5.0

Diagnosed with allergies in childhood, I didn’t have pets until in my 20s, when I picked a week-old kitten from a litter & raised him. Thelonious used to walk between my shoulders as I moved around the house, and slept in my bed. Friends told me he behaved more like a dog than a cat—very affectionate. We were very close. His death broke my heart & I still miss him. Seven years ago, I did cat-sitting for a friend whose apartment in NYC I stayed in for a summer while working nearby on Varick Street. He was a very easygoing cat. Years later, my stepson left his dogs at our house & I was their primary minder. I fed, walked & played with them every day. Although I’d been around dogs a lot growing up, it’s one thing to be around them & another to be responsible for them & develop relationships with them. Each of the dogs had a very distinct personality, and I found them fascinating. Through those & other experiences with friends’ pets, I’ve found that I’m able to make connections with animals that go beyond words. I never would have imagined such a thing in childhood. These days I do house sitting & drop-ins for clients in Monmouth & Mercer Counties. I’m tending to pets with a wide range of needs & dispositions, and love I give is more than equaled by the love I receive from them. I’m truly humbled & in awe. Professionally, I managed desktop publishing & automated publishing for a Fortune 500 financial firm for 20 years. So I have a long track record of responsibility & discipline. That combination of sensitivity & responsibility are what I bring to pet sitting.