Pet-sitters keep tails wagging

February 1st, 2008 Posted in Pet Pictures

Nipping over the fence to your neighbours, a can of cat food in one hand and an old spoon in the other, your charge appears on cue.

As it meows for its tucker, weaving between your legs, purring furiously, your heart goes out to the little fella. The twice-daily feeds and the relief that the little fluffball hasn’t been run over yet %26#150; make no bones about it, looking after someone else’s much-loved pet is a huge ask. John McGrath found out first-hand how hard %26#150; and expensive %26#150; it can be when he agreed to look after a friend’s dog while its owner lapped up the sun in Valencia during the America’s Cup. The 10-year-old black labrador gave its best houdini-like impersonation, escaping from his chain not once but twice. “He cost me a bomb,” Mr McGrath says. “I spent $175 to get him out of the pound the first time and $247 the second time. To make sure I didn’t lose him again I had a chip fitted, which set me back a few more hundred bucks. Then I found his registration had run out so I re-registered him. All up, including about $200 for his special food, I spent about a grand on this pooch.” It was a stressful few weeks, he says. “This dog was his owner’s pride and joy. I kept thinking, ‘What happens if he dies on my watch?’ I felt like going into therapy once he was off my hands.” But there is an alternative. Pet-sitting. The concept is simple. You’re heading away for a few weeks and need someone to feed your beloved animal-baby. You also wouldn’t mind someone to clear the mailbox and make the house look lived in. Enter the pet-sitter. They set up camp in your house, perform tasks that you have listed and keep the house secure. It’s targeted at high-end clients with large disposable incomes and a focus on giving their animals a life of extreme comfort. Services range from once-a- day feeds and a quick pat, to dog walking or the live-in sitter. Even if you are not on holiday, there is a simple dog-walking service for workaholics who may not have time to give their pooch their daily constitutional. Claudia Campbell created PetSit in 2005 after leaving her professional marketing job %26#150; “people thought I was crazy” %26#150; and found her first hurdle was explaining to people exactly what pet- sitting involves. Claudia’s client base is a solid group of return clientele, ranging in age, demographic and profession “but are generally single people who adore their animals as if they were children”. “I’ve seen everything,” she laughs. “Hot water bottles for animals, special food with special instructions to heat it to a certain temperature, not to mention the accessories %26#150; dog clothes, sparkly diamond collars. Nothing surprises me.” As well as cats and dogs, her charges have included turtles, frogs, chickens, fish and peacocks. Sometimes people pay Claudia just to spend time with their animals, especially dogs. “Clients don’t like the thought of their dog being alone, so they pay me to drive around with them in the passenger seat.” As part of the service, she also sends text updates, e-mails and photos to the clients %26#150; “an integral part of keeping their minds at ease, especially the first time they leave their pets“, Claudia says. Technology is also a key component of Pet Angels %26#150; a Wellington pet-sitting service that plans to launch in Christchurch before Christmas. Co-founder Laura Humphreys says there is a move away from traditional kennels and catteries with a push for a more premium, personalised service. “We believe we have a world-first online system that allows pet owners to search profiles of our angels and it matches the angel to the pet’s needs,” she says. Pet Angels employs 80 “angels” on a casual basis and it is constantly recruiting to keep up with demand. Prices for the services vary, depending on the number of animals and the level of service required. Laura says she got paid $16 to visit a guinea pig, just to keep it company. The price for pet-sitting one dog overnight is $35 and for twice-daily feeds the cost is $30. One of Pet Angels’ current offers is the aptly named “doggy holidays”, an alternative to structured kennel life, where the dogs run around on farms chasing quad bikes and fall asleep in front of the fire at night. Laura says she has clients who are sometimes worried their pet will enjoy their holiday too much and won’t want to come home. They also offer homestays with sea views and “quiet retreats for older pets”. Pet Angels client Nirmala Cooper laughs as she talks about her cats and their lifestyle. Her two seal point siamese cats, Raphael and Xaf, live up to their angel namesakes as they strut around the garden with their custom-made harnesses embellished with golden wings. “They both have different personalities %26#150; our angel Lisa knows their idiosyncrasies,” Nirmala says. “When I was in the Gold Coast, I got daily texts from Lisa updating me on the cats. Here I was sunning myself in Australia and she’s texting me saying it’s cold in Wellington so the cats won’t be going for a walk today,” she laughs. Nirmala can see why people may think the treatment of her cats is over the top, but says they are her companions and she couldn’t bear to be without them. Michal McCracken, owner of emBARKERS, says as well as the standard dog walking, training and pet-sitting, she offers a relatively new trend in services %26#150; pet chauffeuring. “Nobody likes going to the doctor alone. And going to the pet salon is always more fun with a friend in tow,” Michal says of the service. Clients pay to have their pet escorted to their appointment, be that to the hairdresser (or is that fur-dresser?) or the dreaded vet clinic. The cost? $35 an hour. Her charges consist mainly of cats and dogs but she does look after a few rabbits. One client even gave her rabbits their own rooms in the house.

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