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This sentimentwas reiteratedby our internationalmembers. Like you, many of
them came from the coroorateworld and
intopetsitting.Karin Howland,
transitioned
internaPets
Stay Home- Pet SittingPlus
ownerof
I recentlyasked severalof our
Canada,
read Patti Moran's
tionalmembersto sharetheirexperiences in Winnipeg,
grateful
pet
many years ago.
professional
to
Pef
for
Profit
book
Sitting
sitters. l'm
as
professionbut
passion
for
intrigued
by
the
She was
each of them for sharingtheir
job.
her position
that
Soon
after,
had a stable
the industryand for demonstrating
pot
Pets
Stay Home
was contractedout and
PSI is truly the international melting
years
ago and
pet
was formed.Thatwas seven
for professional sitters.
business
Karinhas ooerateda successful
Currently,we have membersin 15 differ- with her husband,Mick,eversince.
ent countriesincludingthe UnitedStates.
Anna Goodlad,ownerof ExeterPetSitters
membersrepresent4
Our international
percentof our totalmembership
numbers, in Exeter,Great Britain,said, "l wantedto
and be
withCanadaleadingthe charge.lt'sexcit- workwithanimals,be self-employed
ing to have such a diversemembership ableto supportanimalcharities."
and I am pleasedto bring some muchdeservedattentionto our international Moving from England to New Zealand
members.I hope you'll use this article meant finances were tight for Wendy
to mentallyconnectwith otherpet sitters Mackay. "l couldn't afford to survive on
the low wages I was earningand neededa
thousandsof milesaway.
secondincome.I had alwayslovedanimals
Why Pet Sitting? So why did our inter- and spenttwo years at an equestriancolPet
nationalmemberschooseto becomepet legestudyingto becomean instructor."
sitters?Thinkbackto your own reasons. SittersNZ was bornand the rest is history.
Was it becauseyou liked beingexposed
to the weather-good or bad? Did you like Leigh De Wet, ownerof HomeSittersSouth
beingon callat allhoursof thedayor night? Africa, was in the real estate business
Didyou enjoyworkingon the holidays?Of when he decidedto pursuea pet-sitting
my curiosity
course not, but all of these factorsmean career."As a businessman,
nothingwhen you see the sweetexpres- was tweaked when I heard of a friend's
sionsof your belovedpet clients.Feeling friendmakinga largesumof moneythrough
love is well worth the housesittingand pet care over the Christtheir unconditional
mas holidays,"said Leigh. "Real estate
sacrificesthat are madeon a dailvbasis.
ave you ever wonderedhow the
pet-sittingprofessiondiffers from
countryto country?
',,,,,.."r;;
32;lri
-,-'-
-;;;.,
? i )l l .]l
å
sales were gettingtougher,and
my experiencewas pointing me
towardsa service-relatedbusiness
that would be both relevantand
sustainablewhile providingsome
sort of continuousincome."
Y
I
i
t
Amanda Anderson, owner of
HomelyPetzin Dubai,UnitedArab
Emirates,
sawan unmetneedin her
area that led her to open her own
business."l becamea petsifterafter
seeinga lack of qualitypet care in
Dubai and the limitedservicesfor
holiday pet care. Before Homely
Petz started,there were only three
reputablekennels/cafteries
and they
were pre-bookedat the busy times
of year. This left many pet owners
with limitedoptions,such as to not
go on holidayor relyingon neighbors and friends.I felt that home
pet care was long overdueand the
ideaof a petstayingin its homewas
an obviousanswertoa big problem
in Dubai.."
As you can see, there are several
commonfactorsthat prompt someone to start a pet-sittingservice no
matter the country.The core principles of the industryare virtually
unchangedand love of animals is
foremostin the minds of every petcare provider.
The Initial Reaction. l'm sure you
all rememberthatmomentwhenyou
told your familyand fr:iendsof your
aspirationsto become a pet sitter
or dog walker. ("You'regoing to be
whaQ") Usuallythisisjustthe initial
reactionand it doesn'ttake long for
your familyand friendsto see how
muchyou lovethe profession.Many
times,the familydecidesto join you.
Just ask Leigh.
did we knowhow big thiscompany
wouldget and my husbandis now
full time in the businessas well."
Wendy'sfamilywas quiteshocked
when she quit her roleas a conference organizer,but they fullysupportedhercareerswitch."ljust live
with my husband in New Zealand
and he helps me out occasionally
with difficultsituations,"
she said.
Anna said her family members
"initially...weren't
too sure, but
now they are all involvedand my
parentsare my top host family for
dog boarding!"
Public Perception. We all face
obstaclesin.our livesand sometimes theseobstaclesare enough
to deterus from our goals.The petsitting industryhas faced similar
obstaclesand we're proudof each
of you for facing these obstacles
headon and raisingthe profession
to new heights.ln manycountries,
pet sitting is still a relativelynew
professionand internationalsitters are facing the daily chore of
changingthe public'sperception
of a pet sitter.
"Thegreotest
obstocle
was
perhops
theperception
thotthiswosnoto 'reol'
business
ondfriends
ond
fomilymembers
didnT
take
meseriously
at thetime,
Todoy
myfriendspayme
fortheirnewoppreciation
ofmyservices."
Accordingto Alice, "The biggest
Moving to Dublin, lreland, presented Alice Ghau-Ginguene
with a similarchallenge."Livingin
a foreigncountry we soon realized
thatwe couldn'task friendsor family to come feed our cats when we
travel.I beganlookinginto hiringa
cat sitterand realizedthereweren't
-Leigh
0eWet,South
Afriea
many pet sittersout there and they
were alwaysfully booked. lf I am a
foreignerand runintoproblemslike "At first my family rolled their eyes
this, so do otherforeignershere." at one another,as if to say 'Here
Soon after,Maow Care was born. we go again,Dad has anothernew
business.'Now the familysupports
Susanne Holmene, owner of me wholeheartedly
and appreciates
RastaHunden,in Stockholm,Swe- the extraincome."
den,said,"Therdwere not enough
dog daycare centers in Sweden Amandaexperienceda similarscein 2007 and not all dogs like that nario."lnitiallymy familysaw this
environment.So why not let the as a hobby,a pet sit hereand there.
dog ownershave a choice?lf the They were very supportiveand my
dog liked being in a large group husbandjoined me on weekends.
and playingthey couldgo to a dog He could see the enjoymentI got
daycare center. lf not, we could from looking after pets and how
take the dog for a walk and it could much less stressed I was than in
rest and play at home."
previouspositionsthat I held. Little
obstacle I face is the fact that pet
sitting is a really new business
in lreland. Much of the public
doesn't understandwhat 'pet sitting'means.I get phonecallsregularlyfromcustomerswho thinkI am
a cattery.Vetsdon't particularlylike
the idea either,thinkingthat pet
sitters are generally students or
unemployedpeople.A lotof people
are shockedwhen I tellthemthis is
my fulltime job, my own business
that I am proud of."
"The professionof dog walkers/pet
sitterswas almosttotallyunknownin
SwedenwhenI beganmy business,"
Susannesaid. "At that time only a
few companiesexisted.I advertised
lc*nlinu*tl)
S epte"l r:;t'r ,' Or:obc
r 1 33
201
M EM O S(c*ntinu*ci)
fua*M*,lnn Swia
and Wendy has a similarclient base.
localnewspapers
and contacted
"My average client earns mid- to
profession."
write
aboutthe
to
bloggers
Leighsummedit up best."Thegreatwasperhapsthepercepestobstacle
tionthatthiswasnota 'real'business
didn't
andfriendsandfamilymembers
time.
Today
takeme seriouslyat the
my friendspay me for theirnew appreciation
of myservices."'
high-rangeincomeand is in his or
her midtwentiesto middle-aged."
OurinterPersianGreyhounds)?
nationalmemberscarefor these
providing
typesof petsfrequently,
themwithdailydosesof love.
"Our averageclientis a westernex- The Tie That Binds.I hopeyou
patwith eithera cat or a dog or both," enjoyedthisvisitwithsomeof our
As you
members.
saidAmanda. "Somehave brought international
areminimal.
theirpetswiththemfromtheirhome cansee,differences
countries,whileothersadoptor buy Pet sittingis trulythe common
in Dubai. lt takesa lotof truston the bondthatbringsus all together.
clients'partinitially,as they are in a
strangeland,butwithourtrainedpet fhis is part one of a twosittersto reassurethem, they book part series:Learn more about
your international colleagues.
with confidence."
Who Pays Your Salary? By now
you'veseenthe firstresultsfromour
2011Stateof the IndustrySurvey.lt
revealedthat the averageclientis a
marriedcouplebetweenthe agesof
36-50.The majorityof thesecouples While cat and dog clientsmight be
Thisvariesslight- the normfor all PSI members,there
arewithoutchildren.
are severalotherpet clientsthat U.S.
members.
ly for our international
Check out the NovemberlDecemberissue of the WORLD
to learn how pets are viewed
in other countries,the growth
membersmight not be as familiar of theindustry,the competition
"Themajority
of my with. When was the last time you factor and somevery interest'
Aliceexplained,
are couplesin the age saw a gecko other than on an ad ing storiesthat you don't want
customers
groupof 25-35.They are married for Geico?How about guineafowl, fo miss.X
andtravelleisurely." alpacasand salukis(alsoknownas
withoutchildren
I
Webinar! .
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duringthiswebinarshe'llbe sharingsomeof the secrets
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34ThewöRL[)
Presented
by LeeNovak,At HomeCatCare,Inc.
21,2011
September
Wednesday,
4:00P'm'- 5:00P'm'ET