Pet projects: Sitters care for all sorts of animals

Monday, June 26, 2000 | 10:41 a.m.

Pet facts

Here are facts and figures about pet owners and their pets compiled through surveys by the American Animal Hospital Association and the Home Care Council, rounded out in percentages:

Living a dog's life these days isn't half bad.

Many pet owners have birthday parties for their pets, routinely call home so their pets can hear their voices over an answering machine, cook them special meals and even prefer their company to that of their spouses.

It is no wonder that one of the fastest growing small businesses in the United States is pet-sitting.

Woman's World, a national weekly magazine with a circulation of 1.4 million readers, named pet-sitting as the No. 1 "hot small business" in a 1998 issue.

In today's fast-paced world people often are willing to pay someone to take care of pets that are becoming more important in their lives.

Magazines routinely point to pet-sitting as an inexpensive way to become your own boss -- requiring only reliable transportation, a telephone, insurance, a bond and a love of animals to get started.

The Las Vegas telephone book lists 36 pet-sitting services. "The market is 99 percent untapped," said Ellen Price, spokeswoman for the 3,400-member Pet Sitters International in King, N.C.

Americans are spending more than $10 billion a year on their pets, according to Business Start-Ups, a business magazine. Pet Sitters International estimates that more than $22 billion is spent on everything from veterinary services to squeaky toys, dog-walking and pet-sitting.

Both sources say that more than 60 percent of American households have one or more pets at a time when the makeup of those households is changing -- people are marrying later, delaying having children and are more transient.

"There have been a lot of changes in the American lifestyle," Price said. "Pets are a more important part of the family now. They are surrogate children."

She pointed out that numerous studies "substantiate the health benefits and importance of the human-animal companion bond. It lowers blood pressure and lessens depression in addition to (having) many other benefits."

And because pets are more important, people are willing to hire pet-sitters -- the national average is $12 per visit -- to take care of the animals when they are away from home.

"Pet-sitters fill a nitch," Price said. "They are very flexible to the American lifestyle."

Typically sitters will go to a client's home and feed the pets, give them water, play with them for a specified length of time, perhaps administer medicine and clean up messes.

Most sitters also provide a certain amount of security for the residents who are away by bringing in the mail and newspapers, opening and closing curtains and turning lights on and off to give the appearance that someone is home.

Optional services for some sitters include overnight sitting and transporting pets to veterinary or grooming appointments. "Pets are happiest and less stressed at home in familiar surroundings," Price said. "Owners don't have to deliver and pick up their pets. In-home care minimizes pets' exposure to illness and fleas. Owners don't have to impose on friends and neighbors."

About 95 percent of pet sitters are women. "There is a lot of flexibility (so they can care) for the family," Price said.

The downside of the business is that it is difficult for pet-sitters to get away for trips.

"They must be available at all hours," Price said. "One of the topics we address on a regular basis is how to deal with burnout. People get so tied up because it is not just a business, there is an emotional side to it. They love the pets and want to take care of them. They end up over-scheduled."

Vegas market growing

California has the most members, 500, of Pet Sitters International. Nevada has 24 members, with 18 in Las Vegas.

Nancy Hindman, founder of Fur & Feathers, a pet-sitting service, was a floor supervisor at the Fremont hotel-casino when she quit that job a month ago to become a full-time pet-sitter, a job she had done part time for 15 years.

"It evolved over the years," said Hindman, who will take care of most animals but specializes in large birds. "I'm a one-person operation at the moment, but the way things are going I'm going to have to look at expanding."

Kathy Miller, of At Your Service Pet Sitting of Las Vegas, has been in the pet-sitting business for more than five years. She got started when she had a house-cleaning business and her customers began asking her to watch their pets.

"I thought it was a cool thing to do. It was sort of a hobby at first, then I went out and got a city business license and ran a few ads in papers. I started to network with other pet-sitters."

She focuses her business in Summerlin. "It's the coolest job in the world," she said. "I laugh all day long. The pets love the attention."

One of her customers is a busy hotel-casino executive who is single and owns a Labrador retriever named Astro, who is home alone all day and has the run of the house and its swimming pool. Miller is paid to visit the dog once daily, Monday through Friday, and twice on Saturday.

Although Miller takes care of a number of dogs and has taken care of snakes and lizards, she said that cats are her preference.

Miller once saved the residence of a couple who left their two cats at home for her to take care of while they went on vacation. When she went to the home to feed the pets the house was filled with gas. One of the cats accidentally turned on a gas stove. Now, when the owners are away, the knobs to the stove are removed.

"The neat thing about pet-sitting is we don't see bad things happening to animals," she said. "I'm like a substitute mom. When one of my client's pets passes away my whole day is ruined." She also likes the fact that the job allows her to fit her own chores and errands into the daily work schedule.

Pets need TLC

Samantha Pfaffinger, owner of Crazy Critters in Las Vegas, got into the business because she loves animals and often takes care of sick ones.

"I worked in a veterinary hospital for years. I saw kennel life and it depressed me. I wanted to give pet owners an alternative to putting their pets in a kennel," Pfaffinger said. "I know when I go out of town I worry about my own animals."

Because of her veterinary experience she said that she gets a lot of referrals from veterinarians. Working with animals has always been Pfaffinger's main goal in life, she said, and pet-sitting is one way to fulfill that ambition. One of her services is to help clients interact better with their pets.

"If they need information on the best kind of food to feed their pets, or grooming tips, or anything to do with pet education I try to help," she said.

Like most pet sitters, Pfaffinger has several pets of her own, including five ferrets and two dogs. She is a ferret rescue volunteer. "I pretty much care for everything, though I focus a lot on exotic animals," she said.

She said that she customizes her care to the needs of the pets and the desires of the client. Pat Price (no relation to Ellen Price) had a pet-sitting business in Michigan when she and her husband moved to Las Vegas about a year ago. The registered nurse decided to establish the business, Best Friends, when she saw a need for sitters.

"In the beginning (in Michigan) we just wanted to do it part time for people we knew," she said. "But since moving here I've decided that what I want to do is make a full-fledged business out of it. I just started (two weeks ago)."

Dianna Harris has owned Happy at Home Pet Care for almost four years. She started it after a divorce left her single with an 11-year-old daughter to raise. "I wanted to be home when she needed me," Harris said.

Harris focuses on Henderson, Green Valley and the southwest section of town. She will take care of most pets, including farm animals. "I even had one person call me to take care of a bear," she said.

Amy Goldstein has owned Happy Paws for almost four months. "I got into it because I was interested in working with animals. It was always my calling, my passion. And I wanted to be my own boss," Goldstein said.

She will pet-sit, run pet-related errands and take dogs on scheduled walks. "The demand is there, if people know about the service," she said. "When I hired a pet-sitter 18 months ago I had to call six to find one to do Summerlin, and the one I got had to interview me to see if she wanted me as a client."

Goldstein said there have been stories about sitters taking money and not doing the job. "I don't see it as a problem here," she said.

Patty McKinney has a degree in urban planning and worked as a county planner before starting Pals for Pets more than five years ago. She built the business to the point where she now has independent contractors who work with her.

McKinney said that she loves the work, which sometimes includes spending the night at a client's home when they are on vacation -- a service not many pet sitters offer. "Everything is positive," she said. "It's a great business. The people are nice. (Working) the holidays was difficult, but you take off other times."

McKinney said that there is a tremendous amount of potential for pet-sitters. "I stopped at a $50,000 gross income. I could have done more. You can make as much as you want," she said, "but I didn't want to (grow too large).

Satisfied customers

Summerlin residents Cindy and Ed Minghelli have great compassion for animals. Besides owning three cats and three dogs that are like part of their family, they also run a nonprofit organization called Agee Memorial Wildlife Fund, which raises money to spay and neuter stray cats and dogs.

Rescuing animals is their avocation. The Minghellis spend a lot of time traveling as part of their business, which is investing in the stock market and developing property in another state. And they travel a lot with their 11-year-old son for fun.

For almost five years the Minghellis have been using pet-sitters when they leave town. Pals for Pets has been their primary resource for the past three years. "It gives us a peace of mind we never had before," Ed Minghelli said.

He knows the pets will be taken care of while they are gone and when they return they know their property will not be a mess. "Before, the inside of the house would be shredded and the outside would be torn up (by the dogs)," he said.

But with a pet-sitter the animals receive valuable personal attention and don't suffer separation anxiety, which can lead to destructive behavior. "(McKinney) comes over two or three times a day for just a few minutes and the dogs know they have not been abandoned," he said.

Ed Minghelli said that pet sitters make economic sense in addition to being humane. For one thing, he doesn't have to pay to have his lawn repaired when he returns home, and he doesn't have to pay for a kennel. "It's a lot cheaper than boarding," he said.

Not only is he assured that his pets will be taken care of while the family is away, but he knows the property will be watched.

"We know (McKinney) will take care of practically anything that goes wrong," Ed Minghelli said. "If the sprinkler or something should get broken ... she can take care of it. She takes over the house while we're away. She brings in the newspapers and the mail. On occasion she will spend the night."

He warned that selecting the right sitter is just like selecting any other service person, whether it's an auto mechanic or a plumber. "Pick someone you know, someone you're comfortable with," he said, adding that about half the people he knows use a pet-sitting service.

"They're a godsend," he said.

archive