5.0

My husband and I have over 30 years of experiencing helping pet parents with their pets' behavior problems and training pet professionals. I’m a best-selling author of pet behavior books, and we are both Certified Animal Behaviorists. After we lost our last dog, our cherished Irish Setter Coral, in 2016 we planned not to acquire more dogs and cats of our own for awhile, but discovered that being "empty pet-sters" is more difficult than we imagined. We have endless love and experience to share, and decided pet-sitting is the perfect opportunity to do exactly that. It would be difficult to engineer a more affectionate, supportive, and attentive environment than our home. There isn't a pet parent on earth who could be more particular than I was when looking for people to sit for our pets. I know how hard it is to be separated from a cherished four-legged family member. I wanted our pets' wellbeing to be the same top priority to the person caring for them as it was to us. I know how important it is to receive regular updates and pictures, and for care instructions to be followed expertly. I’ll care for your pet with the highest standards I could hope for as an owner. My husband and I love doing most anything outdoors, especially hiking and camping in scenic areas. I walk a lot, swim and work out regularly and enjoy competing in short distance triathlons. We started pet sitting while living in Denver and "snowbirding" to Sun City AZ. In 2018 we left Denver and lived more or less full time in Sun City (still spending 4 months in Gunnison). But in 2026 the pull of "home became too great and we came back to CO - this time to Grand Junction! We have a single family home here in Grand Junction with a small but backyard but perfectly adequate to give any dog an enjoyable time outside. Our yard is securely enclosed by a 6 foot fence and the one gate is always locked. We have a small park in our neighborhood and enjoy walking daily except in bad weather so you can count on your dog getting some exercise. Our work with animal behavior is extensive and intensely rewarding. I've appeared on national morning talk shows as well as local news shows. I've developed unique training protocols and pet education programs for national pet related chains. My husband and I created a DVD on canine body language, and we have several successful websites providing educational products and services to both pet parents and pet professionals. I was the co-founder of one of the first pet loss support programs at a veterinary teaching hospital, and also established one of the first behavior helplines at a large metropolitan animal shelter. I've taught animal behavior to animal control officers, veterinary technicians, veterinarians, groomers, pet sitters and more. I'm passionate about enhancing the quality of life for animals. My husband and I have both shared our lives with pets since we were children. When we married almost 35 years ago, we blended our pet families of four cats and three dogs (all of whom are long since gone to the Bridge). We've both worked professionally with dogs and cats for 30+ years in a variety of settings from veterinary teaching hospitals, to an animal shelters, to our private behavior consulting practice. We've trained other professionals on four continents, and been a consultant to national humane associations and well known pet product corporations. We both know dogs and cats--and how to understand and meet their needs--inside and out!