Have you looked at the young-adult children of your friends in town? Or young-adult nieces or nephews? With either I'd "hire" them to come out & help a few times with kennel duties so you can get a hint about how they'd work out unsupervised. (I mean if they need constant supervision to finish tasks when you're with them... forget leaving them alone!) If those are dead ends... contact your local vets for information on pet-sitters. When I worked for a vet, we'd often get fliers from people who were starting pet-sitting or yard cleaning businesses. As with any other service provider, check them out before leaving them in charge! Don't forget to try large animal vets. Check with dog trainers or dog groomers for leads, breed rescues & humane societies. Diane in MI (who is lucky to have a great farm sitter who stays at my house & takes care of my dogs & cats & sheep & donkey & chickens & peafowl when I travel to herding events) ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2007. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - www.showgsd.org ============================================================================