Hubby and I recently went to Vermont for a couple of days to celebrate our Anniversary. Having three cats; two which require medications, two dogs; one which requires medication and eleven chickens; four which are separated from the rest of the flock because they are teenagers, preparing to go away is quite a lot of work. I found out first hand how much is involved in preparing for the pet sitter to cover while we were away.
The dogs were relatively easy to prepare for. I made sure their food containers were full, along with the prescription medication for our old guy Zach (he’s almost 16) and confirmed we had enough treats to last until we returned home.
The cats required a little more work. I made sure their litterboxes were scooped and cleaned. I washed all their dishes and made sure to put enough wet food, dry food, dishes, spoons and medications out in plain sight. I also left out cleaning supplies in case someone threw up a hairball while we were gone.
The most work? The chickens, believe it or not! I had to deep clean their coop since they’d be locked inside for a few days instead of being allowed to free range. I had to make sure they had enough food in their feeder and stocked up on mealworms (their FAVORITE treat). I had to prepare containers of food for each day for the pet sitter to set out for them. I included watermelon, spinach, black oil sunflower seed, a few plums and some cheese.
My husband complained that the chickens eat better than he does.
I had to laugh when I saw my two typewritten pages of instructions. I have become one of “those” clients! You know what though? We love “those” kind of clients. It really does make our job just that much easier. We love when everything is spelled out, supplies are all left in one central location and emergency numbers are listed.
We had a lovely time away, but we are glad to be home and I think our crew is glad we’re home too.
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