VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE… One thing I love about being a Professional Pet Sitter: You gotta love Northern California.
On any given day you walk through sunny warmth, cloudy windy briskness, rain, sleet, hail, snow and then sunny and warm again….all in one day! The recent indecision in the weather patterns got me thinking how much I love it: the change, the variety, the “what will come next?” of it all.
Suddenly I’m remembering that this is also one of the things I love most about being a Professional Pet Sitter. Every day is different, even when I’m obviously visiting, caring for, playing with, walking the same pets for days at a time, every day brings new adventures, never knowing what’s in store.
The weather is one thing for sure, but what about that deer that leaps across the road right in front of us on our walk, or the foxtail that gets into the paw? Can’t find the favorite catnip toy or ball, and so begins the intensive search high and low through all the rooms and under all the furniture that becomes a game in itself. Sometimes it’s the pet that just doesn’t feel “in the mood” so we just sit/lie, snuggle and chat. Then suddenly all is well with the world; we’re off and running again. The shy kitty who has found a new place to hide and is not sharing the information. How about one of my all-time favorites: being way down that rocky, winding dirt road and coming out to find a flat tire and I have no cell phone signal.
Occasionally there’s been the home that is suddenly snowed in. After hiking down through the woods, snow up to my hip (don’t want to get stuck in that driveway), and because we’re expecting more snow tonight and I know I may not get back in here after that, I load up Ms. Kitty in the pet carrier, hike back to the car, and drive her back to my house for the duration. I’m on an extended overnight and the poor pup is feeling sad about his family, howling and pacing all night….and I howl and pace right alongside….next day we are best buddies and we know it’ll be alright.
In my car I carry all manner of potentially necessary animal supplies, first aid paraphernalia, changes of clothes and shoes, my food for the day and plenty of water, always thinking ahead of the next possibility based partly on what’s on the schedule, partly on weather reports and partly on the rest of my life.
But when I’m there and I’m snuggling, playing, chatting, walking/exercising, and caring for all these wonderful animals, I am absolutely present. You cannot do what a good pet sitter does and be distracted by phones, other problems, or what is on the agenda next. We have to be present and focused; the pets we care for “demand” it just by the very interactions we share. As a Professional Pet Sitter I am going to get there and I am going to make it happen.
Having said all this I want to thank all my clients, my future clients, and their families for letting me share their lives. It is unbelievably rewarding and fun…..lots of work…..but definitely worth it all the way around. And I know at the end of my day, when I tumble into bed, tired and satisfied, heart full, that this is what I was meant to do.
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