Howdy! I recently joined Rover on the pet sitting side. I've used them twice as a client with positive experiences. Friends use Wag but, as I'm just starting out, I don't want to have to worry about over booking myself? So I'm not on both yet. I've already turned down two sitting requests, as one was too short notice and I'd already made plans, and the other was for a time when I was set to watch other pets. As a critique, I've set my Rover account to only watching one set of pets at a time yet it allows potential clients to send requests for already booked days. Seems like an oversight.

Anywho, I've watched pets in the past, and as I have two dogs of my own and grew up with both cats and dogs, I'm comfortable pet sitting. My only real hang-up getting started with Rover, was in regards to Sonmi. She, my five year old chihuahua-mix, has epilepsy, and some dogs react with aggression to a seizing animal (or person). The work-around, for safety, is I'm only booking small dogs. My yard is amply secure, as I've needed to patch gaps utilized by the escape artist dogs living to either side of me.

As for my first official clients, two small senior dogs, they've been very sweet. My husband and I joke that this is what having affectionate dogs is like, as ours can be standoffish when not in want. Sonmi and Samwise have been somewhat stressed sharing attention, but aside from literally getting between myself and the dogs I'm watching, in order to demand pets, they've been fine. I did try walking both sets of dogs together, but the paces of the separate pairs differ greatly, and they managed to braid their leashes, which while somewhat annoying, while impressive. The four dogs don't quite cuddle in a heap but they will split off into pairs and share the various dog beds, or all spread out on the human bed.

As I'm a non-driver, and I'm not confident my dogs get along with cats, I have no intention of cat sitting any time soon. I'd need to see how my dogs do with cats first to host them here, and honestly, I don't like the idea of cats on my counter so I'd rather not deal with that. And I won't watch small non-cat or dog pets in my home, as I don't trust Sonmi with rodents, birds, etc.

I don't mind doing four walks a day instead of two. It's no issue squeezing more dogs onto the main bed. In cases where the pets try and steal food or have allergies, it's a simple matter of separating them for meal time. Over all, pet sitting is slight shifts in routine in return for a lot of love. And, now, money. Which is nice.

Once Sonmi & Samwise adjust to having guests in our home, pet sitting will go more smoothly though this visit has been fun. I'm going to miss having the bonus duo around. If you're experienced with pets and feel you can commit to providing the attention, etc, that they deserve, maybe pet sitting could be good for you. I hope you've found any of this informative. I drop a new blog post every Monday. Toodles!

Newsletter

Howdy! This past week I've been knocking out little wood burnings for Monster Mayhem Market at Ice House on Main, which is this Friday, October 4, 2024, from 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM at 800 North Main Street Bryan, TX 77803. I usually have my art booth at First Friday but I'm switching things up for October. The event is kid friendly and ill include trick or treating so I plan on dressing up and offering a candy bowl at my booth. This will be a new location for me so I hope the set up goes smoothly!

As for what new woodburnings I've made, there's a little mushroom doodad, I finished last week's alien gourd, made a little chibi witch jack o'lantern, a cat jack o'lantern and a sugar skull, you guessed it, jack o'lantern. Look, I like pumpkins. Also, My friend, Gabby, & I painted pottery at the local U-Paint It shop and I made a little daruma pumpkin. As one does. It's giving Studio Ghibli what with the bulgy eyes.

What with pet sitting this past week and my husband's birthday Friday, I didn't make it to the bi-weekly writing group meeting which is a shame. I'm hoping to make the next one though! I'm still technically querying Soul Walker, my paranormal women's fiction novel, but I say technically because I didn't actually send any queries this past week.

I'm mentally outlining a story which might lean into speculative fiction, which would be a new genre for me. I really need to pin down what I'm writing for NaNoWriMo.

I'm currently reading The Unbearable Lightness Of Being by Milan Kundera. It's a favorite novel of a friend, and from the title, I guessed it would offer themes of self empowerment like in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, or maybe The Alchemist. I'm 4/5 in and thus far the story is fast paced but there are low stakes and I'm not invested in a single character. The structure is unusual, in that the narrator breaks the fourth wall occasionally, reminding the audience that the story is fiction.

Thanks for stopping by! I drop a newsletter every Monday. Toodles!