5.0

My husband and I are volunteer members of Animal Rescue; we have had all ages, all types, and all sizes of pets since we first had a home (1995). I am accustomed and sensitive to special-needs pets, those on special diets or medications, I have a local vet whom I would contact instantly if I see that a furry or feathered pal is acting peculiarly or seems not to feel well, and I would contact the owner to advise them of their pet's condition and ask which of several options they would like me to try in order to care for the animal (would the owner want me to take the pet to my or their vet's, would they rather come home (if possible) and tend their pet themselves, do they have a medication that is vet-approved that will make him/her feel better, etc.) I'm not sure if I DO "stand out" from other walkers, sitters, and caretakers, because I have known some fabulous ones that I would leave my menagerie with in a heartbeat. But I think what makes me a good choice in my own right IS my 21 years' experience with rescued, special needs, and senior pets--I adore all these "critters," and I just can't resist them when they look up at me with those sweet eyes, loving me for no other reason than that that's what they do---love. And I guess the other reason you might want me to care for your pets is because I love them all back. I love them usually on sight, and that love stays with them even when I've left for the day or when a job is completed. I don't care about getting drool on my clothes or cleaning up an accident on the floor or having hair stuck all over me, and I'm not squeamish about some of the more---uh, fundamental?--issues that sometimes come up if a "dawgie," or a kitty, has health needs that must be attended to even if unpleasant. I have had to help dogs have bowel movements with just a plastic glove over my finger; I've helped bring puppies and kittens into the world, complete with all the afterbirth mess; I've had to clean up places all over the house where one of them is getting sick; I can usually trick them into taking medicines that they usually shy away from; I have no problem collecting specimens for a vet visit.....and I love them. Mine or someone else's -- it makes no difference. When they are placed in my care, they ARE mine until I'm not there anymore, and they are treated like mine (the spoiled rotten little buggers!). I love them all, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to put them at ease, make them comfortable, help them to feel better, or give them needed attention. For example, if the brood consists of more than one dog or cat, I take them on walks separately. I found out when we had a houseful of SEVEN rescue pets about ten years ago that they tend to get annoyed with each other if you're walking more than one at a time, given that some like to run and others like to walk, some love to run into a fellow critter and some back off and growl at an unknown quantity, and some can only go for short walks while others need a good half hour's stroll down the places they love to walk in. Taking them one at a time eliminates the tussling with two or more opposite temperaments, and it gives each dawgie (I'm from the South, and all my friends up here say that I pronounce the word that way, so I just spell it like that!) time to be paid one-on-one attention, which they all need. I would give my solemn word to any pet mom or dad that their fur-kid is in good hands with me, and I would see to it that I honored that promise. I love all animals, and I would show that love to those of my clients'. If anything that I was unable to handle alone, such as a dog breaking free of the door or the leash and running off too fast for me to follow and I can no longer see them, I would immediately begin following them in the direction from which they broke free and at the same time I would call Animal Control, both to help me find the dawgie and to keep him/her from being picked up as a stray once the agency knows that the furry DOES belong to someone. I would not leave the area until he or she was found, even if it took all night and into the next day. When they are with me, they are my responsibility, and I treat them as that---but I also treat them as mine. For the time I am with them, they ARE mine, and I will never forget that. Never.