Comments on: Petsitting & Philosophy 101

By: Mels Pet Pals

Mels Pet Pals — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:04:17 +0000

Thanks Edie!

It bothers me that this woman treated you so badly.

By: Edie

Edie — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:00:55 +0000

In turn, I hope my report of my early morning crisis — which Mel definitely helped me through — didn’t suggest that I haven’t had wonderful experiences with pet sitters at other times. I think the lesson to take away here is that pet sitting, at its best, is a profession, and the people who treat it as such will be able to give it a good name.

By: Mels Pet Pals

Mels Pet Pals — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 03:54:07 +0000

Rebecca – I am so sorry you had such bad experiences! One of the reasons I will NOT hire a teenager is listed in your response. They’re just not adult enough to be reliable. I wouldn’t hire the next door neighbor’s kid or someone claiming to be a pet sitter at that age. They’re just not reliable yet.

I hope you will give some of us another chance. There are some good ones out there. Check out Rob Nager , owner of Decadent Dog (Pet Sitter of the Year) – he gets it.

By: Mels Pet Pals

Mels Pet Pals — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 03:48:25 +0000

As witness to the early morning drama with Frankie (altho I prefer to think of it as a nightmare), I can completely understand people now fearing to leave their dogs with a pet sitter. I will just say that as a pet sitter myself, I ALWAYS ask a client what type of communication methods they prefer and how frequently they want that communication.

I am so sorry you got a bad one Edie, but as I said that morning, I would fire her a** immediately. Her inability to understand your concerns and thinking that you should just “trust her” was ridiculous. One earns trust by their actions, not by their title.

I’m really mad however, that she left before making sure Frankie ate. And, that she is now holding your keys hostage. Unbelievable. She is in the wrong business. She’s also giving the rest of us a bad name.

By: The Rainbow Bridge: What’s in it for shelter dogs?

The Rainbow Bridge: What’s in it for shelter dogs? — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:53:35 +0000

[...] worry: Frankie is fine. Yes, the pet sitter from hell got me nervous about his insulin intake, and Frankie was a bit subdued for a few days after I [...]

By: Edie

Edie — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:17:32 +0000

Thanks, Karen. Yes, it’s great to have a pet loving relative in town. Even if my mother were still with us, she would have made a terrible pet sitter — as I like to say, she feared all creatures great and small. I suspect that would have included Frankie!

By: Edie

Edie — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:21:38 +0000

Adam, thanks for writing! Yes, travel is stressful for many dogs — and for the owners who worry about their dogs’ stress. I’m glad what happened to me was helpful. It still boggles my mind that my petsitter doesn’t get that customer service is key — she continued to defend her care of Frankie without acknowledging that she had an obligation to report that care to me!

Good luck — and have a great time in my hometown. I love to go back to NY but would never imagine taking Frankie. I think the noise and traffic would really stress him.

By: Adam

Adam — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:27:44 +0000

I’m taking a rare trip in a couple weeks from LA to NY and was contemplating taking Muffin with me because I worry sooo much when I’m not with her. Sharon, my girlfriend, has three dogs and a backyard so I normally leave Muffin with her, but she’s coming with me to NY and having her dog sitter watch all 4 dogs. I just think the stress of traveling and staying in strange places in a strange city outweighs the stress of staying in familiar surroundings with her doggie friends and the sitter. I’m following your protocol and will definitely establish that communication each day is mandatory and replies to texts or calls must be fast. Thanks for a great blog!

By: Karen Friesecke

Karen Friesecke — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:05:09 +0000

I have the best pet sitter in the world, my Mom! I don’t even know where to start if I have to find Jersey a pet sitter that I would trust. I’m happy that Frankie is okay.

By: Edie

Edie — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:37:46 +0000

You know, she still doesn’t get it. She left a long, rambling message on my phone about how she’s a responsible vet tech who would never hurt a dog and therefore was very upset that I didn’t plan to pay her, a presumption based on the fact that I didn’t include a check in the note I sent her. She managed to miss the part of the note where I explained that I would have a friend do the key/check exchange because I didn’t want to have further contact with her.