September who?

I can't believe that its already the weekend and that in 1 week, August will be over... where does the time go?

Last weekend was a blast! My sweet girl Gia officially turned 11yrs old on August 15th [i just realized that i've been saying she's 11 all year] per usual, she requested no fancy gifts or sweet treats [a girls gotta watch her figure] but insisted that we visit the pool so of course a mini swim party was in order. tilden and walker came along for the fun and gia swam and swam and swam until her 11yr old dysplastic hips could go no more... a shot of adequan, doubled up springtime longevity and she was as good as new!!

...a few more lovely leos that i'd like to celebrate; tiger turned 4!!! gracey turned 1!!! nugget turned 6!!! charlie [P] turned 1!!! buckley [rip] would have been 3!!! and myself...embarking on year 29, eek! [if i forgot anyone, i'm blaming it on my old age, lol]

Have a great weekend everyone!!!


gia


gracey


nugget


buckley


charlie

ps. boarding spots for labor day weekend are almost full, please get in touch asap, as you know i give my current clients priority and hate to have to turn anyone down. thanks!

pss. speaking of labor day, oldie but goodies - inca & sydney will be here next weekend. so excited!

...brown dog morning

i had no early morning clients on monday, so i called it a late night sunday [with plans of sleeping in] and stayed downstairs with the pups watching movies until i fell asleep. sure enough, 8am, i had a nose in my eye [sydney] and i no longer needed to wash my face because of all the kisses. the second i got up, so did the remaining dogs and everyone rushed to the backdoor - surely you'd think it was because they had to go potty... but immediately sydney went to a bed to bask in the sun bypassing any sort of potty time. shortly after, inca and buckley joined her... they stayed there for a good 45 minutes...

"Beat the Bark"

...this morning was my last day with edgar & zowie [aka "my seniors"]. it was bittersweet, as i know that i'll have them again soon - but they started and ended my day on such a perfect note these past 3 weeks... i'd gotten used to it. zowie is always sooo excited to see me when i come [me = food] that she does this little dance then begins barking like mad [she's got a louddd bark for such a little, older, girl... its the aussie in her] until i feed them. so we developed a game i call "beat the bark" where i have to get in the house, put my stuff down, grab and organize the mail, grab edgars bowl, make it to the kitchen and scoop both of their food before she starts barking. hmm, put it this way - calone: 2, zowie: 20 easily... i finally stopped counting :)

but anyway... i love them... and i just wanted to share that!!

the current roster here on vanowen street: inca, sydney, bam & stimpy. more stories to come soon!!

[this is zowie while 'in the zone' for a treat]

My semi empty house...

Tilden and I are headed to the park, then stopping in Hollywood to take care of my kitty clients there. Inca, Tildens BFF this past week just left with her sister Sydney and for the last 15 minutes he's been pacing the house and whining. He never seems to get used to his friends leaving... The sisters were a perfect combo! Sydney is much more laid back and matched my personality... so most evenings we just sat around watching the crazy ones run around with each other, wondering how in the world they still had so much energy. Both girls were so well behaved and responsive to commands - I actually thanked their owners for them being so awesome!!

Tomorrow I'm meeting a prospective new client with a Lab/Boxer pup (Wrigley) who may begin "daycare" here a few days out of the week... So Mica will get a break before the fun starts again!!

Good people still exist!!

...in the last couple of days i've met some really great people! the couple with the sisters (inca & sydney) - i just got a really nice and comfortable vibe from them... even in all the frizzy that was going on at my house at the moment. and another young lady that i met today with 3 rescued cats. i'm not exactly sure what i came here to say - i just love meeting new clients... i love sharing my time, care & knowledge... and i love that they (at least i like to think so) so readily trust me to care for their animals. its a position that i hold very high.

i'm not trying to be the dog walker of the year, or the woman who makes $100k annually thru pet sitting... i just want to do what i love... and what comes natural. i also feel like its quite the gift to my (dog) son, Tilden. not many dogs i know get to have the experience of so many play dates and so many opportunities to socialize with many many many types of dogs. in breed and in personality.

i've recently inquired about sitting for rescues and i also placed an ad for discounted rates to rescues that want to use my service. its a "happy medium" i suppose. i wish i could foster (free), but i have limited space and i also make part of my living thru pet sitting - best i can do is cut my rates in half eh?

i hope it helps!

in other news... i miss these girls! (pictured below)

Christmas & Bella

I have a new rule, no more apologizing for the gaps between my updates... lol.

Now that thats out of the way... Christmas is this week (yay?) and my spots are filling up quite nicely. I'm getting used to the last minute bookings (as well as the last minute cancellations) but I'm confident that everything will work out the way its intended. So far I still have a Christmas spot open for boarding, but New Years just good booked today. Tina (thank you Tina) sent me a craigslist post that a couple put up over the weekend in search of a petsitter for their two shepherd mix girls Inca & Sydney. I met with both girls today as well as their owners and Tilden and Inca hit it off right away! Sydney will need some managing because of some joint issues, but she was good at letting Tilden know when to back off and he was more or less respectful. They're really sweet girls and I look forward to having them here.

Bella (the French Bulldog) was here for the weekend. It's been about 6 months since I've sat for her and A LOT has transpired since. She had a slipped disk which called for a very expensive surgery and even then, left her partially paralyzed in her back legs. Although she is slowly regaining mobility - its still a process and elimination proved to be a bit of a challenge. The good thing, is that she's happy as can be and does not seem to know her limitations... To see a "two legged" dog run (yes, RUN), is quite the sight.

Well thats all for now, Tilden has a class this evening and even tho its not for another hour, I can already feel myself running behind.

Ciao