Billie

My name is Billie; me and my husband Alan have been looking after animals for over a decade. We have fostered dogs, cats, rats, rabbits, mice, hamsters, birds, ferrets, in a variety sizes, ages, and health conditions. Since the day we met it was obvious we were both huge animal lovers! Alan's best friend growing up was his cat and mine was the neighbour's dogs, haha. During University Alan adopted Montague and later came Petunia; they are our cats. Monty is from the SPCA and Petunia was a feral mom living outside, and is now a VERY happy housecat! After we got married we rescued Nanak, our Miniature American Eskimo dog, and became his 4th home in the first four months of him life! That was five years ago now and Nanak has come SO far, improving on his anxiety issues and feeling more calm and secure each year that goes by. He is quite literally been our baby at this stage of our lives, although we have now welcomed a human baby as well!

I have been primarily a housewife (and now stay at home mom) since we got married, and my husband works some of his hours from home, so we have lots of time to spend with your animals. I love to be outside and go on hikes and to dog parks when possible! Our favourite thing to do is just play with or cuddle animals throughout the day and at night.

We are diligent about the various needs of all types of animals and happy to administer medication if necessary. If we do both leave the house it doesn't exceed 3 hours at a time, however whether or not we leave or for how long is something we would love to discuss based on the specific needs of your pet.

Probably the most important thing about us is our temperaments. We love to be around people and animals and therefore don't spend a huge amount of time on our phones. Just being around animals is fun for us and we will commit to not shouting or expressing anger towards your pet, but rather focusing on meeting their needs and kindly redirecting them. Please let us know how you would like us to approach any scenarios or areas of your pet's care and we will absolutely do our best to parent them the way you'd like. One thing that's certain is your pet will receive lot of positive attention in our home!

You can expect lots of walks with us, at least 3 bathroom breaks a day (or more for puppies), and with your permission we love to go to dog parks and on nature walks at least 2 times a week! Our walks can vary in length depending on your preferences, but the average would be 30 minutes. The health and safety of our boarders is EXTREMELY important to us, so we have doggie seatbelts and harnesses we use when going to the park or anywhere else. The entrance to our home has two doors separated by a foyer to prevent escape.

I love to play with dogs in the house as well so there are toys scattered about, and I will play during or in between my housework. Anytime we are sitting or lying down is prime cuddle time for your pet! They would be welcome to sleep in the bed or on the furniture, but not obligated to! Our home is also full of dog and cat beds and safe natural chews. We will feed them based on your personal schedule and have a spare bedroom should they need to be fed seperately from the other animals.

We can stay 30 minutes or longer for drop in visits and have plenty of experience with feeding, administering medication, cleaning litter boxes, and more! These visits can be done either very early in the morning, or in the late afternoon and evening. Feel free to ask us for help with other things too, such as watering plants or brushing your pet. We are here to help!

If you have ANY questions or concerns, please don't hesistate to reach out and ask. If there is ever an emergency when your pet is here, I am trained in dog and cat First Aid, and our vast rescue experience has given us the instincts to respond quickly and remain calm. We would call you immediately (or your emergency contact), call the vet you provide us the number for, and take them to an animal hospital should they need urgent care. You can feel free to tell us anything we might need to know to ensure your pet's stay is as safe, enriching, and enjoyable as possible!