I honestly can’t remember the last time I provided vacation pet sitting for a dog. I have done plenty of cats in recent years, but no dogs. I’ve filled in and helped out, but never been the lead, and always for existing clients. This morning I am going to take care of a dog I’ve never done before, and I am as nervous as if it were my first day on the job.
I have been doing this job since 2012 and we have owned our business since 2015. In that time we have served thousands of pet owners with the care of their pets through either dog walking or pet sitting services.
Since 2019 our main concentration has been on our children and we have done far less work ourselves. We have expanded our staff and worked to get ourselves out of the field. Lara exited first due to the children and I soon followed. We then decided we were bored and wanted to get back into the field. We did so by filling in for midday dog walks and I took on some occasional cat clients.
Somehow I have not taken lead on any new vacation pet sitting dog clients in that time and this morning is the first in several years where I will walk into a client’s house and care for a new to me dog while they are on vacation, and they scheduled the first visit for the time they are leaving on the morning my wife has her meeting.
I sent a message last night confirming and they replied they’d be leaving at 6:00 to 6:15 this morning. This means that in order to get their visit done and to get home in order for my wife to leave for her meeting that we might cross paths. This makes me even more nervous.
I sent a message to confirm visits starting at 6:00 AM yesterday and they replied with the above information sometime after I had gone to sleep. That means there is no chance to confirm for a final time that this morning visit is truly needed or if maybe they want to cross paths. Want to make certain with their own eyes that someone is coming. I have no idea and it feels like I am doing a job I have been doing for ten years for the first time.
The reality is every time is the first time. Every pet and every client has a unique personality and while the care we provide doesn’t change much the perception of it can change a great deal. I am hoping that everything runs smoothly this morning and for the proceeding visits. Even if I am aiming more for the 6:15 time than the 6:00, but the real priority this morning is getting home in time for my wife to get to her meeting and getting the kids to the bus stop.
David Huzzard Writes 