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Nola A.

Star Sitter

Rancho Santa Fe, CA

5.0 out of 5 stars
31 reviews
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Nola A. has Star Sitter status

The Star Sitter program highlights responsive sitters who deliver highly rated care and have a history of listing accurate availability and preferences, making it easier for pet parents to find the best care for their pets.

Seniors, Exotics & Special Needs!

Pet care experience

Select Clients Only - Please Read:! Long-term sitting only: I am currently residing in Ensenada Baja for a long-term (2 year) house only sit for a family member, as a result, I prefer San Diego area pet sits of 10+ days to make it worth the drive. I drive to the States every few weeks to do Meet & Greets. In addition, I now only pet sit with my 18 lb dog—Steve! He is fully trained, quiet, crated as needed and very well socialized. This limits the number of homes I am available to sit at, as your dogs will need to accept Steve in your home/their territory. However, I could no longer live my life without having a dog of my own. Good trade! That said I am still wildly experienced, responsible and love to pet sit, taking pride in being the best at what I do. I am just more selective about any new client’s and homes I can take on. Las Vegas Clients: Due to my move I will only take former clients who are booking for 3+ weeks, to make up for the drive, Thank you for your understanding. Tossing the house keys to a neighbor or opening your home to travelers on holiday for your house/pet sit job may be an option for some people. However, many pets require more skills than everyday animal lovers have hands-on experience with. That's where I come in. My name is Nola and I get it. For many of us, professional pet-sitting services are important, even necessary, when it is our own beloved cats and dogs being left at home. Beyond that, some people have pets with special 'issues' or more unusual “exotic” pets, precious aquariums… Pets of all shapes and sizes are the main reason people require house sitters, and caring for their welfare is my number one priority. I spend much of the time in their company at your home, following your instructions meticulously. Services I’ll look after your pets as a live-in (home or RV), care provider. Think of me as your pet’s Au Pair, even if that pet is a tree frog. From the moment I arrive until the moment you return home, only one person will be responsible for your animal's care, me. This provides a stable environment, as well as continuity of care. During my stay, I will water plants, bring in mail and all traditional home care extras. With pets, I feed, walk, brush, clean, give any required meds, keep them safe and love them just as you would. With exotics, I do all regular maintenance, cleaning, feeding, supplements, monitoring temps and humidity as required, record keeping, etc. I follow your instructions because my animal care background helps me understand why your daily care routine matters.  I have been a homeowner for many years, and a full-time RVer as well. I fully understand how important your home and its security are to you, plus I understand what is required to maintain it. Be assured your much-loved pets and home would be safe and in capable hands. How can one person have so much experience with so many species? That is easy. I’m really old! (haha)  Seriously, I am 59 and have been immersed in animal handling and care my entire adult life. My mother claimed I was born in a khaki Zoo Keeper's uniform. Pets and wildlife are not just something that I am interested in, they are at the heart of who I am.  Happily walking dogs and hanging out on the couch with your beloved cats is absolutely fine with me. That said, I also bring work experience with: Exotics and farm animals  A history with challenging pets - Aggression triggers, separation anxiety, deaf dogs, etc. Medication administration Large-scale care routines as a professional keeper/caregiver Aquarium maintenance for both fresh and saltwater tanks  Backyard farming of chickens and milk goats Herpetological keeping/naturalistic vivarium maintenance And, yes, more! It is a lot! However, if you would like my background in detail please read on. Background I was born in The Black Hills of South Dakota where our family ranch had all the usual, dogs, cats, horses… Dogs and cats have been ever-present in my life. Horses have come and gone.  WILDLIFE: In college, I studied Zoology while working as a Veterinary Technician. Then I moved on to work as the Lead Keeper and Volunteer Coordinator at a wild animal rescue and rehabilitation center. PETS: During this time I also ran my own small business, Aardvarks Unlimited Home Pet Care.  MARINE LIFE: Later I worked as the Aquarium and Penguin Keeper and an assistant Animal Handler (pinnipeds) for Marine Life Aquarium. My aquarium experience includes everything from 40-gallon freshwater tanks to saltwater aquariums so large I had to Scuba dive to clean them. HERPETOFAUNA: Soon after I was the Lead Keeper for the herpetological collection of Advanced Vivarium Systems (AVS), as well as, the private collection of Philippe De Vosjoli of Vivarium Magazine and The Herpetological Library Series. Through his travels and collection, Philippe introduced me to some of the rarest and most amazing species being imported at the time. During this time I became an avid herpetofauna enthusiast myself and my private collection grew. I understand the need for proper humidity, specialized nutrition and attention to thermal regulation in herpetofauna care. DOGS, DOGS, DOGS: During my time at AVS, I got my first Dalmatian and began learning about deaf dogs. I soon rescued one, then another. My entire life changed. I became a regular domestic animal rescuer from that point on - sometimes professionally, and other times in my home life.  BACKYARD FARM: For a number of years I had a 3-acre farm in South Dakota with chickens, milk goats, cats, an orchard… and up to 8 rescued &/or foster dogs, usually deaf or blind… at any given time. MORE DOGS: Later, I moved on to become a Dog Caregiver for the well-known Best Friends Animal Society (a.k.a. Dogtown) in Utah. Most of my time there was spent working in an area called The Lodges. This is where dogs deemed less adoptable due to behavioral issues (often needing to be kept separate from other animals due to aggression) were housed (and given tons of love).  Note: Best Friends receives hundreds of applications per month, but Dogtown staff came to me and asked me to apply. This happened after seeing my dedication and work as a volunteer with dogs recovering from extreme circumstances when they were evacuated from Lebanon. During my time with em I attended seminars on rescue management, behavioral evaluations and became FEMA Certified for working animal rescue in disaster zones. A further 10 years of my life were spent in Thailand where I was a regular volunteer, and for a time, the Volunteer Coordinator at Care for Dogs in Chiang Mai. I also regularly cared for street and temple dogs on my own. It was in Chiang Mai where I slowly evolved from working with animals to writing about working with animals (surprise). Soon I began writing travel guides about global volunteer programs. To this day I create and publish books, now often activity books, with a focus on animals and life science. This gives me the flexibility to pet sit for you and also indulge my creative side.  Throughout all this, there have been more animals in my home life, birds, chinchillas, rats, snakes, ferrets, etc. As I mentioned, I am old. Life evolves.  As you can see, I am an experienced animal caregiver. Your pets will benefit from my unusual background. Plus, they will be my number one priority, simply because I love working with animals. Running around playing tourist all day or meeting up with friends while traveling, as some pet sitters do, is not my priority.

Reviews

Sheryl C.
House Sitting • Nov 17, 2024
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Nola did a wonderful job taking care of our two Golden Retrievers and our home. She communicated well with pictures and updates daily.

Trish E.
House Sitting • Sep 28, 2024
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Nola did a terrific job!! Would use her again if she’s available!!

Brianne C.
House Sitting • Jul 08, 2024
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Nola took such great care of our two dogs and our house while we were gone. She even helped them through the fireworks on the Fourth of July. She was a great communicator, flexible with our travel changes, and so patient and understanding with our dogs and their quirks. We will 100% ask her to dog/house sit for us again.

Sherry Z.
House Sitting • Jun 25, 2024
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Nola did a great job caring for our home and two dogs. One dog has some health challenges and she handled it with poise. Grateful.

About Nola A.

Communication

7 repeat pet parents
100% response rate
Usually responds in a few minutes
70% bookings with photo updates

Skills

40 years of experience
Oral medication administration
Injected medication administration
First aid/CPR
Senior dog experience
Special needs dog experience
Can provide daily exercise

Safety, trust & environment

The vast, perhaps over-the-top, amount of experience I have with animals has not turned me into one of those 'experts' who think they know better than others. Instead, it has given me respect for understanding why you do things a certain way and understanding that you know your pets best. I am happy to make experience-based suggestions if I have any, but I care for your animals your way.

Information Nola A. would like to know about your pet

I always like to know if there is any history of aggression, extreme shyness and/or separation anxiety. This helps me to plan my first sit. Eg. Do I need to arrive early and spend extra hours or days getting acquainted with your pet? Should I arrive prepared to not leave the property, with extra groceries and such? If a dog is to be walked, how does he/she react to other animals and people when out? There is always a lot to learn about each animal as they are all individuals. Most of all I want to know what makes them happy!

A typical day

When you hire me to stay with your pets, I STAY with them. I am older, mature and give your home and animals the care I would expect from a paid house/pet sitter. I do not go out to spend the day with friends or work a second job/gigs away from your house. As mentioned above, I work from home - your home - as a book designer. This allows me to work around your pet's needs and to put them first. Walking, playing, feeding or just hanging out, I enjoy caring for animals and will be there for them.

Services

House Sitting
in your home
$100per night

Nola can watch in your home

Cats
0 to 15 lbs
16 to 40 lbs
41 to 100 lbs
over 101 lbs

Availability

I work from home - your home - creating activity books with a focus on nature and life science. This allows me to work around your pet's needs and to put them first. As I lost my last dog to old age just a few months ago, my schedule is very free and flexible.

Available
Not available
SMTWTFS
House Sitting Cancellation Policy:

About Nola A.

Communication

7 repeat pet parents
100% response rate
Usually responds in a few minutes
70% bookings with photo updates

Skills

40 years of experience
Oral medication administration
Injected medication administration
First aid/CPR
Senior dog experience
Special needs dog experience
Can provide daily exercise

Safety, trust & environment

The vast, perhaps over-the-top, amount of experience I have with animals has not turned me into one of those 'experts' who think they know better than others. Instead, it has given me respect for understanding why you do things a certain way and understanding that you know your pets best. I am happy to make experience-based suggestions if I have any, but I care for your animals your way.

Information Nola A. would like to know about your pet

I always like to know if there is any history of aggression, extreme shyness and/or separation anxiety. This helps me to plan my first sit. Eg. Do I need to arrive early and spend extra hours or days getting acquainted with your pet? Should I arrive prepared to not leave the property, with extra groceries and such? If a dog is to be walked, how does he/she react to other animals and people when out? There is always a lot to learn about each animal as they are all individuals. Most of all I want to know what makes them happy!

A typical day

When you hire me to stay with your pets, I STAY with them. I am older, mature and give your home and animals the care I would expect from a paid house/pet sitter. I do not go out to spend the day with friends or work a second job/gigs away from your house. As mentioned above, I work from home - your home - as a book designer. This allows me to work around your pet's needs and to put them first. Walking, playing, feeding or just hanging out, I enjoy caring for animals and will be there for them.

Location

Rancho Santa Fe, CA

Nola A.'s Neighborhood
Each sitter joining Rover needs to pass a background check. And by booking on Rover, you can get photo & message updates, 24/7 support, and reimbursement for eligible vet care. Learn more
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Nola A.

Star Sitter

Rancho Santa Fe, CA

5.0 out of 5 stars
31 reviews