Hello, 

This page was set up to provide pet parents with some perspective and further details about my background. I get it can be difficult, especially for younger families, to understand how many lifetimes of experience one older gal can accumulate. Hopefully, this will put your mind at ease. But know this, I don’t think I know better than you about your individual animal's needs. I am presenting some of the highlights from my background to emphasize that I likely understand better than many non-professional sitters why you want things done a certain way. 

I was born in The Black Hills of South Dakota where our family ranch had all the usual, dogs, cats, horses… Dogs and cats have been ever-present in my life. Horses have come and gone. 

WILDLIFE: In college, I studied Zoology while working as a Veterinary Technician. Then I moved on to work as the Lead Keeper and Volunteer Coordinator at a wild animal rescue and rehabilitation center. Among the hundreds (thousands?) of animals I cared for over those years were hawks, owls, lynx, mountain lions, deer, raccoons, ferrets, skunks, indigenous small bird species, etc. even the odd alligator and emu.

PETS: During this time I also ran my own small business, Aardvarks Unlimited Home Pet Care. 

MARINE LIFE: Later I worked as the Aquarium and Penguin Keeper and an assistant Animal Handler (pinnipeds) for Marine Life Aquarium. My aquarium experience includes everything from 40-gallon freshwater tanks to saltwater aquariums so large I had to Scuba dive to clean them. Pirañas, lionfish, Arrawana, moray eels, small sharks, and smaller species it’s all good. I carried my aquarist skills into my future as a hobbyist for many years. 

HERPETOFAUNA: Soon after I was the Lead Keeper for the herpetological collection of Advanced Vivarium Systems (AVS), as well as, the private collection of Philippe De Vosjoli of Vivarium Magazine and The Herpetological Library Series. Through his travels and collection, Philippe introduced me to some of the rarest and most amazing species being imported at the time. Eyelash geckos, a wide range of chameleons, leaf-tailed geckos, prehensile-tailed skinks, blue-tongued skinks, dart frogs, mantelles... along with the concepts behind naturalistic vivarium design. Of course, there were the usual beloved pet-trade herps as well. Pythons, boas, king snakes, milk snakes, day geckos, anoles, tree frogs, bearded dragons... there were too many to list.

During this time I became an avid herpetofauna enthusiast myself and my private collection grew. I understand the need for proper humidity, specialized nutrition and attention to thermal regulation in herpetofauna care.

DOGS, DOGS, DOGS: During my time at AVS, I got my first Dalmatian and began learning about deaf dogs. I soon rescued one, then another. My entire life changed. I became a regular domestic animal rescuer from that point on - sometimes professionally, and other times in my home life. 

BACKYARD FARM: For a number of years I had a 3-acre farm in South Dakota with chickens, milk goats, cats, an orchard… and up to 8 rescued &/or foster dogs, usually deaf or blind… at any given time.

MORE DOGS: Later, I moved on to become a Dog Caregiver for the famous Best Friends Animal Society (Dogtown) in Utah. Most of my time there was spent working in an area called The Lodges. This is where dogs deemed less adoptable due to behavioral issues (often needing to be kept separate from other animals due to aggression) were housed (and given tons of love). 

Note: Best Friends receives hundreds of applications per month, but Dogtown staff came to me and asked me to apply. This happened after seeing my dedication and work as a volunteer with dogs recovering from extreme circumstances when they were evacuated from Lebanon.

A further 10 years of my life were spent in Thailand where I was a regular volunteer, and for a time, the Volunteer Coordinator at Care for Dogs in Chiang Mai. I also cared for street and temple dogs on my own. It was in Chiang Mai where I slowly evolved from working with animals to writing about working with animals (surprise). Soon I began writing travel guides about global volunteer programs.

To this day I create and publish books, now often activity books, with a focus on animals and life science. This gives me the flexibility to pet sit for you and also indulge my creative side. 

Throughout all this, there have been more animals in my home life, birds, chinchillas, rats, snakes, ferrets, etc. As I mentioned, I am old. Life evolves. 

As you can see, I am an experienced animal caregiver. Your pets will benefit from my unusual background. Plus, they will be my number one priority, simply because I love working with animals. Running around playing tourist all day or meeting up with friends while traveling, as some pet sitters do, is not my priority.