The Top 5 Deal Makers of Pet Sitting

​As with every profession or career path, there are pros and cons to pet sitting.  Spending 15+ years (I swear that makes me sound older than I am) staying in people's homes with their pets is such a rewarding, and underrated "job".  Pet sitting has mainly been a side-hustle business since college. It has given my life purpose and meaning outside the corporate office (and today, it gives me a nice contrast to my therapist role).  People LOVE their pets so to be a trusted caretaker of them is so important and rewarding. Helping people to travel is a part of their self-care, and being with their animals is a form of my own self-care, believe it or not. Animals are amazing, and therapeutic (study after study after study show). I am glad I can support animal ownership, other's self-care (and mine), happy pets, and allow others to travel. All very necessary things, in my opinion. 

Living in Austin the past decade, there are clients, and new clients (Californians) in need of pet care.  Gaining clients is nearly effortless at this point. I am never sales-y so when others discover what I do for a living I find they are very curious about it and ask tons of questions - so I wrote a book about all of my fabulous and not-so-fabulous experiences.  

That said, there are some times when I have to focus on the "other" aspects of pet sitting because lets face it, even if the pets are great there are other factors that can make or break the whole deal too:

1. Pets. This is obvious - your pets are the most important factor in pet sitting.   Are your pets cool or are they jerks? Maybe both. Ha. Believe it or not, mutts have proven to be some of the very best clients I've had. 
2. Wifi. Good wifi and internet is a must. It is 2023 after all.
3. Bed.  If you are going to hire me, or any pet sitter, make sure you have a comfortable bed for them (and your pets) to sleep in. It doesn't matter if it is your bed or a guest bed - a good mattress and quality bedding goes a long way!  I have slept in some fantastic beds.  And sorry, an air mattress doesn't cut it.
4. Noise Level.  I need peace & quiet (ok so maybe I am old).  Do you live ten feet from the train tracks, or next to a frat house?  Can you see or hear the highway from your patio?  If you answered yes to any of these questions then you may need to equip your space with one of these.  
5. Neighborhood.  It is always a nice perk when one lives in a great, safe area with off street parking. Walking distance to places or easy highway access is a bonus but not a requirement. Westlake hills is such a great place I get to stay frequently for pet sits, but they don't have sidewalks in the blocks surrounding my client's houses. Perks can definitely have their tradeoffs.

Those are the top five factors, and mostly in order. Nothing too extraordinary.

There are certainly factors that can make this job challenging, like pet schedule ("excuse me, you want me to feed your dog at 5am, what?!), home security, creepy neighbors, weak shower water pressure (waterfall showers are the worst for my hair!), and indoor climate control issues. But I digress. Perhaps those topics can be saved for later posts.

PS. The holidays are coming up swift. I hope you have secured your pet sitter(s)! We are already completely booked up, but have openings in first quarter 2024 if you want to snag a spot.  Contact us here.