New Woodbury business offers at-home pet sitting
New Woodbury business, Slumbering Paws and Claws, offers at-home pet sitting while clients are away.By: Amber Kispert-Smith, Woodbury Bulletin
- Slumbering Paws and Claws
Pet owners know first-hand how difficult it can be to go on vacation for an extended period of time because they have to find someplace their pets can stay and where they’ll be cared for.
Woodbury resident Kaitlyn Targgart is hoping to alleviate some of the stress people have when trying to find a place for their pets to stay while they’re on vacation with her new business, Slumbering Paws and Claws.
Slumbering Paws and Claws is an at-home pet sitting business in which Targgart and her husband come to a client’s house to stay overnight while caring for their pets.
In addition to caring for a person’s pets through feeding, watering, playing, walking and other activities, Slumbering Paws and Claws can also care for their client’s house while they’re away as well, Targgart said. They’ll do things like take in the mail, water the plants, take out the trash and generally make sure the house is secure.
“My clients don’t have to worry whether or not their dogs are getting the individualized attention they need,” she said. “They don’t need to worry whether their pets are getting walked, whether they’re getting played with.
“When you’re working with just one person, you know what you’re walking in to.”
Seeing the pet’s personality
Targgart said she has always had a love of animals ever since she got her first cat as a child.
In 2009, Targgart took a job as a kennel assistant at a veterinary clinic in Indiana where she used to live.
Over the years, Targgart has worked at multiple boarding facilities, veterinary clinics and received her veterinary assistant certification.
“I’ve always loved animals, I guess,” she said. “I’ve always been drawn to them ever since I was little because no matter what kind of day you’re having, they’re always there for you.”
While working with animals at the boarding facilities or at the clinics, Targgart said she always wondered if the animals behaved differently at home.
“When I worked at the boarding place, you don’t always see them in their element,” she said. “So I always kind of wondered what it would be like.
“You never truly know who they are because you can’t know where they like to go on walks, where they like to stop and smell, what they like to play with – there is a personality switch.”
Targgart said it was that curiosity that prompted her to start Slumbering Paws and Claws at the end of April.
Keeping pets happy
When Targgart is booked for an overnight stay she can spend a weekend and sometimes even all the way up to a month.
During her stay at the house, pet owners are asked to leave a list of instructions for Targgart relating to how often the dog should be walked, how often pets need to be fed, any special medications that are needed and of course all emergency information.
Targgart said she is able to go out and buy dog food, if she should run out, or take the pet to the veterinarian if needed.
The cost of an overnight stay is $45 per day for two or less pets and $55 per day for three or more pets. A $5 discount is added if food is provided for Targgart during her stay.
In addition to overnight stays, Targgart is able to make daily 20-30 minute pet visits – to feed pets, give fresh water, change cat litter or take them outside – which are $14 or $16 per visit.
Targgart is also available for daily walks if owners are working long hours or are away for long periods of time. A 30-minute walk is $16 per dog and an additional $3 for each additional dog.
Targgart said the benefits of having someone stay overnight with a pet is being able to give pets individualized attention as well as keeping them in familiar surroundings.
“If the dog is in their own house and their routine is kept the same, it’s better for them,” she said.
Targgart also enjoys her overnight pet stays.
“It’s fun for me because I get to see their personalities,” she said. “Plus playing with dogs is not a job for me.”
For more information on Slumbering Paws and Claws contact Kaitlyn Targgart at 651-605-5373 or slumberingpc@gmail.com. More information can also be found at www.slumberingpc.com
More from around the web
RSS Feeds