Some people remain pet-less because they want more freedom to travel or to stay in town for dinner on a whim, for example. They don’t want the burden of being home-bound because a dog needs to be let out, a cat wants to eat, or a parrot has separation anxiety.
For most of us, however, having pets is more important than the occasional inconvenience. We arrange our lives around them. And for those times when we can’t be there, we connect with neighbors who don’t mind checking in on our pet menagerie or keeping a single pet company in our absence. If the neighbor also has pets and you can reciprocate pet-care responsibilities, all the better.
Some of us have friends or family who are willing to feed and even clean litter boxes, shovel the backyard “bombs,” etc. for a reciprocal favor (use of the pool, a bag of oranges from our tree, or babysitting exchange, for example). And there are responsible teens who like animals and love earning a few bucks for spending time with yours.
Most pet owners need help on occasion. If you don’t have someone who can help you out
Peeek-a-Boo
with yours—there’s no one in your circle of friends, neighbors, coworkers, family—consider hiring a professional pet sitter.
No kidding, there are professional pet sitters and dog walkers (probably even pot-belly pig, llama, and 4-H sheep and steer walkers) out there. And most of them belong to the Pet Sitters International. Next week is National Professional Pet Sitters Week. This might be a good time to check out this organization to see what it can offer you and your pets. If you need a trusted pet sitter, they can find you one. If you’re looking for work within the world of animals, you can sign up to be trained and obtain credentials—making you a professional pet sitter/dog walker. Learn more here: https://www.petsit.com.
