Animals Unfolded

Not long ago, I'd stopped by one of my family's homes to get a hands-on update on a new diagnosis with one of their dogs. The chronic disease will require treatment that will keep pace with it, which means medication, diet, and monitoring. The family was a little daunted at this prospect, especially the former and that's a refrain I commonly hear. Listening, really hearing them expand on their early struggles with medicating the sweet chap, and knowing what I do about him, my ideas on how to hurdle them immediately started flowing.  "Let's take the fear out of it—instead, we'll make it a positive interaction. I've some strategies that I learned in this workshop I attended, " I said, and proceeded to demonstrate how to do that.  The reply wasn't surprising. "That's amazing! This feels totally manageable, like I wasn't even giving medication. I'm glad we have you for support, you know so much about stuff like this. We...

'Oh, I'd love to do what you do,' is a common refrain to hear after chatting with someone I've been acquainted with. From the outside, what I and other pet care professionals do can look easy: happy-looking, energetic dogs walking nicely on leash; the antics of cute kittens playing; the random story of how an edible enrichment toy for an exotic bird was crafted. As I've said on many occasions, what I do for a living is a terrific way to spend time. It can be fun, it's never boring but what many folks don't see is that it also comes with a lot of responsibility and has a very serious side. A few serious sides, in fact. And that may be why a lot of people don't stay in the industry—and why to a degree, some families are not inclined to hire in-home pet care after having a poor experience. I've heard the horror stories from both families and current and former pet care providers about things gone wrong, the misgivings of families who call with palp...

"...I'm having a dilemma. I have no interest in doing anything like sub-q fluids, in fact, there is nothing in the world that I loathe and avoid more than needles... my business model is more babysitter, not nurse. I get that today's pet sitting client wants more and many sitters like yourself are doing more than just visits and walks, and I think that is AMAZING.... BUT!!! It is not my business model nor do I present myself as such." This is an excerpt of a message to me from fellow pet sitter (who consented to being anonymously quoted) and serves a neighboring area. And this isn't unique—more than one colleague has reached out to me to ask advice on how to handle a situation when they are asked, or expected by families in some cases, to participate in care that they are not comfortable handling or even being a part of. Things like administering subcutaneous fluids, or to tending to a pet that has been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness and is entering t...