1-Quiet and older neighborhood; great neighbors! 2-3 bedroom brick home, fenced in backyard. 3-Mature; have always had a pet until recently when our best friend & 4 legged child died at the age of 21 due to natural causes. 4-I am retired, we have been married 35 years/ 5-Your pet will be a small dog and will have full run of the house. 6-He/she will be left alone for short periods of time while I shop, etc. This little one will be treated like our very own. 7-Require you to bring little one's kennel or sleeping basket and his/her foods and your instructions as to how much and how often this little one eats. 8-Please bring verification of shots and flea treatments. Any medications that have to be administered I would like to have left with me and instructions plus name of vet and phone number. 9-I would expect that you would want to meet me and see my home in advance of your pet's stay. That is understandable as it is what I would expect in a reverse situation. 10- No children live in our house; however a t 13 yr old great granddaughter spends weekends here quite often and is good with small dogs. She has her own so she knows how to handle a little dog. Our dog Tango that passed away absolutely adored her and enjoyed her when she came. Even after he lost his eye sight he knew when she was here and would go to her, look her up in the house to have her hold him. 11-Puppies are accepted on a one to one basis and naturally if your dog is nursing puppies we would have to discuss if I could accommodate them appropriately. 12-Back to food for your dog; you furnish the food your dog is accustomed to eating. Does your dog drink milk? If so I will furnish and provide that on the basis you agree to. I know thatmany dog owners do not give their dogs milk. Mine always loved milk and had it on a daily basis. This will be up to you. 13-Rates below are for boarding and general care including administering meds and the additional dog rate is per attached puppy..... 14-Your expectations will be discussed, at which time we will determine if any additional rates are needed. 15-My expectations are to sit a clean and flea free pet that is used to lots of TLC and to provide that. About this sitter: I am a retired senior citizen, retired from secretarial, licensed realtor, human services, management on site for U-Haul, etc. My husband of 35 plus years and I live in an older and small neighborhood. We have pleasant neighbors. All the homes are small, brick homes, close to nearby shopping. We have always had a pet up until now. A year ago last April, our 7lb wonderful little long haired black and brown chihuahua passed away of natural causes at the age of 21 and we have not replaced him. Our backyard is fully fenced; however we will not leave a small dog out there unattended. We are caring and responsible. Your little one will be treated as if he or she belongs to us and never left home alone for more than short periods of time for shopping or a movie or lunch out. I have baby gates for the kitchen and if I feel your little one is more adaptable to that space while we are out, I will use them but if your little one seems comfortable with the run of the house we will not use the gates. We do not go out very much nor very often so the time your dog is here will be mostly supervised on a one to one basis. I maintain my own house and drive my own car, work out in our small pool daily so I am physically capable of taking care of your dog. The picture of my husband and me is current except I have shorter hair. The pool is an above ground design; therefore there is no danger of your dog getting into the pool by accident or otherwise. Why I love dog sitting I have always loved and had a dog or dogs up until the past year and a half. When I was growing up on a farm, we had cattle dogs that also doubled as our watch dogs and a small indoor dog at the same time. After I grew up I have always had a small dog until recently when we lost our last pet. We have not replaced him. Your dog will be enjoyed and cared for like he belongs to us because that is the way we are with pets. EX: We had a house sitter/dog sitter a few years back when we lived in Hawaii and both dogs quit eating or socializing. Our sitter called us from Hawaii where we lived to Florida where we were visiting; I immediately called our vet and told her they were coming in. She sat down and played with them and explained to our sitter how spoiled they were. They left with the sitter, tails wagging and ears & heads up because they 'knew' Dr. Brenda had explained to our worried and upset sitter that he must hold them, hug them, talk to them, walk them, drive them somewhere. Everyone survived including our sitter. We will spoil your dog! We do not want them to tell on us at the vet! I am conscientious about your dog's comfort and happiness. Any words such as "NO" will be firm but not frightening or abusive. My favorite commercial on television is where the little dog, Molly, is sitting by her puddle at the back door inside the house "almost trained" or the person in charge missed his/her que? Our back yard is fully fenced with wood privacy fencing and your dog will still not be out there alone. I do not wish to have any dog missing under my watch and they have ways of doing so. We have a 3 bedroom brick house in a good friendly neighborhood. One of our next door neighbors has a large and a smaller dog and when they are outside they are usually watching them as if one barks they come out immediately to see 'why'---- I feel like my nextdoor neighbor Daisy Mae is my watch dog too as she knows what is going on in our yard also. I have traveled by car with my dogs and moved my last dog, Tango, via plane from Hawaii to the mainland. He had a kennel under the seat in front of us but he rode the entire flight in my husband's lap covered up with a light blanket. He never let out one peep! Before the trip we had practiced using the kennel for weeks but he did not like it; we even went to the airport to make sure his kennel qualified for the interior in the cabin under the seat criteria and it did. We took him along on that experience also; we do not believe in unpleasant surprises in changing up routines. We like to think of these little ones the same as we thought of our children as they were growing up. They just never require college and never asked to drive the car so they are easier than the kids were. I will have an agreement ready between you and I that expresses what I can do, what your needs are, and will expect you to provide me with your vetenary's information including shots records, etc. We look forward to pet sitting your pet for you so that you can travel or convalesce or work. Meet my pets No pets at this time. About my yard Square, wood privacy fencing, flowers, covered back deck area, grass except here the pool sits. My experience administering medication I am comfortable with giving meds via pills, drops, etc. I am not comfortable administering shots. I will want to brush your dog regularly. If you use a shine or hair product please bring it along with your dogs' grooming brush. If your dog needs a bath while here I will do that, no extra charge; if your dog has long hair I will blow dry your dog but I asked that your dog arrive clean and free of fleas or ticks! I have an outdoor sink on my patio that will work well to bathe a small dog and of course I have bath tubs but no dog bathing equipment.