Pet Sitting, Dog Walking, Scottsdale, AZ

Archive for the ‘Editorials’ Category

Photo by: Urban Distortions

Given the recent turn of events with Amanda’s Pet Sitting in Scottsdale Az I thought it would be important to tell you all a little about how to choose a pet sitter, what matters in their credentials, what to be aware of, and what really doesn’t matter.

As a professional pet sitter in Scottsdale Az since 2002, I have heard it all. Often times we gain our best clients from their unfortunate horror stories in the past and we look forward to the opportunity to build their confidence in our company. Recently, there was a pet sitter in the news who pet sat for a family with four dogs and two died in her care.Unfortunately this happens more than you think and this just happened to be one incident that was in the news.

See the story here aired 1/11/12: http://www.azfamily.com/news/consumer/dogs-die-under-care-of-pet-sitter-137191423.html

Follow Up Story Aired 1/25/12: http://www.azfamily.com/news/consumer/3-On-Your-Side-confronts-pet-sitter-accused-of-neglect-138064403.html

How To Choose A Pet Sitter It is really quite simple. Go with your gut! It is not uncommon for pet sitting companies to charge a fee for the meet and greet that you can apply onto your first booking. These companies understand what their time is worth and this is a good thing for you! It shows they take their job seriously. Are they on time for your meeting? Did they answer the phone the first time you called or did they get back to your promptly? Trust your gut. If you want a pet sitter you can get a hold of while you are away them pay attention to how quickly they respond to you.

What matters in their credentials? Of course being bonded and insured matters, however knowing what company holds their insurance is even more important. Think about it. If something were to happen and they were to “disappear” how would you know who to call? How involved are they with the community? How long have they been around and is it their full time job?

Be aware of the companies that claim they are the best in their area by their own proclamation.  Be careful of those who don’t offer up personal information about themselves on their website or social media. It is okay to take this to heart – these people could be sleeping in your bed with your pets! Relying solely on their credentials of being bonded, insured, and part of a national organization do not mean anything.

What doesn’t really matter are referrals from clients that the company gives you. Do you think they are going to give you people that are unhappy with their services? Also, hate to say it, but memberships in national organizations do not matter either. The way a company becomes a member is simply sending their dues in. So the company that is toting a national organization logo on the front page of the website, doesn’t tell potential clients anything. The organizations will say they have  a code of ethics, although the policing of every member’s ethics is a pretty big task.

Bella and staff at our monthly Mutt N Mingles so we can meet the community!

OK so what DOES MATTER?

Ask them who in the community vouches for them? Do veterinarians? What sorts of community outreach are they involved in? Have they won any prestigious awards? Do they return your calls or emails quickly? Does their website and social communities tell you who they are authentically? These types of things can not be faked or bought. They have to be earned.

The next time you are looking for a professional to stay in your home with your pets – keep these tips in mind. This is the truth because I have seen it over and over again over the past 10 years. Bella’s House & Pet Sitting represents all of this and more. We may not be the cheapest, but our reputation and integrity speak volumes and ultimately every pet parent want their kids and home safe when they are away.

Today was a great day.

I had two meetings with awesome people. One was the crew from Gabriel’s Angels. I love working with them as they are always professional, on the ball, and ready to work! They are the beneficiary for our Pet Pawshion Show at Barrett Jackson on Jan 20^th. Bella’s House & Pet Sitting is co producing this event in Scottsdale with Rock Me Arizona. In our meeting, we went over some final details and I learned even more about what they were doing. In fact, you might see a video of me soon on facebook talking with their puppet…errr, golf head cover. Get ready! It is going to be funny! But more about that later.

Marilyn from Barking Baby showing me some of the looks for the show

Then it was off to Tempe  Marketplace where I met with marlin to finalize all the looks for our pet fashion show. Marilyn is the creator of Barking Baby, a pet fashion line with amazing clothing. Marilyn has been so gracious to provide all the clothing for our show. It is the first time I have ever organized a fashion show and wow is it an experience. I have 30 dog models and matching them up to our 40-60 looks and getting the proper line up for the show is quite the adventure. Although, for those of you who know me, I love adventure! So bring it on.

Later, I returned to the home office to do some more work and send emails before off to another weekly meeting I have for Bella’s.  My days are

always fun and exciting. Tomorrow I get to meet a brand new client with Kelly who didn’t have a good experience with another pet sitting company in the past. I am going on this consultation so I can personally meet them and look them in the eye to assure them of our integrity.  This is important to me and I am excited to meet them.

What did you do today?

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We asked our employees what their favorite part of the Holiday Season is. Here is what Sarah said:

Sarah Post

Sarah:My favorite Holiday memory was in 2005. That year my mum and I went to South Africa for two weeks. On Christmas day we spend it surrounded by Buffalo, Elephants, Monkeys and much much more! It was a really great experience and I will never forget it

Stay tuned for more answers in this series “What I like most about the Holiday Season”

We asked our employees what their favorite part of the Holiday Season is. Here is what Kelly said.

Kelly Says:

My favorite thing about the Holiday Season is the sense of gratitude and joy that somehow always surrounds me Christmas eve. After the days of hustle and bustle leading up to Christmas I find myself overwhelmed with peace and hopefulness as I watch over my beautiful family laughing, squealing, & giggling as they marvel at the blessings the season brings, year after year. It is a feeling I try to grab onto and hold dear as I reflect on the past and wonder about the imponderables of our future.

Stay tuned for more answers in this series “What I like most about the Holiday Season”

This is the note i got from my client on a Sunday night after looking at 7 shelters in one weekend.
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We have an amazing story to share with you…..

This past Thursday, Tasha stopped off at a gas station in her territory out in the middle of the desert with not much around…. she saw a stray dog and soon found out from the gas station attendant that someone dropped her off about 8 months ago and she has been there every day since begging for food and water… what Tasha noticed right away is that she was nursing puppies, but the puppies were no where to be seen or found.

On Saturday of this last weekend, Tasha and I went back to this area and fed and watered the mom a few times, hoping that she would eventually lead us to her puppies. No luck, until we tried one last time! We fed the Mom and she got full, we started to drive away and saw her go over a hill into the desert. Tasha jumped out and tried to follow her, but she lost her…I joined in helping and we searched for about 45 minutes and found ourselves 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile into the desert with NOTHING around but sand, trees, cactus, and thick bushes. All of a sudden, we came around a corner and saw this hole/cave (see picture), and the Mom’s head popped out! We quickly saw a bunch of little tails, which of course were the puppies! 5 of them to be exact!

Tasha getting the puppies out of the cave.

We walked up to the puppies and the Mom ran off, she is very very scared. The puppies quickly scurried into the hole/cave and sat at the mouth of the hole/cave and barked at me (Tasha had ran back to the car to get a kennel to put the puppies in). Tasha had to “army crawl” into the cave as it was very small to capture the puppies, which she eventually did….there is more to this story but I am keeping it short.

I am attaching some pictures of the puppies….they are the cutest little things and are starting to warm up to Tasha very quickly. They are a shepard mix and will be medium sized dogs….there is one that actually crys until Tasha brings him into bed with her and he immediately falls asleep. We were definately the first humans that these puppies have seen!

If anyone knows of anyone that would give one of these little miracles a good home, please let us know! We know it is a lot to ask. We have a vet appointment for them this Friday to get them checked out and for their first round of shots so we will keep you posted.

Please pass this email along to anyone that you know and TRUST would take GOOD care of a puppy!

Love,
Kevin and Tasha

All the brothers and sisters

UPDATE May 30th, 2010: The puppies had their first vet appt on Friday and they are in good health… The vet was very surprised that they were as fat and healthy for being found in the desert! They got their first round of shots and are really coming into their own now….running, playing, eating, drinking, etc. We have found a great home for 2 of them so far. We cannot thank all of you for your generosity in helping us find good homes for them. A special thanks to my good friend Gretchen for finding a home and my loving sister Carmen and brother in law Randy, who will be taking “Oreo”.
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Oreo soon became MINE. How? Well… He picked me. It was love at first sight. He wouldn’t leave my side, jumping over his brothers and sisters to get to me, and fell asleep in my arms. After checking with Randy – I got word the next day that “oreo” now OWNED ME.

How could you NOT fall in love with this face?

The love I have for this little guy is much life I am sure you have for your fur kid. It is love that is unexplainable and I am a very obsessed Mama now. Written June 2010

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