my kids think they're lucky to be working all summer

Don't get me wrong. We play in the pool quite a bit in our "off hours," but my kids don't have the typical summer vacation. They go to work with me each and every day, and they help. Like truly help. We don't travel to far-off lands or exotic places, and though I don't think they'd turn down the opportunity to do so, my kids actually think they're lucky to be working all summer. 

We don't travel during the summer because our clients do. As a professional pet sitter and work-from-home-mom, when the kids are out of school, they accompany me–aka free child labor–on my visits. They generally know my schedule, and they know all of the creatures in the lineup, so if we're seeing some of their favorites, they'll often be dressed before 5 a.m., ready to make the rounds. 

This week is particularly fun because we're looking after one of our favorite animal families. They have a dog, a cat, two horses, and three chickens, and my kids wouldn't let me leave them behind for anything.

Admiring the horses, chatting with the chickens and giving the cat some love.

Sometimes I feel like my kids are deprived because they don't get to do much of what their friends are doing over the summer, but then I review the pictures and see their enthusiasm and realize that putting them to work for the summer doing something they love while spending time together is just as valuable.

It's like our own private petting zoo, all summer long. 

wordless wednesday: not your ball

we chose a pet for my unborn grandchildren

Boy, my kids say the darndest things.

As many of you know, we adopted a Sulcata Tortoise (aka African Spurred Tortoise) about a year-and-a-half ago. Fluffy came into our lives when he was just a baby and only about two inches long.

Teenie-weenie baby Fluffy.

He's now about six inches long and weighs substantially more than when he arrived. Wonder why.

This guy loves to eat.

Fluffy will eventually weigh in between 100 and 200 pounds, so I'm teaching him to come when called, now, before it's too late. He'll also live to be between fifty and 150 years old, possibly longer. Before we adopted him, we talked with our kids about the fact that this wouldn't be a commitment just for our lifetimes, but that Fluffy might outlive even them. They thought that was pretty cool. Me, too.

We were chatting the other day about how much Fluffy has grown and the changes we've seen in him since he came to us. I said to the littles, "remember, your children will likely have to take him on. He's going to live a really, really long time." 

My seven-year-old son, Porter, said, "Um, Mommy? It's illegal to marry your sister, so Campbell and I won't be having any children together. And I don't think I want to marry her anyway. She's annoying." 

It seems we need to have a different kind of chat.

the importance of integrity in professional pet sitting

My pet sitting clients come in all shapes and sizes. One of the main areas of variety is their ability to trust when they first call to book my services. I've had some people call me and say they'll leave a key hanging from the doorknob and to drop some food and water for whichever animals might be there, and I have others who send me 100-page pdf files on their pet's complete medical history and request a blood and urine sample from me. Thankfully, most of my clients are closer to the moderate portion of the spectrum. Regardless, I always conduct myself with integrity. Aside from knowledge of and love of animals, I believe integrity is the most important quality a professional pet sitter can have.

We all know what it means to have integrity, but how is it defined?

in•teg•ri•ty  noun  the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. "he is know to be a man of integrity"

synonyms: honesty, probity, rectitude, honor, good character, principle(s), ethics, morals, righteousness, morality, virtue, decency, fairness, scrupulousness, sincerity, truthfulness, trustworthiness

We've all heard nightmare stories about the pet sitter who stole the diamond necklace or the pet sitter who had a rager in a client's home. Or–even worse–one that neglected or abused the animals. Thankfully, those stories are few and far between, but, unfortunately, they are the stories we remember, and they taint the whole industry.

So what can a pet sitter do show integrity? Here are a few examples of how I conduct myself with my clients and in my client's home:

• I do an initial consultation for new clients, and I don't charge them for it. It's important for a new client to meet their pet sitter, and it's equally important for the pet sitter to meet the client. By meeting the person who will have a key to their home and who their animals will be dependent on, a client should feel more at ease. This initial meeting gives me the opportunity to explain my process and my experience, and to meet and interact with the animals.

• I provide valid references. I keep my list of references up-to-date, and I periodically check with the people on the list to make sure they are still comfortable talking to new clients.

• I am bonded and insured. I know I'm not going to steal a diamond necklace, but my new client doesn't. 

• I stay with the animals for the agreed-upon amount of time. And on the rare occasion that I have to leave ten minutes early because I'm running late for my kid's doctor's appointment, I let the client know, and add the time to the next visit. They appreciate my honesty and usually tell me not to worry about making up the time (but I do anyway).

• I am upfront about any change or issue with the animal. I don't pretend that everything is perfect if it's not. If the dog had an accident on the floor in-between visits, I clean it up thoroughly and let the client know. If I can't find the cat, I call the client and ask where she might be hiding. 

• If I make a mistake, I'm upfront about it. I've occasionally left a client's home and realized I forgot to take the trash out, or there was that one pile of poop in the yard I was going to clean up, but didn't. Or maybe I forgot to pick up today's mail. I just call or text and apologize. Being contentious is important to integrity, even when you mess up. 

• I conduct myself as if there is a live video feed of my behavior going straight to the client. Period. Sure, I act like a total goofball with the animals sometimes and that might be embarrassing if there is a video camera (and sometimes there is), but I behave as if the client can see absolutely everything I do. 

Most of the time clients aren't watching, and most of the time they trust me completely, but I can hold my head high knowing that if they were watching, they would be happy with what they see, so I take pride in my work. For that reason, integrity in professional pet sitting is as important for the pet sitter as it is for the client. Pet sitters could often get away with a lot, and clients realize that. I tell my clients that aside from my experience and love of animals "my integrity is all I have." And that's the truth. 

wordless wednesday: my little dinosaur