Kim Hastings wrote:
>1. Tried her out on a weekend first, so we'd both know if it wasn't going
>to work before I went on a longer absence.  (It worked great, except that
>her husband is now mad at me because she wants ferrets of her own :-)
 
I would like to second this suggestion for dealing with a new pet sitter.
When I moved to a new state I didn't have any friends in the area that
could look after my babies, so I found a professional pet sitter basically
at random by looking in the yellow pages.  I met with her beforehand and
she seemed to get along really well with my guys.  I did a "trial run" by
having her come over when I was just gone for a short weekend trip.  Since
my ferrets are basically self-sufficient for a few days anyway, there
wasn't much that could go wrong as long as she kept them inside the
apartment.  When I got home, the food bowl was full, the litter boxes were
clean, and the ferrets seemed contented.  My next trip was a two-week long
vacation.  Besides having the pet sitter come in, I asked a trusted
co-worker to stop by once every few days just to make sure that everything
seemed to be in order.  If anything looked amiss, he would have called me
to let me know.
 
Now that I have been on several trips, I have complete confidence in my pet
sitter.  I always come home to find two happy and tuckered-out ferrets.
She takes them for walks, cuddles them, gives them treats, and romps with
them just like I would do if I were at home.  Admittedly this option does
cost a fair amount - $32/day for her to come to my apartment mornings and
evenings.  I do think, though, that it's a fair price to pay for her
professional experience, the comfort of my fuzzies, and my own peace of
mind.
 
Julie and the furbabies
[Posted in FML issue 2630]