Pet Services

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. Research, research, research! A professional pet sitter will be insured, certified in Pet CPR/First Aid by the American Red Cross or Pet Tech, and be a member of at least one professional pet sitting association. He/she should also have excellent references and a potential customer should definitely follow up on those. I'd also look for someone that has a website and is listed on sites that offer the opportunity to review that sitter, such as yelp, merchantcircle, thumbtack, cityvoter, and insider pages. Sites such as these can be a good indicator that someone is serious about providing excellent customer service because if your experience isn't awesome, you have the entire internet to share that with. Of course, if your experience is awesome, please also take the time to let the entire internet know!

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. My business is really based on trust and openness so I don't have any "secrets" per se. If I have a trick that works for me, I share it with my clients so that they can use the same techniques with their pets when they are home.

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. Before being able to provide a quote, I need to know what part of town the client is in to make sure it's in an area I service, the number and type of pets that care is being sought for, the dates that service is needed, and how many visits a day are needed.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. Communication is big, huge, giant thing for me to have between my clients and myself. I take steps to ensure that I am easy to reach at all times. I always have my cell phone with me, and clients know they are welcome to call or text at any time to check on their pets. I also have a daily blog with pet photos and even video clips so clients know that their pets are being well cared for while they are gone.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. My number one answer would have to be that I get to interact with so many wonderful pets every single day! The second biggest thing is that the hours are flexible which allows me to spend more time with my own family (furry and not) and I also get to devote a good amount of time to my volunteer work with Chako Pit Bull Rescue & Advocacy and the Sacramento House Rabbit Society.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. This is why I have a f.a.q. on my website, www.pawsitiveattention.com =) If I had to pick just one top question though, it would be, "How does pet sitting compare to a boarding facility?" My answer is: "It doesn't!" I'm not in competition with boarding facilities as in-your-home pet sitting is a highly specialized service. There are pros and cons to both options and I am happy to discuss those with potential cliens to ensure that the care they choose for their pets will meet the pets' and client's needs the best.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. I could go on and on and on about things that have happened in the course of my pet sitting adventures. One recent incident happened when I was cleaning out a bunny condo. The box of hay kept falling on my head from the shelf above and I kept putting it back up but could not figure out why it kept falling until I looked up at just the right moment to see one of the dwarf bunnies pushing the box over and onto my head!

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. I've been very fortunate in that my current customers know what being a professional in this business really means. It's very easy to write off pet sitting as something that any kid with a love for animals can do until you run into the stickier situations that only a tru pro can handle. I've had a few run-ins with off leash dogs that I was able to control due to my background, experience, and equipment. For someone without all those things, the situations could have turned out very tragically.

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. I regularly take part in conference calls, webinars, and online courses that relate to my business as well as read, read, and read some more! I've also found that I am learning quite a bit from working with Chako and the Sacramento House Rabbit Society.