Paws-N-Reflect Hi! My name is Susan. I live on a beautiful 5.5-acre property I call "Shiloh Acres" (Shiloh means "Peace and Tranquility") with my 2 dogs - Milly and Shiloh - and my 3 cats - Mimszy, Delia, and Paxton. All of them are rescues and each of them has a unique story of their own. Milly is my sweet, 8.5-year-old black shepherd/chow/retriever/pointer mix who we adopted at the Sioux Falls Humane Society. She never takes her eyes off of me and follows me everywhere I go. We are like two peas in a pod! I sing to her most nights and she falls asleep in my arms with her little "puppy purrs" as I call them. Shiloh Linh, whose middle name means "gentle spirit" in Thai, showed up on my farm on Mother's Day in 2016. She was only about 15-weeks-old at the time and had a collar on that had grown into her neck! So I picked her up and brought her to the emergency clinic and $1100 later, I have myself a beautiful bluetick coonhound (as stubborn as she is!!!). Mimszy Ann, my beautiful calico, is my oldest cat who just turned 11. Five years ago she was diagnosed with congenital heart failure and only given 6 months to 1 year to live, but she is still going strong! She is the most independent of them all, but still enjoys alone time with mom. Delia Dae is my little black and white kitty who is a year younger than Mimszy. Both she and Mimszy were adopted in Brookings, South Dakota. She has terrible arthritis, but she loves to snuggle and presses her nose against my face to get my attention. And then there is Paxton Gur, whose first name means "From the peaceful farm" and whose middle name means "Baby Lion." Shiloh corned a 6-week-old Paxton on the wheel of my car in May of 2017. He was obviously born to a feral cat and I have no idea how that tiny little thing (less than 2 pounds) made it all the way across the pasture to my doorstep without being killed. His siblings, unfortunately, were not as lucky. He gave me a good hiss trying to scare me off when I first found him, but as soon as I brought him inside and cleaned him up he adopted me. Like Milly, he is never far from me. I honestly think he thinks I am his mother. He is the only boy in the group and given he is only 1.5-years-old, he is a ball of rambunctious energy!!! They all bring complete joy into my life and I thank God every day for them. I am a wildlife biologist and run my own environmental consulting business out of my home, so I am here most days. Though my house is a bit small, I have 2.5-acres of pasture that is fenced in so there is plenty of room for the dogs to play and spend most of their days. My goal is to convert a portion of the pasture to an outdoor dog playground with a tunnel and hill, several insulated dog houses, a doggie tree-house and agility course, plenty of toys, and water features for those hot Arkansas days! Because I do live in a country setting, there are a few things we require before your dog(s) stay with us. First, we will require proof of vaccinations at the meet-and-greet or at the time of drop off for their first stay. All adult dogs (>1 year) we watch must be spayed or neutered. We also strongly recommend your dogs are treated for fleas, ticks, and heartworm on a monthly basis while they stay with us. Though the pasture is fenced in, there is always the small chance a dog can get out by either digging under the fence or jumping over it. Therefore, they will need to wear a collar with identification while they are here and we also highly recommend pets be microchipped. Feel free to ask me for more details or for suggestions about microchipping if you have not done that. We do ask that you provide all of the food your dog will need (it helps prevent upset stomachs!), your dog's bed/pillow/blanket, favorite toy (if they have one that they absolutely love - we have plenty of toys here for them to choose from as well!), and any medicine they may need during their stay. We allow dogs to be dropped off or picked up between 8am and 9pm. There is an extra $5 per night added for puppies (which will be constantly surpervised and never left outside alone), high-energy dogs under two who still act like puppies, or adult dogs who are not yet housebroken. The reason for this is that puppies require much more supervision and will usually have an accident (or two!) inside, and non-housebroken dogs tend to have accidents or mark in the house which adds up to a lot of time, money and energy in cleaning. We do not take adult (over one year), unfixed dogs. The extra hormones disrupt the harmony of the household and tend to provoke more disagreements between altered and unaltered dogs. They are also much more likely to want to roam or get out of the fenced area. At this time we are unable to take dogs with food, dog or toy guarding/aggressive tendencies. For a single night stay, our rates start at $30/night, but as per Rover's site policy, if pick-up is more than 24 hours after drop-off, a daycare fee may apply. Due to the high demand for dog-sitting services during the holiday season, stays that include any of the following dates will be priced at the sitter’s Holiday Rate (starting at $35/night): • November 20 - 29, 2018 (Thanksgiving) - SORRY, NOT AVAILABLE THIS YEAR! • December 20th, 2018– January 2nd, 2019 (Christmas and New Year’s) • May 24th – 27th, 2019 (Memorial Day Weekend) • July 3rd – 7th, 2019 (Independence Day/Weekend) We do not allow dropoffs or pickups on Thanksgiving Day, nor from 4 pm on Christmas eve until 8 am on December 26th, nor from 4 pm New Year's Eve until 8 am January 2nd. If you have any questions for us, including availability, please just drop us a quick note, using the links to the side of the page that say "contact sitter"! Thank you and we can't wait to meet you and your pets!