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Amanda A

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Love and care when you're not there!
Arlington, Tennessee
Active over a week ago

Pet Sitter in Arlington, Tennessee

I'm an
Individual
Dog Walking Drop-in Pet Sitting Overnight Stays Providing peace of mind to pet owners since 2015! When I left for college in 2013 I needed to do something to make ends meet. I spent my first year looking for employment to no avail. I eventually decided that enough was enough. I chose to make commissions off of digital artwork, and I set myself up pretty well! Unfortunately, I was still unhappy. I didn't want to sit idle at a computer desk and draw on a tablet for all hours of the day. I frequently had to work well into the night as well. In October of 2014 my twentieth birthday was just around the corner. After so many years of asking my mother for my own cat, she finally gave in. I went to Memphis Animal Services on my birthday and spent several hours meeting every single cat available. It was a 6-week-old dilute tortoiseshell kitten that was last in line. The moment I took her out of her cage she did something that none of the previous cats did - she gave me her undivided attention. Wherever I went, she followed. All she wanted was to stay as close to me as possible. She only weighed one pound and fit perfectly in the palm of my hand. That day, I spared her life. She gave me mine. I took her home and gave her the name Isha, after a mother Chimpanzee from a Disneynature documentary. It took less than a week for her to learn it, and she still comes when called today. Adopting Isha led to some strange events in the years that followed. A friend gave me her female betta fish sorority because she had no interest in them anymore. Someone else gave me a Djungarian hamster with mobility issues (due to having a stroke at some point). A baby guinea pig with no ears (his mom had chewed them off) was dropped off at the pet store I frequented, and I was asked to take him in. Pretty soon, I was known as the "rescue and rehab" girl in my town. Anyone that didn't want their pet anymore would just give it to me and I would foster it. Fostering was all that I could do. I was just one person and my home was not a shelter. I didn't have the income to permanently keep every animal that crossed my path - but I did look after every single one. I carefully screened potential owners and each rescue was given a new home at one point or another. It wasn't long until I had experience with nearly every single kind of pet you could get: rats, ferrets, lizards, birds, hamsters, fish, kittens, and even snakes. ​If an animal needed sanctuary, I was there. ut I couldn't keep saying yes to every person that wanted me to take their animal from them. My declines became more frequent until people stopped asking me altogether. Having time to myself allowed me to wonder about the reasons why so many people wanted to give up their pets. The biggest reason of them all? Lack of time. People that work full-time (and sometimes even part-time) typically can't provide their pets with the amount of attention that they really need. This can lead to separation anxiety, depression, and other behavioral issues. Accidents, destructive behavior, and escaping are all extremely common. Self-mutilation is another risk. The average owner only spends only about 40 minutes total each day giving their pet attention. One in five dogs isn't walked at all. More dogs are in left isolated in backyards now than ever before, where they will often incessantly bark or potentially escape. So many of us are preoccupied with work, managing bills, and caring for our families, that pets - while loved dearly by us - are often last on the list. I wanted to do something about that. I couldn't take in animals anymore, but I could help prevent the risk of them being rehomed to begin with. I started pet sitting on the side while still in school for some friends and family. They then reached out to others and recommended my services. I began to look after elderly or disabled pets, puppies, kittens, and even a piglet once! My specialty was providing drop-in visits for meals, potty breaks, and general play time. I've received requests for house sitting and overnight stays before - even if the client doesn't have any pets at all! It's been a couple of years since then. This has always been a one-person operation, run by me. I enjoy it wholeheartedly.

Services

Responsibilities include:
Dog Walking
Overnight care
Pet Sitting
Pet feeding

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