Why My Dog Runs My Pet Sitting Business

Every pet deserves a human who believes that he/she is the greatest cat (or dog, or bird, or hamster, etc.) in the whole entire world. As a pet sitter and dog owner here in Bellingham, WA, I keep this in mind throughout my workday. I go from dog walk to dog walk, cat sit to cat sit, trying to look at each animal through the eyes of her owner—eyes that see only the good, eyes filled with the purest love, infused by the belief that this dog, this cat, is indeed the greatest of his kind.

Neil (that’s my chocolate lab) is my moral compass. I’m unabashedly obsessed with my beautiful dog, and I let the love he brings to my heart guide my work each moment that I’m pet sitting. It’s simple. I think of Neil, and that warm feeling rises up in my heart. I transfer all that love into my interactions as a pet sitter. At work, looking at the

animal in front of me, I remind myself that somebody treasures this animal just as much as I treasure Neil. If I ever doubt myself or am unsure of how to proceed, I stop and ask myself: “If I were paying somebody to look after Neil, how would I want them to handle this situation?” The answer is always very clear.

In this way, Neil is my “true North.”

It’s easy for me to understand my pet sitting clients because I’m just like them—convinced that my dog is actually the world’s most amazing creature, and willing to do anything to make sure he has the very best of all things (care, food, exercise, comfy beds, and oodles of love and kisses throughout each day). It’s not really that Neil is somehow qualitatively “better” than your dog, or the many dogs I walk day after day. It’s just that, from where I stand, he brings the most joy.

The love we have for our dogs and cats is so pure and so simple. They think we’re the most amazing creatures that exist. Being held in such high esteem is good for our souls. And so we love them back, maybe just as much, maybe more. Or maybe it isn’t possible for a human to love quite as much as our furry friends love us. If that’s the case, it’s okay—they’ll forgive us. They forgive our every shortcoming.

So Neil is the star of this blog, and I thought it would be fitting to make him the center of Boulevard Bark’s very first blog post. Knowing that I will be blogging about pet care, pet sitting, dog walking, and other people’s pets, I give myself the freedom to write one post, at least, that says what every pet owner really wants to say: “My dog is the world’s most incredible dog.” Of course I realize how biased I am, and that every dog in Bellingham (and the world) is the “most incredible dog” to some human. (The same is true of cats and rabbits and birds, all the animal friends we make).

Still, he deserves for me to say it. Being a pet sitter and a dog owner, I understand how much my pet sitting clients cherish their pets, because I also am “dog mom” to the “most wonderful dog alive.” Neil is simply the bravest, smartest, kindest, funniest dog I have ever had the honor of meeting. He’s been in my life for ten fantastic years, and I am a better person for it. When I look at him, my heart fills up with so much love that I don’t know what to say, how I could ever express it adequately.

The truth is, I can’t. There aren’t enough words. So instead I show it. Neil’s heart is generous, pure and kind. He loves other dogs and is totally unselfish in his love for me—when I hug and kiss and play with another animal in front of him, it only makes his tail wag that much harder. He’s just thrilled that there’s love and joy all around, that we’re both a part of it, that we have another new friend.

So I show that love to every animal I meet as a pet sitter. I make it my true North. I try to love the way my sweet, silly, courageous, goofy dog does—unselfishly, fearlessly. I try to make each animal feel the way I want my dog to feel—like the absolute greatest pet on the planet. This is how my dog keeps me healthy and whole, as a person, pet sitter and dog owner, how he guides me to live in the moment and enjoy my work, minute to minute, house to house, dog walk to dog walk. Every pet sit is guided by Neil. In a way then, he’s the manager of Boulevard Bark. He’s the reason that I’m an excellent pet sitter.

Simply put, he is the best.