[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Who's going to watch your dogs?
- From: "L. Hartten" <hartten@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 09:33:52 -0600
Hi Barbara,
On 9/13/06 6:30 AM, Barbara Galasso wrote:
> The National is fast approaching. Some of your dogs you'll take with
> you and others will remain home. Being that I'm single, I don't have
> anyone home to watch my dogs, so I have a choice, either to get someone
> in to feed them and bring them in, or to board them. The later is not
> what I want to do. Where I used to live, I always had girls come in to
> take care of them. So I got some names from my vet and someone who
> breeds another breed of dog who knows someone who does this. I'll start
> calling these people this week. What's your feeling......have someone
> come in or board? What's been your experience with either one of these?
>
I had a vet tech who worked with a vet from church sit for me once,
just for a weekend; she wasn't very responsible and I never did that
again. For the last few years, I've been using pet sitters whenever
Kate & I are away. (If I have to go away without her, whoever stays at
the house with her also supervises the pets.) There's now a membership
organization for pet sitters that has a web site (www.petsit.com) that
can help you find a pet sitter and give you information about how to
pick one.
I interviewed several before I chose one (who was awesome). When she
had to stop sitting because of family issues, I used another one time
(didn't work well), then went back to the drawing board to find &
interview the pair I'm using now (great folks). The pet sitters I've
used have been bonded and insured; the 1st 2 times I didn't check
references, this last time I sure did! My pet sitters have been willing
to come 2-3 times/day, depending on my pets' current needs, to
toilet/feed/water/medicate/walk/play with everyone. In addition,
they'll put out garbage cans and bring in mail and twiddle with blinds &
windows. They write up notes each time they visit, so I know what's up.
I think they charge $15 for 1visit/day, $25 for 2, $35 for 3 -- 2 dogs +
2 cats fits under that, any more animals might be extra. In theory,
they spend 30min per visit, but I can tell they usually spend more --
maybe that's tied to the note they usually leave at the end of the
written record saying I have the sweetest dogs they sit!
I always ask potential pet sitters a lot of questions ahead of time,
but the good ones will ask you a lot, too. The current ones have a
detailed form about to fill out about each pet. I also type up detailed
instructions for each pet and include info about the vet and about 2
friends who have house keys & know the dogs. I give them a copy and
leave another on the fridge.
Cheers,
Leslie
--
Leslie M. Hartten web: http://spot.colorado.edu/~hartten
CIRES, Univ. of Colorado email: hartten@xxxxxxxxxxxx
--
Brittany, "Upland Sweet Baker" (blue belton English Setter bitch, 7/95)
Indi, "TerraNorte's Midnight Indigo" (black & tan German Shepherd bitch,
12/04)
at the Bridge: Sebago, "Starray's Granite Lake" (GSD, 6/96-10/05)
--
Disclaimer: The contents of this message are mine personally and do not
necessarily reflect any position of the Government of the United States
of America, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or the
University of Colorado.
============================================================================
POST is Copyrighted 2006. 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 - URL temporarily deleted due to AOL issues
============================================================================
Other related posts:
