With permission to cross-post I give you a real pet hero that went above and beyond the call of duty.

This is a situation this last week that happened to a fellow pet sitter. She was pet sitting three cats for a client that was going out of town on vacation for the holiday. The pet sitters initial visit with the client meant getting all the right documentation down. Where crates are kept, vets address and phone number, cat’s favorite hideouts, fire extinguishers, etc. (As professionals we take our jobs seriously).

The day before the cat sit, the client informed her she had hired a painting crew to remove lead paint from the outside of her house using an environmentally safe method. The environmentally safe method they were using? Propane torches to heat the paint then scrape it off. (yes, this is an accepted practice).

During her second visit as she was attempting to bring one shy cat out of her shell, when suddenly someone started banging on the door. As she opened the door all she could see was a cascade of water pouring over the front entry way, seeing no one she shut the door, but then came the banging on a side door, the cats by then had scattered and were in hiding. She opened the side door and one of the painters was yelling that the house was on fire, to get out and call 911.

As she was dialing 911, she was also focused on getting the three cats out as well. The first cat she put into his carrier. But the other two were no where to be found. Smoke started to fill the house and she found out that an attic fan was pulling the fire into the house, so she needed to go into the basement and shut off all power.

Because she had the client fill out a questioner on where the breaker box and cat carriers were, she was able to locate everything. The fire department arrived by then and took over the situation. As she could not get to the other two cats, she was able to give the carriers to the fire department and tell them the exact location where the cats would be hiding. The Portland fire department did a wonderful job of rescuing the two remaining cats.

After securing the safety of all three cats, the pet sitter then called the owner informing her of the situation. In her own words, “ As I see it, after safeguarding all three cats, my job as a
professional at this point was to try to help safeguard my client’s
possessions, then help the fire department figure out how it happened, and then answer any questions they had.”

Through out this ordeal, which took over 4.5 hours, she was in constant contact with the owner, taking notes, working with the client’s handyman and a hiring disaster recovery specialist, (by consent of the owner), recovering personal items, and taking the time to go to a store, buy all new cat products and taking the cats to the owners friend for safe keeping and giving the cats extra love.

To give recognition where it’s due here is our hero for the year:

*Sherry Hasslacher, owner of Sherry’s House Pet Sitting & Dog Walking

I read this in a monthly magazine the other day and I for one have to agree while I have cut back drastically on many things, my dogs and their life style are not one of them. If your like me, your dogs are your family and you will do pretty much anything to keep them healthy and happy. If only my dogs knew how good they had it.

I recently had a discussion on whether to send dogs to a kennel or keep them home. While kennels are great places for some pets, others are not so happy to be there. That said, there are several reasons why hiring a pet sitter to be with your pets and/ or sitting overnight might be the better alternative. Your pet might be ill, have separation anxiety or you want sole attention paid to your pets. One thing to bear in mind,however, is it is going to cost the owner an average of 30% or more to to hire a  professional pet sitter for overnights. Is this worth it? It depends on whether you want a more personalized service or not.  

I, for one want a more personalized service and am willing factor in the expense. I want my dogs in their own home, not a place where they are competing for some one’s undivided attention. Where they can sleep and play in familiar surroundings. For this, yes I pay more. It is a personalized service.I am asking the pet sitter for their undivided attention, for their time and money spent on gas to drive out to my house just to keep my dogs happy. I don’t ask for “discounts” because I know that they are giving their time for just my dogs. Is it worth it? You bet, I come home to happy dogs. My house is still the same, my plants are watered, my mail has been brought in. I am more than happy to pay the price for the well being of my dogs.

As a pet sitter, I provide not only the convenience of keeping your dog or cat home where they are most comfortable, but I interact one on one. No multiple dogs to divide my attention among. Where the dogs are taken for a walk when they are used to be taken, not when time is slotted for each dog. Where your cats can play, be brushed and feel the attention is solely on them.  I am there to not only watch your animals but to watch your house as well.

The standard for deciding between a kennel and professional pet sitter  is to evaluate who will provide the best care to your animals. Don’t let price be your only judging factor, think of your pet first.