Perspective Changing Book - A Dog's Purpose & A Dog's Journey

A Dog’s Purpose and a Dog’s Journey by W. Bruce Cameron are magical books that help you see the world through a dog’s eyes.

In his stories, a dog goes through multiple lifetimes as a variety of pooches, trying to find (since it’s gender changes) his/her true calling. These heartwarming books will make you laugh and cry as you see the joy dog’s bring to our lives and the cruelty humans can bring to theirs.

My favorite part of these books is how well they show how silly our expectations and behaviors sometimes seem through a dog’s eyes.

Absolute must reads for every dog lover.

3 Steps to Choosing the Perfect Pet Sitter

1. Get References

Ask animal professionals like your veterinarian, groomer, or animal trainer which pet sitters they recommend. Not only can they tell you who they like working with, but they can give you a better idea than friends or family which pet sitters have genuine skill handling animals.

Any pet sitter should provide you with a list of client references upon request.

When I was looking for Riley's dog walker, I was impressed by the veterinary recommendations I got for Everything and the Dog, the group we eventually hired.

2. Get Personal

All professional pet sitters should insist on a meet and greet before they sign on. Many will offer this free of charge but sometimes there is a nominal fee.

Every pet and every pet sitter are different. You can't tell if it's a good match without a first date!

Pet sitters should want to know what makes your pet unique.

What do they like or hate? What are their daily routines? Does your pet have specific fears? A great pet sitter should get to know your pet personally and not treat them as just another dog or another cat.

3. Find a Professional

You get what you pay for. It might seem easier and less expensive just to hire the kid from next door, but you could be setting yourself up to pay a lot more in the long run.

This is what a professional pet sitter can give you that your neighbor can't:

I - Financial Protection

A professional pet sitter should be able to provide you with written proof that they are insured and bonded.

A company that is bonded is putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to their employee's honesty. You are covered in the event that anything is stolen from your home.

Pet sitters are insured in case your pet injures someone or in case anything happen to your home while they are pet sitting for you.

You want to make sure they have care, custody, and control insurance as well. This makes sure your pet and property within your home are protected against injury.

Say the neighborhood kid forgot to put Fluffy in her cage and she ate your entertainment center. You're out of luck financially, but you would have been covered if you had a pet sitter with care, custody, and control insurance.

A good pet sitting organization will also provide criminal background checks on their employees so you can be sure no unsavory characters are coming into your home.

The Pet Sitter International Pet Sitter Locator helps you locate professional pet sitters in your area and show you whether pet sitters are insured, bonded, background checked, even if they have pet first aid experience.

II - Expertise

Professional pet sitters have more animal handling experience and many have veterinary experience too. Ask your prospective professional pet sitter about their expertise.

When my dog Riley started having seizures at the end of his walks, it meant the world to me that our professional dog walker, Kim, knew exactly what to do.

Professional pet sitters should be easy to work with, set clear expectations for you and their pet sitters, and know what to do in the event of emergencies.

Pet Sitters International has a great list of interview questions for pet sitters to help you make sure this is the case.

Membership and certification by a professional pet sitting organization shows the pet sitter is committed to providing excellent service.

Pet Sitters International has a Certified Professional Pet Sitter (CPPS) Certification program and the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters has a certification program too.

Both require the pet sitters to pursue continuing education in pet health and wellness so they can provide excellent care for your pets.

After speaking at the Pet Sitters International conference, I cannot recommend this excellent group of people enough. Learn more about this great organization in my blog entry "Is Your Pet Sitter a PSI Pet Sitter?"

So remember: If you want to find the perfect pet sitter just remember 1) request references, 2) get personal, and 3) make sure you hire a professional!

You can learn more at the websites below:

Find the Right Pet Sitter for You and Your Pets - Pet Sitters International

Choosing a Pet Sitter - The Humane Society

9 Tips for Hiring a Pet Sitter - Veterinary Pet Insurance

Is Your Pet Sitter a PSI Pet Sitter?

This weekend I was honored to attend the Pet Sitters International (PSI) annual convention "Quest for Excellence".  There, I gave a speech called "Worms, Bites, and Scratches Oh My! Occupational Safety for Pet Sitters." Learn more about how I got involved with this group in this post: "The Complicated Contracts of Dog Walkers Continued"

These pet sitters' kindness and passion for animals absolutely blew me away and I had to tell you more about this organization.

What is Pet Sitters International? It is the largest professional group of pet sitters, run and founded by Patti Moran author of Pet Sitting for Profit.

We have a similar organization in veterinary medicine. Veterinarians who want to excel and hold themselves to a high standard seek American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) membership and accreditation.

Pet sitters who want to be the best join PSI and become PSI Certified Professional Pet Sitters (CPPS).

PSI provides education to member pet sitters through free monthly webinars, their Pet Sitters World magazine, and Quest, the conference I just attended. Ranging from business education to Pet First Aid certifications, PSI resources help pet sitters run their businesses better and keep the pets safer.

PSI makes background checks, insurance, and bonding available to their pet sitters so pet owners know they are dealing with someone they can trust.

But PSI members aren't just skilled, they are also compassionate.

PSI wants to leave a positive "pawprint" on each city that hosts their convention. Every year, the Quest conference puts on a charity auction and chooses a local non-profit shelter or humane society to receive all the proceeds.

Not only was the charity auction a BLAST - Rob the Auctioneer and Owner of Decadent Dog in Nedham, MA had us barking on command and singing rounds of "How Much is that Doggy in the Window" - but the amount of money they were able to raise was mind-blowing.

Since they started doing their charity auctions they have raised more than $105,000 for animal charities.

Pet sitters are not known for rolling in dough but in 3 hours I saw a group of about 150 pet sitters raise $15,115 for charity. They were bidding $300 on a $99 set of animal pillows for the fun of it and for the benefit of pets in need. Or over $500 for a $120 set of cat toys.

The auction even made the local news - see the coverage here or in the video box below.

After working with this group, I would highly recommend choosing a PSI pet sitter for your pet. My next blog entry will be about how to choose a pet sitter. In the meantime check out PSI's directory at http://www.petsit.com/locate/


(You might spot me around 1:28)

Worlds Vets Textbook Drive

Earlier this year after seeing these great videos (here and here) by Dr. V of Pawcurious and Dr. Andy Roark I went to our local veterinary medical association to organize our own local textbook drive.

These books help World Vets, an organization that provides veterinary relief across the world. Anyone can help this organization, even if you don't have veterinary textbooks, by volunteering or donating needed supplies.

I worked with our local veterinary medical association president on the project. We found that it was fun, easier than we expected, and brought together our local community of veterinarians.

Here's what we did:

1 month prior: Faxed flyer to all practices in our local veterinary association telling them about the book drive and discussed it at our monthly meeting.

1 week prior: Called hospitals and asked if they had any books to donate and reminded them when we were coming to pick up books. About half the hospitals we called were still unsure whether they were donating, but the phone call reminded them to check with their doctors.

If they did not have any books to donate, we told them we would repeat the drive next year and to hang onto any unneeded books in the future.

1 day prior: Called hospitals that were not sure if they had books to donate. Set up final pick up schedule.

Day of Pick Up: Drove to hospitals and picked up books. Boxed them in banker's boxes (file size boxes available at most office supply stores) and shipped. Many shipping companies give discounts if all your boxes are the same size, and these boxes are perfectly sized for textbooks.

Zoetis Animal Health generously paid for shipping.

Overall it was a great experience.

If you're interested in running a drive yourself you can get more details at the World Vets Textbook Drive website.

Has anyone else run a similar drive? How did yours go? Were there any pitfalls you would avoid or any unique ideas that helped?

How Riley Changed My World

Two weeks ago, my fiance and I put Riley, our amazing 11 year old, orange, fluffy, lionesque border collie mix, to sleep.

The word "heartbroken" has never felt so shallow.

Riley was the happiest dog. His previous owners called him "smiley Riley" and a wave of his curvy, fluffy tail drew you magnetically from across the room. He would gently lay his head your lap if you sat beside him. I was teaching him to "give kisses" before he got sick.

I still expect to hear his collar jingling up the stairs when I come home.

Riley reminded me of a pet's power to change our world.

He reminded me why I'm a vet.

In his memory, I'd like to share 3 lessons Riley taught me.

Creating Vet-Loving Cats

I spoil my feline patients every chance I get. I absolutely adore cats but for a variety of reasons can’t have them at home.  So, I try to enjoy my kitty patients as much as possible.

It is not easy to earn a cat’s love, and it’s even harder as a vet. It seems that cats take longer to warm up to people to try to give them vaccines.  

Luckily, our veterinary profession is finding new ways to keep kitties happier at the vet.

My hospital just finished a handout for our clients about making their cats’ visits low-stress.  Here are some of the highlights:

Helping with Allergies

As a kid I always wondered why Snowball, our pet Jack Russell, licked her feet like they were ice cream cones every fall and spring. You can see the little brown stains on her paws in her picture. Does your pet do the same thing? Like Snowball, your pet may have allergies.

How do you know if your pet has allergies? What might they be allergic to? Find out below.

Daring to Change the World

Is "Vet Changes World" too daring a blog name?

At first I thought so. Thoughts like "How much of a difference will I really make?" and "What if I don't change things fast enough?" kept pestering me.

Ages ago, as an undergraduate in college at William and Mary, I majored in business as well as biology. At first, business (marketing specifically) was a back-up major in case my veterinary dreams fell through. However, it quickly became clear that the business skills I was learning would make me a much better veterinarian.

Every day, pets live and die based on the cost of treatment and a vet's advice. Vets who communicate well and who are cost efficient save pets' lives.

Vets that have *key business skills* save pets' lives.

When I realized this, I realized I could change the world. If I could teach other veterinarians these same skills, just think of how many pets we could help!

Through the rest of college and veterinary school I realized there were even more ways that veterinarians help change the world. We are shoulders to cry on, protectors of the food supply, and sentinels for new diseases. These discoveries made me feel even more empowered to make a difference.

If I'm so determined to use what I know for good, what's the hang-up on my blog name?

Finally I had to ask myself, "Am I daring enough to declare my intent to change the world and brave enough to let others call me out on it if I don't?"

Turns out that I am.

Hold me to it.