A little-talked-about facet of pet sitting is the enormous time you spend in your car, especially given the more rural area we serve. Most of our pets are spread across Big Lake, Elk River, Zimmerman, and other communities, meaning we do an obnoxious amount of driving. To help fill that time, I listen to audiobooks and podcasts that keep my brain engaged. Today's drivetime podcast posed a question we've all probably considered, albeit not seriously, "If money was irrelevant, what career would you pursue?" It's somewhat akin to the question of how you would spend your Powerball winnings should you hit the numbers. It's a fun game, but we don't take it seriously. We don't expect to win a massive jackpot, and we don't anticipate waking up each morning excited for another day at our dream job.
I've written before about working in the corporate IT world for a punishing 25 years. Eventually, burned out, I quit, deciding to find something far less stressful to fill my days. I never intended to work again. Instead, I assumed I'd travel the country with my dog, hiking and exploring.
You cannot have a bad day when an animal greets you with such genuine excitement that it cannot hold it in and has to shower you with affection, reverence, and sometimes glee pee.
And I did. I moved from Minnesota, the only state I knew, and lived in the beautiful mountains of Colorado for a few years. It was an incredible adventure, but it was missing something. Nobody was more surprised than I was to discover that I was bored. I knew I didn't want a corporate job again, but I needed to find a new challenge, something I would enjoy.
Finally, I asked myself that whimsical question. What would it be if I could do anything I wanted, anything at all? I doubt this is a big reveal, given you're reading my pet-sitting blog, but I wanted, more than anything else, to be a pet sitter.
I've always had a profound love of animals. Their pure hearts, easy trust, and oblivion to the world's evils make me want to befriend and protect them all. You cannot have a bad day when an animal greets you with such genuine excitement that it cannot hold it in and has to shower you with affection, reverence, and sometimes glee pee.
Not wanting an actual job, my idea started on a smaller scale of doing a limited number of pet visits here and there. But I loved it! It wasn't a job — it was fun. And it wasn't long before Lisa was onboard and feeling the magic of it all the same as me.
Now Lisa and I are operating a thriving business. In only a year, we have more than 100 regular customers, and we find ourselves mapping out our daily service routes like a UPS driver on December 23rd. The exception is that we've stopped short of avoiding left turns at all costs. So far.
Our schedules are packed to the brim, often starting long before dawn, and we're going nonstop, seven days a week. But we LOVE it. We love it so much we're downright giddy about it. It feels like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, stumbling on the fountain of youth, and hitting the Powerball all rolled into one. There isn't a day that we don't say to each other, "This is the best job ever."
But in truth, it's not a job at all. We're honored to know and love all the people and pets in the Oh, Fur Pet's Sake family. And we thank you for sharing your amazing furry families with us.
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