How To Start A Pet Sitting Business...It's Easy!

When I started my pet sitting business two and a half years ago, I made the classic mistake of taking on any and all clients no matter where they were located. I even went door-to-door sticking fliers in doors in Casselberry (I live in Winter Garden, which is about an hour drive from Casselberry - my parents live in Casselberry). I was a little 'willy-nilly' with things.

When you start a small pet sitting business, your mindset - well, mine, anyways - was, "Get as much business as you can IMMEDIATELY!" - I didn't think about the long-term repercussions like: when I actually get busy on MY side of town, how will I accommodate the clients on this side of town? Gas? My sanity...although, to be honest, my sanity went out the window the second I decided to start this biz. I didn't think about, or even know, the real life impacts that this business would have on my life.

There are people you credit with your success and usually it's a family member, a spouse, parents, etc. In my case, it is a complete random person who I had contact with for exactly two weeks of my life. I interviewed for a position and would have given my right ovary (either one would have done since neither did anything for my reproductive ventures) to get it. When I was offered the job, I broke down in tears to my 'future boss' telling him that I was considering starting a pet sitting business and I was torn. He told me to follow my heart and do what I thought was best and, most importantly, that he thought I would be amazing at pet sitting. I turned the job down and promptly got hammered thinking that I had made a huge mistake.

I have learned a lot in the two and a half years of having this business. I complain about my job...A LOT...ask my husband. But, being the animal lover that I am, I feel like this is my lot in life (yes, that was a Star Wars reference). I can't think of any other job that I would complain less about!

Not that I am an expert, BUT, there are a few things you should consider when starting a pet sitting business:

This business is not for the person who likes a set schedule; it is not for the person who does not appreciate the bark and complete un-abandoned mauling by a dog who adores your presence every day because their people work all the time and you are the one person who makes it better; it is not for the person who gets annoyed at slobber on EVERY part of them; it is not for the person who doesn't like to be knocked over enthusiastically into the grass each afternoon by a dog who is so happy to see you that they can't stand it; it is not for the person who gets disgusted at the sight and, more importantly, the smell of poop; it is not for the person who is not prepared to walk in to a house and see an animal who is dying and needs help crossing over the Rainbow Bridge; it is not for the person who can't handle a cat who is in labor with her first litter of kittens; it is not for the person who can't do eye drops or ear drops or nail clippings or snuggling because, like many human children, the animal is afraid of thunder; it's not for the person who gets so involved with their clients lives that they want to curl up and die when their beloved pet passes away - God forbid, their husband...

It's a small pet sitting business when it begins, but along the way, you gain more than you ever bargained for.

Confessions of a Pet Sitter

First off, I want to say that I take my job VERY seriously - my top priority is to make sure that the animals in my care are: 1) safe 2) healthy and 3) happy. I would NEVER do anything while animals are in my care that would put any of them in danger. Additionally, I make sure that my client's houses are secure and usually leave them in better shape than they did.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let us head straight to the Real World confessional (yes, I am 37 and yes I still watch it...don't judge) and spill the beans on a few things that I have done while on the job that I am not totally proud of. 

While pet sitting, I have:

• set off my client's house alarm so that four police officers showed up, lights blazing, and shamelessly flirted with them so they would go away and I wouldn't have to call my client...it worked! SCORE - I've still got it!
• rummaged through a client's cabinets to find much-needed sunscreen - I had the stupid idea of riding my bike to all of my visits on a hot, Florida August afternoon...needless to say, I looked like Magda from "There's Something About Mary" when I got home.
• gone about the better part of a day with dog poop smeared on my face wondering why everywhere I went smelled like shit before looking in the mirror and realizing it was me.
• drank ALL of the Cokes in a client's refrigerator while he was out of town and had to replace them before he returned home - we don't keep Coke in our house so it was a treat I couldn't resist.
• acted like I was the owner of the mansion that I was staying overnight in - I went full on character, twirling around as if wearing a ball gown and drinking champagne saying things (to myself, mind you) like, "Daaahling, I'm so elated that you were able to make it to our party...you look simply splendid!" Because this is how I imagine millionaires speak.
• fallen asleep at a client's house on the floor - dogs were inside, safe and sound and I had already fed and taken them out to potty. I just needed a little rest! This happened during the holidays when I typically run on about four hours of sleep.
• eaten food out of a client's refrigerator - you try walking dogs from 6AM until 5PM without putting time in your schedule for eating - once the cats started looking tasty, I figured it was time for me to find something real to eat. Incidentally, this is the SAME house I drank the Cokes from...Coke and cold pizza just go together. I assume my client didn't notice that one piece missing.
• had to high-tail it back to the client's house, dragging a poor dog in tow (most likely wondering why the hell his leisurely walk is now a full on sprint) because I had to poop...NOW!
• pooped at a client's house - I consider it a job perk that I have clean, for the most part, bathrooms for me to potty in :)
• pretended like I was picking up a load of crap that the dog I was walking just dropped and really didn't. This is breaking a HUGE Cardinal Rule of pet sitting...ALWAYS pick up the poop! 99% of the time, I have poop bags falling out of my pockets. On this particular day, I was wearing stretch pants (not to worry, fashion police, they were workout pants...no stirrups) and had no pockets. Unfortunately, I was walking a 130 lb Bull Mastiff so the poop probably didn't go unnoticed.
• not showered in five days - I SWEAR the dogs were more lovable towards me on the fifth day...Manny was a different story.
• not brushed my teeth prior to my morning visits - again, dogs seem to really enjoy my morning breath...I may have forgotten and gone the entire day before realizing I hadn't brushed...sorry, Lisa (Lisa is my dental hygienist sister)! 
• let out a not-so-quiet fart while walking a dog, realized that there was a man behind me and blamed it on the dog..."Annabelle! It is not nice to toot in public!" as the man jogs by.
• gone out bar hopping downtown until 4AM, slept in my clothes at my brother-in-law's house, gotten up at 6AM and did my morning visits smelling like bar...the dogs were displeased with this particular scent. Oddly, this was a completely different day than my nap on the floor.

Let's face it, pet sitting is a job where you are pretty much alone most of the time, 'cept for the animals that you are in charge of, and they can't talk. You don't really have to report physically to anyone so you are just on your own. You get the feeling that no one is watching and when hunger, sleepiness, upset bowels or punchiness takes over, this is what happens. In this day and age of web cams, I feel like a few of my clients may have witnessed some of this tom-foolery...perhaps I need to have a little more self control!

Off for the weekend to Mt. Dora with Manny and Jax. Stay tuned for our adventures there. Have a GREAT weekend, everyone!!

Welcome to Tails from The Alley

Daisy Mae, gifted to us 
by a friend

My name is Allison Otero and I am, by nature, an animal-lover…ok, that is the understatement of the century! I am plagued by an irrational concern and obsession for all living things – except for roaches…oh, and crickets, which you will learn about in another entry. My feelings towards the way animals are treated often drives me to tears and I will literally think that I should never leave the house again, watch the news again, read Facebook again, etc. for fear that I will see or read something bad that has happened to an animal and I will just die. Ask my husband about the call he received at work when I ran over a squirrel. You know the sound a peacock makes? Well, mix that with the sound of a hyena being skinned alive and you are close to experiencing what he heard.

Big Boi, found on our porch

Because of this crazy obsession, I am a professional pet sitter and animal rescuer in Central Florida. I started my pet sitting business, AlleyCat's Pet Service (alleycatspetservice.com), on October 5, 2011 after being laid off for the second time from an administrative position at a landscape construction company.  They missed me so much the first time they laid me off that they hired me again only to find they STILL didn’t have shit for me to do…I’m convinced they hired me back for entertainment purposes. My pet sitting business keeps me super busy and has been the demise of much of my social life, but I LOVE it. There are so many adorable animal moments that I forget that I am missing every holiday party that I have been invited to; the unconditional love I receive from my client’s pets makes up for every hangover that I could have had…and I should probably thank them for that.

Jackson "Jax", rescued from
A Forever Home Animal Rescue
aforeverhomeanimalrescue.org

As for rescue – this I stumbled upon thanks to a VERY pregnant mama kitty that lived on our back porch giving birth to four kittens in our home, THEN, two weeks later finding four three-week-old kittens abandoned in my mother-in-law’s attic. At the time we had six cats of our own and I needed major help placing all of these kittens because we now had 15 cats in our house. WTF??? I reached out to some wonderful people who have been in the rescue business for a while via Facebook. Thankfully, my saviors, Linda and Vickie (or perhaps I should curse them for dragging me into this!! Just kidding!) came to my rescue and helped me place every single one of those babies into loving homes. The mama (whom we call Mama – so creative) stayed here with us, bumping our total cat count up to an embarrassing seven. Since Mama came along, my husband and I have fostered and placed over 20 cats and kittens. Oh, one more confession – Jackson is our dog. So, yes, we have seven cats and a dog currently residing in our home (pictures attached).  You will hear more about Jackson than you would ever want to so his story will have its own entry.    

Jason, found on Friday the 13th,
in the storm drain in front of our house

My background and university studies have helped me to be successful in my business and I am truly thankful to my parents for paying a bazillion dollars so that I could obtain a degree in an area that would assist me in opening and running my business. Ok, this is a complete and utter lie – I have a degree in Speech and Language Pathology. That’s right, folks…my amazing parents actually DID pay a bazillion dollars for what they thought would afford me a respectable job. They dreamt of me possibly opening up my own practice, helping poor children with stuttering problems or severe head injuries. Instead, I spend most of my days picking up dog poop, sifting through and harvesting cat feces and feeding live crickets to blue frogs, among other things. Don’t get me wrong, my parents are very proud of my success, and they let me know it all the time, but they could have probably skipped forking over thousands of dollars to a university (Valdosta State University…go Blazers!) to pay for a degree that I will NEVER use. I’m assuming it’s the same feeling they had when they forked over thousands of dollars for me to marry what EVERYONE knew (including myself but I was 23 and thought I knew what I was doing) was a total douche bag…my first husband. Sorry Mom and Dad! One day, when my pet sitting biz is hugely successful, I will pay you back!

Mama, found on our porch

So on to my blog. Although I am a pet sitter by trade, I do have a creative side and, not to toot my own horn, have been told that I have a way with words and I think I’m pretty hilarious (TOOT-TOOT!). The pet sitting business is a goldmine of SUPER funny stories that I think the world would be a happier place for knowing about. So, this blog, although heavy on pet sitting stories and the trials and tribulations of being in this business, will largely be about my life in general, the amazing people who I am lucky enough to run around with, my wonderful family, my animals, rescuing animals and my husband.

The Dude, found on our porch

NOTE: There WILL be grammatical errors, punctuation issues and a gross misuse of the words "who", "whom", "laying" and lying." That sentence was probably full of them. I know this.

Sasha, rescued from 
The Cat Protection Society
thecatprotectionsociety.org

I will do my best not to offend, but please keep in mind that I pick up dog shit for a living so what do you expect?

Bruce Wayne, found on our porch