Need help with your critters? Call Cheryl

With vacation season underway, it is comforting to know that pet owners can depend on Cheryl’s Critter Care to watch over their animals and home. Her business provides owner Cheryl Weeks with a special responsibility.

Before she opened Cheryl’s Critter Care, Weeks was employed as an escrow officer. “I wanted to have a home-based business because I was caring for my mother and father,” she said. “I wanted to do something that I loved.” And what Weeks loves is animals.

Operating a pet sitting business both gave her the opportunity to care for animals and provided flexible hours to care for her aging parents.

Weeks cares for an array of critters: dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, mice and more. Although these animals may understandably miss their owners while they are away on vacation, at least they can remain living in their own environment, said Weeks.

Having had animals her whole life, Weeks learned through her own personal experiences how boarding animals could be a downright stressful experience. “Animals don’t like being in a cage,” she explained. “With pet sitting, animals can be in their own surroundings and in their own home.”

Weeks genuinely believes that a kennel atmosphere can be very taxing on an animal. Many years ago, when she boarded her own animals, the results weren’t all that positive. “My animals used to come home with kennel cough or other illnesses,” she said.

Before Weeks takes on a new client, she meets with the family and their pet. It’s important for Weeks to establish a good rapport with all members of the family, including the animal. If all is a go, a contract is filled out, which includes the pet’s feeding schedule, special medication needs, veterinarian information and home care list.

“I can go to a client’s house anywhere from one to three times per day,” she said. While at the home, Cheryl’s responsibilities include feeding the pet, changing its water, yard and/or litter box cleanup, walks and/or playtime and grooming.

For basic home care, Weeks includes taking the trash to the curb on trash day and mail and/or newspaper pickup.

“I also give the home a lived-in look while homeowners are away,” she said. This is accomplished through the rotation of lights, opening and/or closing window treatments and leaving a television or radio on.

“There was a time during a pet sitting job where I noticed a leak in the ceiling and we turned off their water,” said Weeks. Her keen attention to the environment saved these homeowners the cost of additional damage and repairs.

Weeks also assists with pet owners who commute long hours to and from work. In cases where dogs need to stretch their legs and go for a walk, Weeks will pad the pavement during the midday hours with your canine.

Weeks is a graduate of the Pet Sitting University and is also bonded and insured. For more information about Cheryl’s Critter Care, call (760) 723-1722 or log on to http://www.CherylsCritterCare.com.

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