How Many Hats Does Your Pet Sitter Wear?

Whenever I tell someone I’m a pet sitter I usually get the “I want your job” or “oh, that’s cute” response. Most people envision us frolicking with fluffy puppies or fuzzy kittens in a field of wildflowers with butterflies floating around our heads between the hours of 11am and 2pm. Yeah, NOT. Being a pet sitter is a lot more work than some people realize. It calls for early mornings, late nights, driving in blizzards, working on holidays and it requires that we wear many hats. (I hope you’re enjoying the photo of my husband Bill posing with his Bob Cat Hat).

As a pet sitter, we wear the hats of:

Security Officer – we visually check your home before entering to make sure nothing looks out of place and look for any evidence of a break in.
Investigator – we know someone pooped on the floor, exactly who was it and why?
Nurse – Fido isn’t acting normal. Is he eating? Is he going to the bathroom? Are his gums a normal pink color? We dispense a lot of medications, per your instructions.
Janitor – this is by far the least glamorous part of our job. We clean up after any messes your pet has left, we take trash out on trash day, we clean up on our last visit before you come home.
Interpreter – is that dog barking because it’s happy to see us or is it barking to warn us not to come any closer?
Groomer – some pets love being brushed during our visits and others like to roll in yucky stuff and need to be cleaned off before they can go back in the house.
Chef – we’ve had many special requests to cook for peoples pets.
Entertainer – your pets sometimes get lonely while you’re gone. We think nothing of singing, dancing or talking baby talk to them to boost their spirits.
Movers – we can’t tell you how many times a very large object has been delivered when a client isn’t home. We’ve had to wrestle large rolls of carpet up two flights of stairs into an apartment.

In addition to those hats, an owner of a pet sitting service wears the hats of:

Accountant – payables and receivables along with payroll and taxes.
Marketing Officer – constantly marketing the business to grow and gain new clients.
Scheduler – have to schedule the staff.
Customer Service Rep– responding to clients via phone or email.
Human Resources – interview, hire and fire (hopefully not) staff
Social Media Manager – keep the website, Facebook, Instagram and blog up to date.
Therapist – I’m honored when people ask my opinion on issues they are having with their pets. It makes me feel good when I can solve a problem they are having!

As you can see being a pet sitter isn’t for the faint of heart. It takes a special person to do the job we do and do it well. I love wearing all these hats! We have a fantastic team here at Purrfect Pet Sitting and for that I am incredibly grateful! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I need to go hat shopping.