At Purrfect Pet Sitting, trust is the foundation of everything we do. We are invited into our clients’ homes, entrusted with beloved pets, and expected to uphold the highest professional and ethical standards.

That trust is earned over time and it must be protected.

Recently, we were reminded why ethical hiring and clear boundaries matter so much. Years ago, we worked with a cleaning service.

One of their employees approached us directly and solicited business outside of their employer’s company.

We did what we believe was the right thing: we declined and reported the behavior to the business owner. While uncomfortable, it reinforced an important lesson about professionalism and integrity.

Unfortunately, similar situations have arisen in pet sitting.

When a former/fired employee starts their own pet sitting business and attempts to solicit or “poach” clients they met through their previous employer, it crosses a line. Client relationships are built through years of hard work, training, and trust. Not through shortcuts.

Over the years, Purrfect Pet Sitting has employed 48 team members. We are proud to say that we can count on one hand the number of times we have had to let someone go. We invest heavily in our staff, support them, and want them to succeed. But when trust is broken, especially in a role that involves access to homes and pets, it’s a clear signal that the relationship can’t continue.

If we wouldn’t trust someone in our own home, it’s time to let them go.

At the end of the day, our goal is simple: to provide safe, reliable, and trustworthy care for pets and peace of mind for their people. Upholding ethical standards, especially when it’s inconvenient, is part of that commitment. We will continue to do what we believe is right, even when it’s hard, because our clients and their pets deserve nothing less.

If you’ve experienced something similar, or have been solicited by a former employee of Purrfect Pet Sitting, we’d love to hear from you. Together, we can keep the pet sitting industry professional, respectful, and worthy of the trust placed in us.

Having been in business almost twenty five years now, I have met a lot of people. Many of our clients have been with us since the very beginning. It got me thinking. What do people really know about me?

So, here are five things you probably didn’t know about me (Wendy, the owner of Purrfect Pet Sitting):

1. I have Celiac Disease. I’ve had it my entire life but was just officially diagnosed back in 2011. Celiac disease is a digestive disease which damages the small intestine.  It interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food.  People with Celiac cannot tolerate gluten which is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye.  Symptoms vary greatly so many times Celiac is misdiagnosed.
2. I am an only child but I have THIRTY EIGHT first cousins! My mom is the youngest of thirteen children. Raise your hand if you’re familiar with the Danner family from East Greenbush.
3. I love to travel! I’ve been to Europe twice. I’ve visited Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria, Mexico, Liechtenstein, and Amsterdam. Within the United States I’ve visited California, Montana, Florida, North Carolina, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Arizona, Louisiana, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Alaska, Washington D.C., Maine, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, and Rhode Island. Phew! That’s a lot!
4. I live on property in East Greenbush that has been in my family since 1889, in a home that my Great Uncle Bert built himself.
5. Up until 2024, in addition to pet sitting I also worked a full time job.

So tell me, did you know these things or did you learn something new?

First, WELCOME BACK! I realize it’s been a long time since our last blog. Covid changed the business in SO many ways!

I’ve been encountering double cylinder deadbolt locks at a lot of houses recently. To be honest, they make me VERY nervous.

What is a double cylinder deadbolt lock?

A double cylinder deadbolt is a deadbolt lock that requires a key on both sides for it to open or lock. There is no other way to lock or unlock them without the key.

While it definitely provides another level of security, it can potentially be very unsafe. It can hinder the ability to leave the house in the event of a fire or some other emergency that could require a quick escape.

They are illegal in some areas

Depending on the jurisdiction (state/county) and the fire codes of said jurisdiction, these locks are illegal in some areas. In other areas, they are only allowed on interior doors; not egress doors. These type of locks are not allowed in a multi-dwelling buildings.

The main benefit of this type of lock is the added security it gives. It prohibits someone from breaking the door window and just reaching in and turning the knob to unlock it. But is this added security really worth the risk you take in the event of an emergency?

We always carry the keys on our person during any pet sits, so in case of an emergency we would be able to get out quickly, but most people don’t make a habit of walking around their home with the deadbolt keys in their pocket.

What a crazy year we’ve had! We went from having a rapidly growing business before Covid to having to close for several months. Suddenly, everyone stopped traveling and our business screeched to a grinding halt. Like most small businesses, we lost some staff.

I’m THRILLED to report that over the last couple of weeks, reservations have started coming in! People are stir crazy and starting to travel again!

Because of our smaller size it’s more important than ever to plan ahead and book early.

We’re also getting busier with dog walking since people are going back to the office.

We want to be able to assist everyone who is looking for the most experienced team of pet sitters and dog walkers in Southern Rensselaer County.

Please don’t wait to make your 2021 reservations if you’re anticipating traveling.

Our calendar will fill in quickly and every year we have to turn down reservations; especially at peak times likes holidays. I’m sure this year will be no exception.

Thank you SO much for your support!

Sometimes it takes something shocking to realize the value of a professional cat sitter.

Recently, I started a cat sit for one our favorite cats, his name is Grayston (aka GMan). We’ve been caring for Grayston for at least ten years now.

As soon as I walked into the house for my first visit, I knew something was off.

Grayston, who never misses a meal, left crunchies in his dish. I proceeded to feed him dinner and he took a few bites, but then walked away and just looked at me.

Something was DEFINITELY off.

I got down on the ground with Grayston and took a closer look. It didn’t take long to figure out what was wrong.

Grayston was sporting an abscessed tooth!

Having recently dealt with an infected tooth myself that thankfully didn’t turn into a full on abscess, I can only imagine the pain that Grayston was in. It had to be agonizing!

I immediately called his owner and texted him some pictures. We agreed that GMan needed to be seen by the vet ASAP!

I took him to Shaker Vet, where they decided to keep him for the day. They had to sedate him to drain the abscess and clean it out to see what they were dealing with. I was able to pick him up later that day and bring him back home, armed with some antibiotics.

If he had a cat sitter who didn’t ‘know’ him, how long would he have suffered until they noticed? Other than not eating all his food, he was still his usual loveable self.

Would a hobby sitter or the kid next door have caught this? Would they have known what to do?

I’ve written before about noticing things that the owner themselves hadn’t noticed because they see their pets every day and don’t notice the slight changes that take place over time. You can read about that here.

Sometimes it’s just not worth trying to save a few bucks. Hiring a professional in this instance was life saving!

As you can imagine, we’ve scooped a LOT of litter boxes over the years. We have seen it all when it comes to litter scoops. From wooden spoons to spatulas, we’ve tried them all.

I was intrigued when I found a new litter scoop at a client’s house recently. I instantly fell in love with it. It’s called the Litter Lifter and this is how it’s described on their website:

The Litter-Lifter® has parallel triangular tines that cannot pick up clean litter.  The other traditional scoops clog as they they fill with clean litter which needs to be shaken out to separate the waste from the clean litter.

The award-winning Litter-Lifter® provides you (and your cat) with Easier, Faster Cleaning, Less Dust, No Shake, No Clog, Fewer Passes, Traps Smaller Fragments, Easy on Wrist and it’s Arthritis Friendly

They come in a variety of colors and would make a great stocking stuffer!

Have you tried this litter scoop yet? If not, good news!

We’re giving one away!

To enter, simply leave a comment on this blog post and tell us what you currently use as a litter scoop.

One comment will be selected at random on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 at 8pm EST. Contest is open to U.S. Residents only.

You can also purchase them from Amazon.

We are in and out of a lot of houses and, as expected, we encounter a lot of different smells; some good, some bad. Today, we want to talk about the bad smells we encounter.

When you are in your home long enough, you get used to a smell and don’t smell it anymore. That is referred to as nose blind. Unfortunately for us, what you no longer smell hits us like a ton of bricks when we first open the door!

The odors we encounter can be anything from what you cooked for dinner the night before (fish anyone?), to a litter box that hasn’t been cleaned in a while or the latest one we’ve been encountering lately; scented plug ins.

Did you know that plug ins and scented air fresheners are actually a form of air pollution and can be hazardous to your health?

You can read more about that here at the National Capital Poison Center.

Personally, I find the plug in air fresheners overwhelming. They aggravate my allergies and make me sneeze and/or they give me a migraine headache.

Usually I can tolerate them during the length of my pet sit, but if someone is gone for more than a few days I usually unplug them until my last visit. Most homes I’ve been in usually only have one or two; but recently I visited a home that had a plug in, a gel air freshener AND an automatic, timed, spray freshener in EVERY. SINGLE. ROOM. It was sensory overload and meant instant headache whenever I entered.

I kept wondering how this family could breathe with all these scented air fresheners going 24/7!

According to PetMD air fresheners can be toxic to your pets. You can read about that here.

I’m bringing this topic up because I fear that a lot of people don’t know just how toxic these things can be.

So tell us, do you use Plug Ins? Did you know the potential detrimental affects they can have on you and/or your pets health?

We’ve heard some pretty interesting and funny pet names over the years.  Some of my personal favorite names I’ve heard are Hagrid (West Highland Terrier) and Scylla and Charybdis (giant schnauzers) and Pickle (kitten) and Marzipan (sugar glider).

I know personally when I name a pet the name has to ‘come’ to me.  I can’t pre-name a pet before I get to know it.  It has to fit the pet and their personality.  If you’ve been following this blog for any amount of time you know of our cat, Bob and the story on how we got him.  It took us SIX WEEKS to come up with that name; Bob.  Bob Cat.

So what exactly are the most popular names we’ve come across for both dogs and cats?

Dogs:

• Tied in First Place are Bailey and Bella
• Charlie
• Chloe
• Lucy
• Maggie
• Max
• Rosie

Cats:

• Tied in First Place are Sam/Sammy and Lily/Lilly
• Bella
• Callie
• Charlie
• Missy
• Zoe/Zoey

It was interesting to see how the popularity of names has changed (or not) compared to the last time I looked at it in 2014. You can see those results here.

So tell us, is your pet’s name among the most popular?

2020 was on track to be our best year ever. It was our 20th year in business and we finally were becoming a household name. Then COVID-19 happened and everything for everyone went haywire.

Suddenly, no one was travelling. Everyone that could work from home, did. We had to close our doors for three long months. Even when we could reopen the business was down considerably.

We are incredibly grateful for the business that we have, but unfortunately since things are down we had to make a painful decision.

We will not be doing our 9th Annual Calendar.

We LOVE seeing the calendars hanging in our clients homes. So many people cut their pet’s photo out and put it on the fridge when the year is up! We’ve heard from clients they learned someone they knew was also a client by seeing their calendar and recognizing it!

We’ve really enjoyed creating them every year.

Depending on the feedback we receive, perhaps next year we will be running on all cylinders again, post COVID-19, and will be able to produce them again.

Advertising on a vehicle, whether it is a car wrap or magnetic signs, has has been a long standing debate among pet sitters.

Many claim that having a marked pet sitting vehicle in the driveway tells neighbors or criminals that the client isn’t home.

I have spoken ad nauseam with a few of my friends in law enforcement and was quite enlightened by their take on this topic.

First, a marked vehicle doesn’t necessarily tell anyone you’re not home.

In this day and age (especially now with the pandemic) so many people are working from home. The pet sitter/dog walker might be there to walk the dog or care for the pets while the owner is working.

Next, if a criminal is casing the home it tells them there is a 50/50 chance that there is a dog inside; which is a deterrent.

Burglars would rather hit a home that doesn’t have a potential Cujo inside.

In this day and age, almost EVERYONE has some sort of security system and/or a camera set up.

So, regardless of what your pet sitter drives, a camera would likely pick up any criminal activity.

Lastly, it tells potential criminals that someone is coming regularly to check on the home.

Unless a criminal takes days to study the routine, they aren’t going to know exactly what time the pet sitter/dog walker will be showing up to care for your pets. It tells your neighbors that it isn’t just a strange car in the driveway and they should call the police, it’s the pet sitter! Especially now when people are wearing masks.

I have found over the years that these three things that people do are WAY more of a security risk than your pet sitter advertising on their car.

What are YOUR thoughts on your pet sitter/dog walker advertising on their vehicle?