Marie D.
Norton, MA
Lover Of All Animals
Pet care experience
Hi, my name is Marie and I have always had pets in my life, currently I have 2 adopted cats named Smokey and Mischief (her name fits her to a T). I was a house cleaner for over 20yrs and just loved when a client had a pet to keep me company while I cleaned. As I started getting older cleaning tubs started taking a toll on my back, I broke it when I was 18, so I let my cleaning clients go so I could focus on building up a larger pet sitting clientele. I started pet sitting 9yrs ago and just knew this was what I wanted to do full time. I volunteered at an animal sanctuary for 5yrs and learned a lot about giving medicine to all types of animals, including cats and dogs. Currently, I am a barn mucker for a wonderful woman 3 mornings a week and have 13 regular clients that I have been sitting or doing drop in visits for and am hoping to expand on this. I would LOVE more kitty/bunny clients :) I know this site only offers cat and dog sittings, but I do have a website and I offer sittings/drop ins for cats, dogs, bunnies, hamsters, goats, donkeys, horses, pigs, sheep, birds etc. My plan for using Rover in the short term is to find new regular clients. My long-term plan is that once I have about 20ish regular yearly clients to only use Rover to fill empty weeks or cancellations due to those unexpected things life likes to throw at us sometimes (family emergencies, covid etc.). My headline is very correct as I have yet to meet an animal I do not love. I'm not saying I want to pet sit for your 10ft snake but that does not mean I don't love him/her lol I love visiting zoo's and doing animal encounters that are offered to learn about endangered species and find out the why and how I can help. Aquariums, butterfly houses and animal sanctuaries are also big on my visit list each year. One of these days I will even get up to Canada to meet Easter the Wonder Pig or at least visit the sanctuary, as Esther has passed on :(
Reviews
This was our first time having Marie drop in to let our dog out and feed him which she did several times over the course of two days. She arrived on time, followed the instructions for feeding, and spent a good amount of time with him running around and playing with him to help wear him out. We have already booked many other drop-in visits as well as stay overs and will continue to have Marie take care of our sweet puppy!
Marie was an amazing house sitter. She took care of both of our pups. One of which has seizure history. Marie followed our instructions to the letter and even cleaned the house before we got back. We will definitely be using Marie again for future sitting needs.
This was our first time using Marie and we will definitely use her again! We had a bad experience with our last sitter so I was nervous bringing in someone new. Marie came out for a meet and greet with our dogs and asked all the right questions and really tried to work her schedule around the dog's schedules We were away for 10 days with limited cell service but Marie was great about sending updates and made us feel like our dogs were in good hands. She even took them for a long walk before we got home to try to tire them out for us. We came home to a clean house and happy dogs. It's very clear Marie takes this job seriously and I highly recommend her!
Hello I’m sending a message regarding Marie of who I met through a friend when I was looking for a trusting kind compassionate person to come to my home and care for my cat Marie was all of that and more!! She absolutely did all of that and spent extra time giving love and keeping my cat company!! Highly recommend Marie !! Sheelah
About Marie D.
Communication
Skills
Safety, trust & environment
Since I plan to sit for your fur baby at your house I will for the most part just follow your schedule as best I can. I might, however, bring smaller/medium dogs that are not used to being left alone or have a limited crating time frame, to my house for few hours each day (with clients approval) so I can do my daily at home chores. I have a stair gate to keep the dogs downstairs while my cats sleep the day away upstairs. I do treat all animals/pets as if they were my own because when you walk out your door and leave me to care for them they do become mine for the period of your trip. I will send pictures/updates based on how often you want me to send them. Really all of this would be talked about during the meet and greet because each animal is different and will require different things. I am certified in Pet CPR & 1st Aid and if, Lord forbid, anything were to happen while I was watching your pet I would attend to them first and then text/call you to let you know what happened. Even something like me removing a tick will be reported to you.
Information Marie D. would like to know about your pet
If you need me on a Friday or Saturday I need to know if your dog/cat is child friendly because I will have my 5yr old niece with me, she has dogs of her own and knows how to behave around animals of all kinds. I need to know if your pet has medications I need to administer. I have a lot of experience with oral meds, so I am comfortable giving pets this kind of medication. I have never done an injection type medication but if shown how you do it, I am willing to give injection meds. I have seen it done multiple times as I was holding a cat and donkey, I have just never done it myself. Things like feeding, med schedule (if any), and potty schedule can all be discussed during the meet and greet visit. I will NOT sit or do a drop in for a dog without a meet and greet visit beforehand!
A typical day
I would have to say the activities I do will depend on the dog/cat I am caring for. Personalities and age all effect the type of things any animal likes to do, not to mention if your pet is a rescue or special needs. So for me I feel this question is more designed to be figured out during the meet and greet visit with you and your pet. I do not sit at my house but for small/medium dogs, that can't be left alone for long periods and have no anxiety issues, I may bring them to my house (with owners permission) for short periods so I can do my daily chores and what not. For cats I do carry a peacock feather, cat dancer, and laser light in my car. I feel cats can get bored with their toys so I like to bring in new things for them when I am doing week+ sittings.
Services
Marie can watch in your home
Availability
My current job is as a barn mucker and pet sitter, so your pet will always be my main focus. I do watch my 5yr old niece every Friday to Saturday so I cannot watch any non-child friendly pets on these 2 days, I may also have her on other days of the week during school breaks. I'm not a fan of the calendar on rover because I cannot add client sittings that I got outside of rover. This being said I do have a calendar on my website at: www.maries-pet-sitting My barn schedule is Monday, Thursday, and Friday 9:30am-11:30am. I can get there as early as 7:30am so I do have a little wiggle room with my barn schedule.
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
28 | 29 | 30 |
About Marie D.
Communication
Skills
Safety, trust & environment
Since I plan to sit for your fur baby at your house I will for the most part just follow your schedule as best I can. I might, however, bring smaller/medium dogs that are not used to being left alone or have a limited crating time frame, to my house for few hours each day (with clients approval) so I can do my daily at home chores. I have a stair gate to keep the dogs downstairs while my cats sleep the day away upstairs. I do treat all animals/pets as if they were my own because when you walk out your door and leave me to care for them they do become mine for the period of your trip. I will send pictures/updates based on how often you want me to send them. Really all of this would be talked about during the meet and greet because each animal is different and will require different things. I am certified in Pet CPR & 1st Aid and if, Lord forbid, anything were to happen while I was watching your pet I would attend to them first and then text/call you to let you know what happened. Even something like me removing a tick will be reported to you.
Information Marie D. would like to know about your pet
If you need me on a Friday or Saturday I need to know if your dog/cat is child friendly because I will have my 5yr old niece with me, she has dogs of her own and knows how to behave around animals of all kinds. I need to know if your pet has medications I need to administer. I have a lot of experience with oral meds, so I am comfortable giving pets this kind of medication. I have never done an injection type medication but if shown how you do it, I am willing to give injection meds. I have seen it done multiple times as I was holding a cat and donkey, I have just never done it myself. Things like feeding, med schedule (if any), and potty schedule can all be discussed during the meet and greet visit. I will NOT sit or do a drop in for a dog without a meet and greet visit beforehand!
A typical day
I would have to say the activities I do will depend on the dog/cat I am caring for. Personalities and age all effect the type of things any animal likes to do, not to mention if your pet is a rescue or special needs. So for me I feel this question is more designed to be figured out during the meet and greet visit with you and your pet. I do not sit at my house but for small/medium dogs, that can't be left alone for long periods and have no anxiety issues, I may bring them to my house (with owners permission) for short periods so I can do my daily chores and what not. For cats I do carry a peacock feather, cat dancer, and laser light in my car. I feel cats can get bored with their toys so I like to bring in new things for them when I am doing week+ sittings.
Location
Norton, MA
Pets
Marie D.
Norton, MA