My personal experience with dogs and cats: I was brought home from the hospital as a newborn with an Australian Shepherd, Chelsie, and a Saint Bernard, Katie, greeting me as we came in the door. Both were amazing to me growing up, being very tolerant of me through my toddler years. After the Aussie unfortunately passed from old age, we got a Bassett Hound, Louie, who was definitely a hound - bullheaded and ruled by his nose but he would never hurt a fly. That is, however, unless you tried to move him while he was sleeping. As with Chelsie, Katie also moved on, and Louie was left alone. So, we got another Australian Shepherd, Tilly (formally Matilda), to keep him company and have another wonderful dog around. My aunt and uncle owned cats growing up, so I’ve always had the chance to learn the ways they communicate. Now, I have two Australian Shepherds- after getting another, Annie. Growing up, I was usually tasked feeding the dogs, filling their water, and picking up the infinite supply of dog poop that comes with owning one (or three). My partner recently got a Standard Poodle puppy, and she already had two Maltese Poodle and a Mini Poodle. Getting up in the middle of the night to take the puppy out to potty is a task that I’m very familiar with. As I’ve been around pets since before I can remember, I understand that they’re more than pets- they’re family. My professional experience with dogs and cats: Though I never had a cat growing up, my best friends always had cats and I always loved playing with them and having them around. In elementary school, my friends cats were always in the yard with us when we were playing, and they would come inside to hang out. Later on, my friend in high school had a cat who would let you do basically anything to him, but I’ve met a lot of cats who have quite the opposite mentality. As (3/5/23), I have only sat at two houses where there were cats, one had diabetes and required insulin doses morning and night. I have house sat at dog’s houses since I was around 12 years old. Family and family friends allowed me to housesit early on to make some money. Additionally, in high school, my parents would take a five-day trip every once in a while where I would have to watch my three dogs while they were gone. More recently, I’ve had more experiences with big and small dogs, like Saint Bernards, Huskies, French Bulldogs, German Shepherds and Labs. I’ve also had experience giving insulin to dogs. Furthermore, after having puppies growing up, and helping my partner raise her puppy, I’ve spent plenty of time cleaning up after, watching, and socializing puppies. Allowing and trusting a near-stranger to watch your home and family is a heavy decision that I respect and value.