I'm so happy to have my own pet sitter when you are away
Have you and your family ever gone on a trip when you couldn’t take your pet along? Who took care of your pet while you were away? A neighbor? A family member or friend nearby?
It can be a real inconvenience for them. And while they mean well your pet will get food and water but is likely not getting enough attention and interaction to keep them emotionally fed. A qualified pet sitter will spend an hour or so of dedicated time playing or just cuddling or talking and paying attention to your pet. This comforts any anxiety your pet may feel by your absence.
Do you have a new puppy or young dog that is very active while you are at school and your parents are at work? Very often these young ones get into mischief out of sheer boredom or feel frightened that they have been abandoned and will never see you again. They feel just as frightened as you may have when you were very little and your parents went out for the evening. You were too small to understand when they told you they would be back soon. Perhaps you were so little you don’t remember this, but I’ll bet your mother will tell you how you cried when they left.
Of course now you know they will be back and they have arranged for a person to come and stay with you to make sure you come to no harm, are fed and made comfortable so you can relax and go to sleep.
Well, just as you have a sitter when your parents go out, your young pet may also benefit from such a comforting presence during the day until they are old enough to feel secure while all in the family are away for the day.
But even then, there is a limit to how long a dog or cat can go without some kind of human interaction. Many professional couples or single individuals feel their companion animals are just like their children yet their workdays are very long. A qualified pet sitter would break up those long hours by taking the dog or dogs for a mid-day walk and give them the attention they crave making them feel secure until their human companion gets home.
I have used the word “qualified” with pet sitter because there is a reason to make sure the person that has access to your home and your pet is a professional and that your pet and home are safe. This article is to help you and your parents locate and identify a qualified pet sitter you can trust.
A qualified pet sitter will be insured and bonded and provide references, according to Barbara Gaskill of Your Lucky Pet Sitter in Lakewood, California. These should be offered to you without having to ask.
Your pet should feel confident going to the sitter. Dogs are excellent judges of character. If the dog is unusually wary – perhaps you should be too. Some cats are shy of any stranger so if they don’t come out to greet the new sitter it may not be of any significance. Still, how your pet accepts the pet sitter candidate should be considered.
Professional pet sitters take the time to get trained in animal CPR and first aid. They are business people and take their job seriously. You should interview any pet sitter prospect in depth. For a check list of what to ask about and expect go to Pet Sitters International and click on the link “Pet Sitter Interview Checklist” for a printable document.
The cost of a pet sitter is generally no more, and often times less, than boarding at a kennel or veterinarian. The benefits to your pets of staying in their own secure and familiar surroundings is invaluable to their well being mentally and physically because they are not exposed to diseases from other animals or from the stress of being in strange surroundings.
I look forward to visits from my pet sitter. She brings treats and sometimes new toys. The time my humans are away just flies by.
Blessings,
~Jack
