Running a small business can be invigorating and inspiring as well as challenging and confronting.

My intention in writing this is not to whinge but to shed some light on the ‘light’ and the ‘dark’ side of running a small business.

I started House and Pet Sitters in Perth, Western Australia because it’s my backyard and because I love animals. I have travelled around this great state of ours and along the way have met some amazing people. These people of course enjoy going on holidays and at different times I was asked to look after their beloved fur babies. Thus House and Pet Sitters was born.

Along the way I have met even more and more beautiful, passionate and animal caring people. Some simply love and care for their own animals while others, who also have animals of their own, campaign for animal welfare around the world in various shapes and sizes.

Then there are the pets themselves. Each fur baby and sometimes our feathered and finned babies  has their own personality, their own likes, dislikes, mannerisms, playful, loving and cheeky behaviours. What is consistent is the animals unconditional love for their ‘people’ and for a short time me and or a member of the House and Pet Sitters team.

Over the past ten years of doing business and thousands of sits our team grows bigger then smaller then bigger then smaller as people move away, circumstances change, travellers keep on travelling, people but their home, finish building and move into their own home and get their own fur kids. Finding and maintaining a solid and trustworthy team of sitters is one of the challenges in running a small business like House and Pet Sitters. The people we accept are first and foremost pet lovers. Each team member goes through a thorough interview and reference checking process. We do our best to find honest, open and trustworthy sitters to take care of people’s homes and pets.

We do our best… in saying that, it is always upsetting and disappointing when someone turns out to be not quite how they represented themselves or behave in an inappropriate way while in a client’s home. This of course is one of the biggest challenges I face. Again, the priority is the care of the pets and the safety and security of the home that has been left in our care. I am blessed with sitters who are able to step in at a moment’s notice, in situations where a sitter needs to leave due to unforeseen circumstances, a sitter is unwell or in the unusual situation when a sitter needs to be removed from a sit. Over the years sitters have broken their leg playing soccer, have had parent/ diagnosed with a terminal disease, stroke, heart attack, or other family members who have needed help. This is how life is – unpredictable and sometimes so sad.

As the business owner I am responsible and I am always on call. I have had calls in the middle of the night from worried sitters because a pet is off colour and not their happy self. We have procedures in place and I am the first point of contact.

There is no manual for the ‘right’ or ‘best’ way to deal with every circumstance. Accidents happen, expectations are not communicated or are misinterpreted. Unfortunately, sitters and clients don’t always do what they say they are going to do.

I cannot and will not be lied to, abused or threatened. All I can do is take a deep breath, gather all of the information I have access to and trust myself and my experience to make the best decision I can at the time. I do this as quickly and appropriately as possible. Yes, I have made mistakes and I have learnt from them.

Tomorrow I will do it all again and the House and Pet Sitters team will do the best we can to provide a quality service.