Part 2 of our Traveling Pet Sitter Series.
Personality Test.
In our last post, “Let’s Go!” we talked about how this crazy life of being traveling pet sitters started. Let me tell you what we didn’t know at the time, just how challenging traveling pet sitting can be!
Traveling through Europe and the United States has been incredible! Pet sitting has allowed us to travel for extensive periods of time, go to places we never dreamed we’d see, meet some fantastic people, make new friends and most of all, care for some of the sweetest, loving dogs, cats, chickens and even a pig! It’s wonderful… if you have the right personality.
Do you like change? Are you adaptable? Easygoing? Patient? Forgiving? If not, maybe traveling pet sitting isn’t for you. We can tell you, you have to have all these traits to be a successful traveling pet sitter. Here are a few things to think about:
Adapt. React. Readapt. Apt.
What if you get to a pet sit and the accommodations are not what you expected or were told they’d be? Maybe the home isn’t quite as clean as you’d like or maybe the host didn’t provide enough space for your belongings and now you are trying to find places for your luggage and space for your food in the fridge. Remember, not everyone lives up to YOUR standards and they shouldn’t be faulted if they don’t.
Maybe the pet’s behavior wasn’t fully disclosed by the host? Fido does NOT walk well on walks and actually is more like a sled dog pulling you through the streets. Maybe Lassie likes to relieve herself in the home at times and not in the backyard.
Maybe you feel a little disrespected by the host. You arrive at the door and the hosts asks what your names are again.
What if there is an emergency, whether with the house or pet, could you handle that? Fires, floods, tornados. The tornado warning siren goes off and you have to find the pet and get to the basement ASAP.
Last minute changes to the agreed upon timeframe of the sit. The host has decided 2 days before the pet sit that they would now like you to arrive the night before the agreed upon arrival date which means you have to drive 12 hours to get there. That is a judgment call on your end. You can agree or you can decline as it was not agreed upon when the sit was confirmed.
You don’t agree with the homeowner on how the pet is being taken care of. Maybe you think Fluffy should eat less food because Fluffy may be a bit hefty. Not your issue. Fluffy is not your pet and therefore your opinion on how many cans of cat food Fluffy eats does not matter. Unless the pet is being abused, best to keep your opinions to yourself.
These are all things we have encountered and more. The majority of our sits have been great, don’t get me wrong, but these issues come up. Think about them, do they make you uncomfortable? How would you handle these issues?
Miss Cranky
We once had a sit outside San Francisco. During our sit there was a wildfire on a nearby hillside. That evening, John and I had cooked a pizza in the oven. About an hour after dinner, we smelled smoke and thought, “Geez, is that smell from cooking the pizza?” No. Then there was a knock on the door. A neighbor asked if we were the pet sitters. He then explained that there is a wildfire and we are being told to evacuate. What?! Ok, the hosts did prepare for this exact situation. They had backpacks full of supplies, first aid kits and cat food. I started gathering the backpacks and whatever possessions of ours I could get out quickly. John went to round up the 2 cats. These kitties were indoor/outdoor cats and both were now outdoors. As pet sitters, it is our responsibility for the well being of the pets. No way we’re gonna leave them. Well you’ve heard the expression, “It’s like herding cats”? Yep, it was EXACTLY like that! One was very easygoing and got into her carrier just fine. The other? Not. So. Much. As I was going to our SUV, a policeman walked up to me and asked if I knew to evacuate. I said yes and that my husband is trying to find the cat and get her into a carrier. He smirked and said “Good luck” (he must have a cat) By using all forms of coercion, John eventually got this very unhappy cat into the carrier. We put the 2 carriers of kitties into the back of our SUV and drove off down the hill.
But that's not the end of the story. We were unable to get in touch with the hosts and no one was giving us directions on where we should go. So we headed into town, drove around and parked for about 2 hours with Miss Cranky in the back meowing and crying the entire time. We talked and talked to her, trying to calm her down and assuring her that she would be back outside in no time to hunt whatever poor little creature crossed her path. We then couldn’t see the fire anymore and decided to just drive back up and see if we could get back to the house. We could and we did.
All’s well that ends well, right? Not exactly. See, Miss Cranky was furious with us for inconveniencing her and her plans for the night and decided to take revenge. As we were headed back to the house, an odor started to fill the SUV. When we travel through the States, we car camp, meaning we have the SUV set up to be able to sleep in the car at campsites or rest areas if we aren’t staying at a hotel or on a pet sit (more about that in a future post). The odor? Urine. Miss Cranky took her revenge in the form of peeing in her carrier which soaked through the carrier onto our mattress and bedding. Fun times.
Adaptability Is Key
Now this was not a bad pet sit. It was a challenging pet sit. And there is a difference. This was an extreme situation but one that you need to be prepared for. We have had 1, maybe 2 pet sits in over 50 that we would label “bad”. And “bad” is subjective based on your feelings. How do you know ahead of accepting a pet sit if it could be bad? We’ll talk about what to look for before accepting a sit in a future post.
Adaptability is key. You will encounter all kinds of situations and how you handle them is what will determine if you are a great pet sitter or if maybe this is not for you.
So For Now…
We have so much more to talk about! Please follow us to learn more about our adventures, how we do what we do and many money saving tips. Is there a subject you would like to cover? Leave us a comment!
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