It’s a Ruff Life
Susan has a Master’s Degree and is an ordained minister. People are often surprised by that. Erick has a Business Degree and a Security Clearance. People are surprised by that, as well. We have chosen to be Professional Pet Sitters because it’s our passion.
There’s often a misunderstanding about what a Professional Pet Sitter does. Besides the obvious responsibilities that are involved in pet care, we are yard maintenance/ handy men/poop detectives/pet EMT responders/counselors/resource specialists. A higher power has called us to ensure that EVERY pet in McKinney and Melissa feels loved and safe when their pet parents are away.
We attend numerous networking and fundraising events in the area. When people hear what we do, the response usually is “What a fantastic job! You get to play with dogs every day!” And sometimes, there’s the disappointing response of, “is that even a REAL job?”.
We are small business owners. We provide employment to people in our community and are SO proud to be contributing to the economies of McKinney and Melissa. We know how to create a business plan. We know the difference between a Sole Proprietorship and an LLC. We understand marketing, uman resources, social media, quarterly tax payments, Worker’s Comp, customer service, and ever-changing technology. We provide resources to the Collin County Animal Services, support a number of community events, and provide college scholarships to higher education students studying an animal care field.
Our love of caring for critters is not glamorous. We are outside every day. This means that we are in the oppressive Texas heat, drenched in sweat. We walk pups in the pouring rain and on days when it’s so cold that the wind stings our faces. We wrangle cats that require meds. Snakes, “fancy rats”, gerbils, guinea pigs, exotic birds, bearded dragons…each pet we care for is precious to us. We scoop litter and clean up vomit. We have been asked to wipe dog butts. Have you ever seen blood splatter at a crime scene? Now imagine that it’s poop and not blood. We’ve had to clean that up.
So, what’s the “upside”? Giving clients “peace of mind.” Dog kisses and belly rubs. Playing with a cat who we would “never see”. We develop deep relationships with our incredible clients and fiercely love their pets. We grieve when clients move, have a different work schedule that means we no longer see their pup every day, or a pet crosses over the rainbow bridge.
We are trained and educated professionals. We are not the kid down the street or your neighbor. We applaud their great intentions, but what happens when a better offer comes along? We have many clients that call at the last minute because the teenager, or hobbyist they hired from WAG! Or Rover, chose to go to a movie, or worse, decided not to show up, or decided to go on vacation. We do not “bail” on our clients. This is not just a job to us, it’s who we ARE.
We are professionals, not hobbyists. We are trained and educated in pet care. We understand fence aggression, separation anxiety, Covid pets, and we know the 6 levels of a dog bite. We know how to understand a dog or cat’s body language We are pet CPR/first aid certified. We are fully insured. We PAY TAXES.
At the end of the day, we smell like a dog and are usually covered in fur and slobber.
But, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
To learn more about our services provided in your Melissa, Tx or McKinney, Tx home contact us at [email protected] or complete this contact form