Angel Pet Sitters becoming a fixture
Posted on Friday, August 22, 2008
Diana Gray can't imagine life without her five girls.
When Gray gets home from a long day at work, her girls are there to greet her at the door. She prepares their food. She plays with them. They curl up on the couch together to watch movies. It's a happy family.
"Some people have a hard time believing my girls are Shih Tzus. They're dogs, but I treat them just like family. They are family, and I want the best for them."
So Gray was ecstatic when she heard about Angel Pet Sitters nearly three years ago. She was always uneasy going on vacations until the day she picked up the phone and talked to another dog owner, Leslie Ray. Now, she knows her furry fivesome - Gigi, Daisy, Blaze, Wickett and Petunia - are in good hands.
Gray is far from the only Northwest Arkansas resident praising Angel Pet Sitters. When Ray, a Springdale resident, started the business eight years ago, there were more people who chuckled at the idea of hiring a pet sitter than were searching for one. Angel Pet Sitters started with a loyal circle of clients, but a few years in, Ray's phone started ringing off the hook.
"Four years in, I knew I'd be able to do this successfully as a business,"Ray said. "Once I brought on another sitter, that opened the floodgates. Today, I have five sitters across Benton and Washington counties."
Many clients, like Neil Dalmas of Rogers, call Angel Pet Sitters when they're going out of town on business. Dalmas travels regularly, so when he's gone, Kathy Elster, a veteran employee with Angel Pet Sitters, is there to care for his cats, Lucas and Larson.
"I moved here from out of state, so I don't have any family close,"Dalmas said. "I knew I wanted someone to look after my cats whenever I travel and immediately felt comfor table with Kathy (and Angel Pet Sitters ). Kathy spends lots of time with my cats, and she's extremely respectful and trustworthy. When I'm away for more than a few days, she even e-mails to let me know how the cats are doing."
In order to build relationships, Angel Pet Sitters sets up an in-home consultation with every new client. A sitter will visit the home to talk with the client and learn about and spend time with each pet.
"I'm one of those people who grew up wanting to save and take in every animal I saw,"Elster said. "So this is like a dream job for me. These pets are like my extended family. Eventually, I see myself having enough clients to do this full time.
"I spoil my pets,"she said. "I think about them even when I'm not there. I had an elderly woman who was home when I came over. She just couldn't walk her dog anymore, so my being able to come over and do that allowed her to keep her dog - her best friend."
Angel Pet Sitters rates begin at $ 19 per walk, vacation visit or potty break. If a client wishes for more than 30 minutes, arrangements can be made, and packages are available for long vacations or extended trips.
"One thing we do that's a little different is we have a per-visit rate, regardless of how many pets are in the house,"Elster said. "One of my clients has eight pets - a bird, fish, cats and dogs. They have pets inside and outside, but they're only charged for one visit."
Gray has been using Angel Pet Sitters for three years but said she wishes she would have heard about them when they opened eight years ago.
"I prefer to keep my dogs in their own environment, where they're at home and feel comfortable anyway,"Gray said. "Leslie (Ray ) has been very reliable and goes out of her way. She even checks my mail and brings the paper in when she comes by."
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