Sitters Week, March 7-13, 2010. This international campaign, introduced by PSI in 1995, seeks to educate pet owners about the advantages of in-home pet care, as well as to encourage the public to explore professional pet sitting as a viable and rewarding career opportunity.
Despite a slowing economy, demand for professional pet-care services remains high. Since 1994 PSI’s membership has grown to nearly 8,000 independent professional pet-sitting businesses with an average of 191 clients each. These sitters service more than 1.5 million clients and deliver more than 17.4 million pet-sitting engagements per year.
“Professional pet sitting has become an important service industry in the past 16 years. Many professional pet sitters put in long hours, seven days a week, 365 days a year, so they can provide personal in-home care for pets of all kinds,” says Patti Moran, president of PSI. “The tireless efforts of these small business owners and their staffs to provide optimal care to pets and their owners truly deserve recognition.”
Not using a PSI pet sitter? Visit the PSI Web site to find one that services your area.
Why hire a professional?
It’s said that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. For those escaping the wintery weather that has blanketed much of the country over the past several months, don’t forget about your pet.
Hire a professional pet sitter now for spring travel and rest assured that your pets and home will be safe in the hands of a professional while you’re away.
The benefits of leaving pets at home are numerous. Research has shown that pets are happier and experience less stress at home. A pet’s diet and exercise routines are uninterrupted and a pet’s exposure to illness is minimized. Professional pet sitters set themselves apart from their competition by:
· belonging to a professional organization.
· carrying liability and bonding insurance.
· becoming Accredited.
· displaying professional excellence.
· providing outstanding service.
· following high-quality standards.
You might not realize this, but pet sitters are responsible for both the pets and property in their care, as well as any property damage or bodily injury they could potentially cause to a third party.
Most people naturally think of the damage a dog bite could cause, but few people consider the costs involved with injuries to the pets or damage to the property that are in the care of a pet sitter. Consider the following scenarios in which the pet sitters were professionals and carried insurance.
1. A pet sitter used the bathroom in her client’s home and apparently broke the toilet while flushing it. She did her best to fix the handle and waited until the water stopped running. Everything seemed to be fine when she left the home. Unfortunately, when she came back later that evening, she found that the water had not only flooded the upstairs bathroom, but it also damaged the room below which included furnishings and equipment. It cost $17,000 to repair the damage. Since she carried liability insurance, which included the care, custody and control clause, everything was covered.
2. A pet sitter took a dog for a routine walk, returned to the home and put the dog back in the house. The client returned home and found doggie paw prints all over the carpet and furniture. Unknowingly, this sitter had walked the dog through hot tar and the carpet and furnishings were damaged beyond repair. Payouts for these claims have ranged from $1,500 to over $15,000.
For more information or to locate the best care for your best friends, please visit www.petsit.com.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again
Pet Dental Health Month is just about over. Did you schedule or take your pet for an annual teeth cleaning? Or have you attempted to brush your pet’s teeth at home? How’d it go?
The first few times probably weren’t a walk in the park. Don’t give up. Preventative at-home care helps combat dental disease in pets and pet dentists feel it is a critical part of dental care. At-home dental care can be successful if started young, done consistently and made into a positive experience for the pet.
Still intimidated by Fido’s ferocious teeth? Check out this video developed by veterinary experts at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine for step-by-step instructions to show you how to brush your cat’s teeth. These instructions will work on dogs too!
For more information, please visit Pet Dental Health Month.
Bone Appétit
Today is International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day. Be sure to treat your pup to a biscuit or two!
While there are a multitude of dog biscuits on the market to choose from, why not bake a homemade treat for your dog? Sure, a store-bought cookie tastes great, but there is just something about a homemade cookie that can turn a bad day into a good one.
Not sure where to start? Crack open one of these dog biscuit cookbooks to find a recipe your pooch will like and get baking. Extra tail wags for creativeness!
Trust us; your dog will thank you!
Let PSI Help Put You on the Road to Pet-Sitting Success
Interested in pursuing a career in professional pet sitting? Not quite sure where to start?
Pet Sitters International (PSI) offers all of the tools you need to put your new pet-sitting service on the road to success. And one lucky new member will receive those tools for FREE.
All new members joining PSI between February 1, 2010 - March 15, 2010 who include promo code: MRC10 on their application form will be entered for a chance to win PSI’s 2010 Pet-Sitting Success Tool Kit, valued at nearly $600!
The 2010 Pet-Sitting Success Tool Kit includes:
-
PSI’s Accreditation Program ($299 USD + S&H)
-
Essentials Kit from the PSIStoreOnline.com ($125 USD + S&H)
-
First-year free software, PowerPetSitter.com’s Power Pet Sitter Solo ($99 USD)
Learn more about the 2010 Pet-Sitting Success Tool Kit and how to get started on the road to pet-sitting success.
-
Help Save a Pet’s Life
It’s a fact, pet overpopulation is a problem. According to the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), five out of ten dogs and seven out of ten cats in shelters are destroyed simply because there is no one to adopt them.
Help curb pet overpopulation on Feb. 23, the 16th annual Spay Day, a campaign sponsored by The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to inspire people to save animal lives by spaying or neutering their pets.
Check out these three ways to participate in Spay Day!
Spay/Neuter Your Pet
If your pet isn’t spayed or neutered, pledge to do so on this day. Spaying and neutering:
- increases your pet’s chance of a longer and healthier life.
- reduces your pet’s urge to roam.
- reduces the number of unwanted cats/kittens/dogs/puppies.
Enter the Spay Day Online Pet Photo Contest
Win prizes and raise lifesaving funds for spay/neuter by entering your pet’s picture in the Spay Day 2010 Online Pet Photo Contest, which runs from Jan. 20-Mar. 4, 2010.Each vote for your pet costs just $1, with the money going to the eligible Spay Day Event Organizer of your choice to help spay or neuter even more pets after this important day has passed. Spay Day 2009 photo contest entrants raised more that $228,000 for 173 U.S. event organizers, which allowed them to spay or neuter an estimated 7,361 additional animals.
Volunteer at an Event
Volunteers are often needed for a variety of important tasks at Spay Day events. For example, during spay/neuter clinics volunteers may assist with greeting and checking in clients and monitoring recovering animals. Other volunteer positions may include staffing information tables, hosting fundraising parties and helping to publicize the event.For more information on Spay Day and to locate a Spay Day event near you, please visit the HSUS Web site.
Meet PSI’s 2009 Pet Sitter of the Year
Did your pet sitter have what it took to be crowned PSI’s 2009 Pet Sitter of the Year™? Well, if your pet sitter is Cara Armour, owner of Active Paws, Watertown, MA, the answer is yes!
Armour was crowned PSI’s new Pet Sitter of the Year™ at the Quest 2010 Welcome Lunch on February 5, 2010.
With nearly 300 nominations for 30 PSI members in 16 states and Canada, the decision was tough! We’d like to congratulate Armour and the Top 5 Finalists in the 2009 Pet Sitter of the Year™ competition:
Scott Black, Personal Touch Pet Sitting Inc., Kingwood, TX
Kimberly Boyd, Canine Cuddle Care, Alpharetta, GA
Rita Burrows, Grand Paws at Home LLC, Dalton, GA
Donna McPherson, Pawsitively Pets Inc., Atlanta, GA
To read Armour’s story about how she decided to become a professional pet sitter, please visit the PSI Web site.
If you think your pet sitter has what it takes to be “top dog” next year, be sure to nominate them for the 2010 Pet Sitter of the Year™!
Follow Us on Twitter!
Locate a Pet Sitter
Recent Comments