Claire

I am a mature, practical, and compassionate person with years of pet-sitting experience, and I've developed a bit of a specialization in caring for senior pets and pets with special needs such as anxiety, heart conditions, arthritis, diabetes, neurological conditions, and visual and/or hearing impairments.

Unfortunately my own health situation requires me to be more selective than I'd wish to be about which petsitting jobs I accept. I have a degenerative connective tissue disorder that manifests as chronic pain and fatigue, the severity of which vary, sometimes unpredictably, based on a number of factors, and getting around the city to visit pets can take a lot out of me. For this reason I'm limiting myself mostly to bookings that either involve housesitting or are easy to get to on foot or by TTC from my home in the Flemingdon Park area (Don Mills and Overlea), and I generally shy away from making multiple visits in one day.

On a visit or walk from me, you can expect me to stay at least an hour (sometimes longer if your pets and I are having a good time or if I need to rest before heading out again), to administer any medications, feed your pets and check that water and free feeding dishes are full and fresh, take your dogs out for a walk, give your pets some love if they're so inclined (skritches, brushies, play time; I won't force affection on an animal who isn't into it), scoop litter/replace pee pads, clean up any indoor accidents I find, and perform any other duties as discussed.

With full housesitting service you can expand your expectations to 'round the clock care for your pets and home! Because I don't have other work outside the home my schedule is generally quite flexible, so I can visit at any time of day or evening and if I'm housesitting I can usually spend all day with your pets and time any necessary errands or appointments around their feeding/walking/medication schedules.

My history as a care-giver to furry (and not-so-furry) friends is long and varied. I grew up with dogs in Winnipeg, most of my roommates since moving to Toronto have had cats or dogs, I’ve had occasion to pet-sit for numerous friends over the years, and I've been connecting with pet owners through Pawshake since 2015. I’ve walked dogs of all sizes in all sorts of weather conditions, up to three at a time (and I still love big dogs, though I'm a little more cautious about hurting my shoulders and back walking dogs strong enough to pull me around), and I always strive to be consistent about rules and commands when I’m with someone else’s pup. I love spending time with cats, too, and tend to get on well with even the persnickety ones (I love a good cuddle but I also know when to respect an animal’s boundaries). I’ve brushed coats and teeth, clipped nails, washed off mud (and worse), cleaned gunky eyes, and administered oral medications, eye and ear drops, and insulin injections.

Beyond cats and dogs my experience is more limited, but I’m interested in new experiences and I follow instructions well. I’m keen to help out with rats, birds, lizards—pretty much any critter you can show me with the exception of venomous snakes (non-venomous are fine) and arthropods. My current living situation does not permit hosting or boarding dogs or cats in my home.

If you have any questions at all, please contact me!