One year into my pet sitting business, I had a totally "Ho ho hum," not very many pets at all kind of Christmas. The next year, business picked up: folks went on vacation, and I was pleased with the number of assignments I had over the Holidays:Not too many to interfere with my own little celebrations, but enough to keep me moderately busy. Then came the third Christmas...totally NUTS! (And just whose fault was that? Well mine, of course. Perhaps if I write my "Christmas Story," you will take heart from the mistakes I made that year. Maybe you won't make the same ones I did. And then again, maybe we'll all decide that I didn't exactly make that many mistakes; I just got a little "carried away," and couldn't have foreseen some of the circumstances I ultimately encountered. Anyway, those of you who are new to pet sitting will perhaps learn a bit from my experience, and those of you who are seasoned pet sitters will either shake your heads in amazement, or else grin because you have fallen into the same "pothole."

Let's start at the beginning. About the middle of November that year, I began to receive reservations from one or two clients for the Christmas week. Great! "Sure I can sit with your pet over Christmas!" By the second week of December, I had a few more assignments. I also realized that at least one of my best clients had not called me, even though I knew she and her husband always left town at Christmas. I called her, and sure enough, she needed me. When I wrote her in on my calendar, the light dawned: I had six house to do over Christmas! Five assignments were for dogs (2-4 times a day), and only one house of cats. Not only that, I had committed to fill in for a coworker at the veterinary clinic for almost the entire week before Christmas. In addition, it snowed a foot, and the temperatures were promising to be only a couple of ticks about or below zero for days before and after the Holidays! I still did not have a clue about what other" joys" loomed ahead.

It was a beautiful Memorial Day. My clients were floating their sailboat somewhere on Lake Michigan, while looked after their two little Scottish Terriers, Frazier" and "Eddie." The assignment was going (pardon the pun) "swimmingly." The pups and I had already spent much of our time outside on the deck that weekend. I would sip a cup of coffee and read the paper while my little charges, wearing their electric collars, romped in the yard, chasing imaginary squirrels and rabbits. OK, OK, maybe ducks too...did I say there was a pond?

The noon visit began uneventfully. Safely baby-gated in their laundry room, the little Scotties were anxious to race to the freedom of their yard. Out the door they went. I stayed inside to finish last minute cleanup just in case the clients came home early. As I wiped the laundry room floor, I heard urgent barking from the yard. Something about it sounded different. I hurried to investigate.

Once in a while, you will be contacted by a client who, when she initially calls you, assures you that the only pets that will need care are one little dog and one little cat. Then when you make the initial interview visit to the house, the client suddenly remembers: "Oh yes, there is also the gold fish bowl in the living room, and the aquarium in my daughter's bedroom. And...there is a hamster in my son's room. And...oh, I forgot to tell you that there are two parakeets in our bedroom. Of course, by that time you have probably already accepted the assignment and quoted the client your price for the job.

This happened to me some time ago. At the time, it didn't seem like much of a "big deal." I didn't think a few extra little critters could be very difficult to add to the routine. As usual, I was not looking when I fell into this" pothole."

Most of us pet sitters advertise our services to include dog walks. At some point in time we find ourselves walking a sweet little "Poochie" down the sidewalk on a lovely summer day. The breeze is gently blowing. "Poochie" is happily trotting ahead of us on his leash. Children's voices rise in the distance as they play. There is nothing we would rather be doing at that moment than to be pet sitting. Down the sidewalks, amidst the neatly clipped green velvet lawns we walk, completely unaware of the pothole that we are about to fall into. This particular pothole generally involves the intrusion of another dog, one that you're NOT pet sitting...

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I will accept checks or money orders. Send your name, address, and check for $55.00 to cover printing, shipping and handling, and I will send you a copy of How to Make Money Pet Sitting in a soft cover book + How to Make Money Pet Sitting + Pet Sitting Potholes and Other Stories +blank pet sitting forms on a CD. Mail the check for $55.00 to:

Ginger Miller

423 Gra-Roy Drive

Goshen, IN. 46526

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