I have had some memorable experiences while pet sitting, some heartwarming, funny, challenging, scary, or unusual. It makes me think of the line from “Forest Gump” that Tom Hanks says, “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.” It’s been a little like that with pet sitting. Animals definitely have their own personalities and idiosyncrasies just like people, and they never cease to amaze, surprise and amuse me and most importantly warm my heart. I thought I’d share some of my experiences here.
Bolo Gets Stuck
I showed up at a client’s house one day and started getting food ready for the dogs. One of the dogs was nowhere in sight. While I was preparing the food, I called the dog several times. He is an elderly miniature poodle named Bolo. Sometimes he’ll be sleeping when I arrive but usually wakes up when I call him and comes in the kitchen where I’m preparing the food. This time, he didn’t. After giving the other dogs their food, I started searching the house for Bolo. I heard a noise in the living room and went in to investigate. It was coming from behind the sofa. When I looked back there, I saw Bolo but he couldn’t move because the name tag on his collar was stuck in the heating vent on the floor. I quickly took Bolo’s collar off to free him and got the name tag loose from the heating vent. I have no idea how long Bolo was stuck there, but thank goodness he was ok! Bolo likes sleeping there because he enjoys the warmth from the vent, but it never would have occurred to me or his humans that his name tag could get stuck in it.
Tavi the Cat Goes for Walks
Tavi is a very independent Russian Blue kitty who lives with three dogs. He loves being outside to roam and do as he pleases, and his humans allow him to do that in the daytime when weather permits. The routine when I care for these animals is that two of dogs go into the fenced backyard while I take the other one, a herding dog mix named Harley, for a walk on his leash. On my first visit, after feeding everyone and letting the other two dogs out back, I opened the front door to take Harley for a walk and Tavi ran outside. That wasn’t surprising since I knew he was an indoor/outdoor cat. What surprised me was when I started walking down the street with Harley and Tavi followed. Tavi walked along with us for at least a half a mile. When Harley would stop to sniff something or to go potty, Tavi would stop too. I’ve never seen a cat do that before. And, a couple of times when we stopped, Tavi and Harley touched noses and Tavi rubbed up against Harley. It was very sweet and warmed my heart. In my opinion, Tavi is one cool cat!
I’ll post more pet sitting stories in upcoming blogs, but feel free to post unusual, heartwarming, funny, or unexpected stories about your own pets.