5.0

Greetings! Animals are truly my passion and once I figured that out, I went for it, leaving college to work full time at the humane society, then transitioning to dog walking and petsitting. It didn't come as a huge surprise to anyone as I had grown up with dogs, bunnies, rats, mice, and a turtle and my favorite part of summer camp had always been doing farm chores (my favorites were the cows, but I liked cleaning up after the horses best.) The bulk of my experience is with cats, dogs, house rabbits, rats/mice/other "pocket pets", though I've cared for a variety including guinea pigs, turtles, lizards, snakes, birds (including backyard chickens), fish, hermit crabs, and a pot bellied pig. I'm experienced with special needs pets in particular. I've cared for deaf and blind pets, quite a few senior pets, and pets with a little bit extra going on medically or behaviorally. I have experience administering subcutaneous fluids, giving injections, getting oral meds into pets who'd rather not have them (or just coaxing food into picky eaters), and at one point I even learned how to jerry rig a cat diaper for an incontinent extremely senior cat. I've known dogs of all breeds and sizes whom I've fallen absolutely in love with. My personal favorites tend to be herding breeds/mixes. I love working with that crazy, smart energy and I have a soft spot for Velcro dogs. My favorites to work with have always been shy and scared animals. I love watching them slowly come out of their shells and gain confidence - puppies and kittens are cute and fun, but nothing beats the first time a dog you've been working with for months, who wouldn't even look at you for the first couple weeks, finally feels confident enough to give you a play bow and a good morning bark when she sees you or a cat or bunny who finally trusts you enough to let you pet him. I'm only comfortable with humane training techniques and practice R+ methods myself. Generally when caring for dogs I'll work a bit of training or maintenance practice in to strengthen my bond with them, provide mental stimulation, improve general manners, and make them even more polite for their families. This typically includes things like polite greetings rather than jumping on people, loose leash walking, and using a soft mouth to take treats.