Do you love animals but don’t want the responsibility of pet ownership? Owning a pet can be stressful and expensive depending on your situation. I lost both of my chihuahuas a while back due to old age and am still trying to catch up with their vet bills. Recently, I’ve added petsitting as an extra source of income because it’s fun and easy, and I get my pet love without the stress.
Take a staycation by watching someone else’s pets
I started my pet-sitting journey by watching my daughter’s chihuahua whenever she traveled. It wasn’t a paid gig because he was my granddog. I’ve also stayed at one of her friend’s houses who had two small dogs, along with my daughter’s dog, and my dogs. All 5 dogs slept with me on a King Size bed. Luckily they were all small.
I enjoyed a change of scenery, had food to eat, and got some peace and quiet with a little barking.
Hanging out with pets is a relaxing way to reduce stress.
Get paid to pet sit
I moved into paid petsitting when a friend asked me to stay with her 17-year-old cat. Cats are especially easy because they take care of themselves. All you do is feed them and clean out their litter box if they stay indoors. If you work independently you can run an all-cash business as a pet sitter, which is a nice way to make mad money.
You may want to set up a website to promote your petsitting business. Some people advertise on NextDoor.com to find clients locally.
You can also become listed as a pet sitter on sites like Rover.com, petsitter.com, and care.com. They take about a 20% commission for the work but also take care of payment, insurance if the pet gets injured, and other details. You may need to complete a background check first.
Some of these sites also book dog walkers if you want to exercise and get paid for it.
Pet sit in exchange for lodging when you travel
There are services such as Trusted Housesitters is a membership site that will allow you to live in a home either in your own country or abroad in exchange for taking care of a house and/or pets. That can save you tons in travel expenses. Your first priority must be the pet and home but you could visit the surrounding area and soak up the local culture. You can also find pet and house sitters for your own home.
Challenging pets
My brother asked me to watch his family’s pets while they are on a sailing vacation. But it isn’t an ordinary petsitting job. I watched watching 3 standard poodles, 4 cats, a dozen chickens, and a cockatiel.
They were all pretty easy except for 1 cat who was difficult. He is neurologically challenged and was the only surviving kitten from a litter in which the mother also died. The first day I held him he shredded my arms. I had to wear a jacket, long leather gardening gloves, and sunglasses.
He wasn’t the only scary pet I’ve taken care of. Several years ago I took care of my sister’s Scarlet McCaw for a month.
Stick to what you can handle
As an older person, I don’t recommend that you take on pets you don’t feel comfortable with. You don’t want to do a face plant walking a big dog or bleed to death after a critter attack. I prefer small to medium dogs and mellow cats. Even an aggressive chihuahua can nip you pretty hard if you aren’t careful.
Make sure you are able to give medications properly as mistakes can be dangerous for both you and the animal. I had to give one of my dogs an insulin injection twice a day. That took practice as well and was tricky.
Have you ever tried paid petsitting? What was your experience? Please leave a comment below.
Rebecca, What a lovely place! Glad you got away with your pooches, despite problems with nosy landscapers and sprinkle systems. Hope this finds you well.
Thanks, Laurie. It’s been fun and my daughter spent the night a couple of times which was nice.
Sounds like heaven right about now. I’m so glad to read that you’re also going to be moving into a house with other women soon. That sounds like fun.
Thanks, Jennifer. The place I’m staying at now has 1 woman and it’s a nice place. Good air conditioning, but zero space for me and my dogs. I’m looking forward to settling somewhere for a while which I m sure I can do at my friends. Hanging out with all the dogs has been fun. I hate to leave.
Huh. I never even thought of such a thing! What a wonderful new world you’ve opened up to me, Rebecca!
Well, I guess it’s more unique for city girls who aren’t around that many animals. It’s pretty mellow, though except for the one cat.
I once interviewed a woman on my blog who used Trusted Housesitters. Before Covid (the new BC) she and her husband traveled to several different countries including Mexico and Turkey. They went from one housesit to the next and usually spent a month in each location.
It sounds like so much fun! And it’s so practical. Thanks, for letting me know about it Jennifer.