I'm exceptionally observant and tend to notice the sensitivities and personality quirks of animals that don't love or trust everyone instantly, which makes me particularly skilled with old dogs and anxious or shy animals. My "fur niece" is a 16.5 yr old 28-30 lb mix, and I've gone through a number of aging issues with her, from various types of medication and administration routes to incontinence, mobility challenges, and more mundane vomiting. Last July I cared for her for 3 weeks and handled a few different medications, and as stairs were growing hard for her I carried her up and down between the floors of a 3 story home multiple times a day. Over the years I've stayed with her many times, helped her move homes 3 times, given her baths (which she is afraid of) when they're needed, and helped her adjust to a baby and then toddler. Her humans joke that she loves me more than she loves them, and it's not clear if they're wrong. I do coddle her a bit -- with their permission -- and have gotten her all her favorite dog toys and let her sleep on the bed when I visit. I'm good at TLC; to me an animal who isn't content is something of a problem to be solved. I listen and am deeply respectful of boundaries. I'm happy to follow detailed instructions for the care of your pet and/or give you specific reports. I have experience with animals who need timed, smaller meals as well as those who manage their own food intake and do well with a bigger bowl. I just dog sat for an 8 year old, maybe 60 lb mix for 12 days, via a friend of a friend who needed someone kind of last minute, and it made me realize I should pet sit until my life fits my getting a dog of my own. I'd never met her, and she is wary of strangers and protective of her house, but she was rolling over to beg for belly rubs after just a couple days and would have slept on the bed if her humans allowed it -- we grew on each other!