I have taken care of animals since I was probably 10 or 12 years old. I have babysit a skunk at the age of 14. At the age of 15, I was working at an animal hospital relatively close to me as part of a high school requirement for my health aide and I was helping raise puppies from one of my dogs at home. I often got caught playing with neighbors' dogs and even once was bit because I was trying to save a puppy from chewing on plastic. That did not make my parents happy. I do currently own one dog named Sally. I have owned cats in the past but when my youngest son, who is 32, was born he had allergies and they had to be rehomed. That was a very sad day for our family. I recently came back from house-sitting in Colorado for three cats you will see those pictures in my photos. I am very mindful of the elements outside and make sure my dog always has water available when we're out walking. I do not have any professional training other than from my teenage years. That training, for home health aide,  came in handy when, at the age of 59,  my father needed me to be with him, to take care of his daily needs and prepare his home back to proper living conditions. He wanted to return home to live out his years. What should have been a couple of weeks turned into 8 to 9 months? I left my family here in Florida and moved in with him temporarily. It was he and I, as we couldn't pay for anybody to help. It was a very rewarding time in my life. After I returned home I felt empty. So I started taking care of friends' and Families' pets. One friend one away on Christmas Eve and when I arrived at her house her dog was not well. She had known the dog was not well in fact it hadn't walked in 24 hours. It was his 17-year-old little Chihuahua mix and had been in poor health for some years. When I arrived I took a video and an audio and sent it to my niece who's a veterinarian. She informed me that the dog was in its stages of passing and at that point other than trying to give it some water there wasn't much we could do. I notified my sad friend and said I had hoped he would last until I returned home. I held the dog like my baby rocking it and seeing Christian songs to it until it passed later on in the evening. What a great day it was to be able to hold that animal on Christmas Eve as it passed over to the Rainbow Bridge. I prepared the dog after its passing by cleaning it letting its animal brothers and sisters have some time if they needed it. I wrapped it in sterile sheets wrapped in his favorite blanket put it together in storage bags and placed it gently in the freezer so that it could go to be cremated at a future date. It's very challenging when you have an elderly dog or cat to go away and trust someone to take care of them. I know this is a lot of information but I want you to see the passion and compassion that I have in my heart for taking care of your family, your pets.