IMPORTANT MANDATORY BOOKING REQUIREMENT: I require at least 4 days notice for bookings so that we can arrange a meet and greet of our pups and so that I can be as best prepared as I possibly can to care for your pet. This is a courtesy to myself and my home, my calendar, but most importantly it is FOR the SAFETY of the animals. I have literally had a cat and/or dog in my home since birth. I won't divulge my age, but that's been over 30 years. I understand dogs and cats are part of your family and will treat them with the love and attention they deserve. I am very in tune with their quirks and needs. I am innately an "animal lover". Throughout childhood, college, and adulthood I have volunteered to help out with friends and neighbors' furry (and even scaly) companions when they have been away, because I enjoy it! I relocated to San Diego from Virginia eight years ago with my former beagle, Dixie. I helped deliver Dixie and witnessed her birth! She passed in 2018 and now I have a rescue beagle named Penny. Penny is from a hoarding/breeding situation in TN. She is very loving, albeit timid. She loves other dogs (I'm pretty sure because that is all she has known until recently). She's a sweet girl who is now in her forever home and is receiving shy dog training and doing lots of trust exercises. I'm often described as immaculately tidy. (I have a hound, I have to be). Additionally, I have worked in childcare with children ages 6 months to 12 years and have also worked as faculty at my alma mater; I have a completely clean background check. My first pet-sitting jobs were as a child (around age 7 or 8) when I was asked to care for a neighbor's cats when she was away. My first in-home pet sitting was for a month-long period for a family friend's husky during high school. Yes, I was trustworthy as a teenager! I have plenty experience administering medication in a timely manner. My former dog had seizures and I'm comfortable having to administer meds rectally, if that puts things into perspective. I even have administered insulin for diabetic pups.