Animals Unfolded

When meeting a new family for the first time, it's always important that I gather as much information as I can about each pet. Understanding their habits, preferences, their willingness or lack thereof to be physically handled—that kind of thing—is super-crucial in my having favorable interactions with the pet and providing a superior client experience.  My questions are not limited to that, though. I take far more into consideration. It's not lost on me that there are many companion animals who may struggle with feeling overloaded with touch, visual and auditory input, not to mention smell. This can exacerbate existing behavior issues or create new problems, which is something we don't want, especially when there's a new caregiver coming into the picture. The senses are powerful, there's no doubt and being mindful of how that can affect what a pet might experience what's happening when I am spending time with them, not to mention how being out of routine b...

One of the ways that I spend my time working in the field is by helping families out with specialty care—things like subcutaneous (sub-q) fluids,  esophagostomy (e-tube) feeding, giving injections, things like that. It can take some of the load off of the family when they need to travel, or when work or other obligations make keeping up with the care regimen prohibitive. I also coach families on ways to get comfortable with performing the tasks, best practices for keeping things sterile and having ensuring safe interactions with their pet during the tasks, as well as what to look out for as far as signs of trouble. I make a point of going over the veterinarian's written treatment plan with  the family to try and detect any trouble areas they might have, and to answer any questions they are reluctant to ask the vet or their staff.  It’s not lost on me that it's not easy to perform this kind of care when the pet is your own, especially when you've no experience and you...

'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...

On the cusp of a weekend in early-June,  7AM —unexpectedly lying in a hospital bed, after being admitted for a bout of lymphangitis, worried, bleary eyed- and minded—my iPhone was the only thing keeping me company in the dimly-lit, unfamiliar space. Podcasts, working their audible magic after my waking  at 5AM  in an untethered state. Suddenly, the device lit up, bearing the familiar number on the caller ID that I was all-too-thrilled to see at that hour. Yes, finally, something bearing some semblance to my day-to-day, something that in times like that is always welcome: likely a last-minute request from a client to come by and give their dogs some outside time and fun that afternoon, though unfortunately I knew I wouldn't be able to help.  Wrong.  The voice, familiar, though strangely foreign in tone and cadence. I couldn't palpate what it was at first, but as is often the case, it was somehow starkly evident as the words tumbled out. Things were not th...

Each year at this time, just as many other people here in Michigan, I delight in the arrival of the extended daylight hours; the warmer weather; not worrying about ice-covered roads; outdoor gatherings. Fireworks isn’t included on that list, and though I can appreciate other’s enthusiasm for them, they are the bane of those who share life with pets. The noise is the chief offender when it comes to frightening pets, but I've no doubt that if the light and smell resulting from them are within a detectable distance of a pet, they’re contributors, too. It’s understandable; the loud pops and bangs are confusing and occur without any sense of place. Though it need not be a precursor, for a pet that already has some level of anxiety or fearfulness, the things that make fireworks enjoyable to humans only feed the behaviors that signal to us that our pet is having even more trouble coping.  Over the years, I’ve had more companion animals in my care that find themselves in this situ...

This has been an especially tough week for a lot of people. The loss of two famous people due to suicide only highlights what goes on everyday in our midst: fellow humans grappling with the depth things that no one else can understand, no, not from  th eir  point of view.  A couple of comments, including "...sometimes the sad just catches up" and " ...suicide puts a fly in your head. It's always inside, buzzing around" caught my attention on social media. Maybe because they're simplistic, and that's what we crave when looking in from the outside—a way to get our head around something that confounds us.  Though working in different fields, Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain shared an untimely, hair-thin thread and with the latter's demise, things somehow felt more resonant. Bourdain was the second of the two to be reported to have passed away, and maybe that's why. I'll argue, though, that it might be because his craft, what he shared in-kin...

"...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...