I have learned this about myself: If I don't come in and out of your front door, I am bad to forget to look for packages at your front door. If you are expecting a package or you get them regularly for work, etc, please leave me a note to remember to look for them!! :)
Lesson #31 Learned by this pet sitter
I should own a "chuckit." At some point today, I will. Hawk will be happy!! :) Thanks to Jay's mom and dad for this realization b/c they have one and I think Jay is very happy about that bc I can't throw the ball very far!!
Lesson #30 Learned by this Pet Sitter
I cannot walk with a full bowl of water without spilling it. I always change out the water bowls and if an owner fills the bowl to the top and their dog or cat hasn't had very much of it, I have a very hard time getting to the sink to dump it out and refill it. When I refill the bowl, I never fill it all the way to the top. Something I've just noticed over time. (As a pet sitter, I have a lot of time to think..... can you tell??? :) )
Lesson #29 Learned by this Pet Sitter
I have an old dog. Sam is 14. He has developed arthritis in his back legs. He rarely lifts his leg to pee anymore. Instead he squats more like a female dog. I think the older a male dog gets, the harder it is for them to lift their leg and pee. I can tell if Sam is having a good day by how high he tries to lift his leg when he pees! I think keeping an eye on that as male dogs get older is probably a good indication of arthritis.
Lesson #28
ahhhh springtime. Most of our winter has felt almost springlike and now I'm seeing what I think are perhaps the results of a mild winter: ants. Lots of ant hills everywhere!! I'm having to be really careful to keep the dogs from walking through them. Watch out for them when you are out walking your dogs too!
Lesson #27 Learned by this Pet Sitter
MICROCHIPPING WORKS! Now I know this but I thought I'd share my story. It is also helpful when really nice people stop to lend a hand too! I was walking a dog yesterday when I saw another dog in the front yard across the street get all excited when she sees us and she comes running over. About this time I'm having heart failure but she looks friendly.... as she is! The dog I'm walking LOVED her too. It was a little crazy for a few minutes. I'm trying to maintain control of the dog I'm walking (although at this point we are not walking, the dogs are trying to play!) An SUV drives by and I see the woman looking at us. She stops and asks if she can help and I say YES! She grabs the other dog and looks at her tags. Her name is Bree and there is a phone number on her tag. There is no answer at that number. :( There is an address though and the woman knows the street. I ask her if she has a leash in her car and she doesn't so she starts going house to house, knocking on doors, asking for a leash.
By this time, a man who was on his morning walk has come up and I ask if he can help. He holds the dog I'm walking and I have Bree whose collar keeps slipping off over her head. Ugh! The woman who has stopped to help has found a leash (so now a 4th person is helping!!) and I have called the number on the dog's microchip tag. They have a 2nd number listed for the owner and she answers! So the first woman leaves - she has her 3 kids in the car and she was on her way out to lunch with her kids - it was her daughter's birthday. The man and I start walking towards the dog's house. The owner of the dog calls her son who is home and he drives over to pick up the dog. End of story and it was a happy one!
As a dog walker, this type of thing happens to me occasionally. Please microchip your pet AND make certain your pet has his collar on with tags that have the microchip and your phone number. If this dog wouldn't have had a collar on, I don't know what I would've done. Another happy ending!
PS When your pet is microchipped, you must contact the company and register the chip to your phone numbers. This is a free service once you have the microchip inserted. If you move or if your phone number changes, you need to update your phone numbers with the microchip company. You can list multiple phone numbers to the chip - home, cell, work, and your spouse's numbers too.