One of the appeals of pet sitting is remaining semi detached!
When I had my own pets the grief I felt at their loss was almost palpable.
Handing back and moving on has also been beneficial for my mental health.
I wanted to share these comments from
others on the topic and encourage more responses.
My present Home Owner lost her husband totally unexpectedly. She told me the puppy she got subsequently had totally brought her through. “ I know I wouldn’t have made it otherwise.”
Pets grieve too. I hadn’t really thought about how pets cope with the sudden loss of their owners.
My spouse says he can’t do the pet grief anymore, and would prefer to just sit once the current crew crosses over. But as much as I love making new pet friends in interesting places, I really love coming home to my own pets, and I know that I’d totally fail at fostering.
Fostering seems like a great thing to do, and a good way to see how a pet might fit into a specific home.
I’m currently sitting my friend’s cat, who’s a foster fail. And she was lucky to have adopted this one before her elderly cat died. They were together for many years, so it was especially hard to lose her. At least she has the younger one to love on, even though a pet can’t be replaced in your heart.
Bonus: The foster fail loves to cuddle once she warms up.
If you’ve not had pets, you could never understand the debilitating grief one goes through when losing a pet.
I currently don’t have any pets because my wife and I are traveling alot, so we don’t think it’d be fair to them. She has mentioned fostering when home, but having done it many times, I know I get way too attached and have an incredibly difficult time giving them up. Especially when they would be going back to a shelter and sitting in a cage.
So, now I get my fix pet sitting. I do become quite attached to some of these animals, but knowing I’m being replaced by their loved ones makes leaving stress-free.
We had a Siberian Husky for 16 years. My husband found her tied up at a gas station and being abused and he brought her home when she was about six months old. She was such a gentle dog around our two children and grew up with them. She was reaching the point at sixteen years of age where she could barely walk and we were going on a vacation and made the painful decision to put her down. When the day came to take her to the vet, I knew something wasn’t quite right with our dog. The appointment was for late in the afternoon and I asked my husband to arrive home prior to our youngest son coming home from school. My husband arrived home to find our dog had passed away. We have since moved into a community where virtually everyone has a dog but we never decided on getting another pet and get our furry fixes via THS.
I really become a mess after losing a pet. Dog or cat, doesnt matter. My husband (together 14 yrs now) is not the pet lover I am but he is kind and helps with their care. I lost two cats in the last 3 years, one (my sweet Tyler tabby) was my bossy snuggly boy who scared my dog and took the space he wanted from the dog or my other cat Bella. The other was “Outside Kitty”, she came with the house we bought and remained my porch cat since I had two indoor cats already. I was wrecked and would cry weeks after Tyler’s passing while riding my bike in the desert, thinking of his sweet snuggly ways. I am tearing up now thinking of him. Interesting thing happened after his passing, my other cat Bella, who he raised from 12 weeks old, completely came out of her shell. His bossy-ness was surpressing the real Bella - a snuggler in disguise. A cat who now wants to be an only cat, but likes my dog and is kind to her, never mean. I adopted a kitten to keep her company and she wouldn’t accept it after 3 months of patient integration with all the tricks and tips i could find. (I rehomed the kitten who was desperate to befriend Bella. The kitten now has 2 cat brothers who accepted her and love her.) Bella continues to be the happiest version of herself, loves to play by herself, rub on my dog (who doesn’t prefer it but tolerates it), chases her own tail, flops on the floor at our feet asking for belly rubs. Such a lovebug now.
I don’t know if I can ever live without a pet in my life. I dream or traveling MORE but I am a bit of a homebody and love being with my animals. THS has given me more freedom as a HO to travel and leave my pets for sure.
My hubby is 8 years older than I am, so likelihood of him passing first is higher. I joke and say I am screwed when he passes away, as I will fill my life with cats and dogs. Then I will NEVER be able to travel.
My dog Lucy is 13 years old now, slowing down but still quite spunky. I waited about a month from the time my last dog died at 15 years old to adopting Lucy. They are both cattle dog mixes, yep I have a type now.
I turned Dual sitter now a few moths ago. I love that it allows me to get a pet fix in a home while traveling. Now I don’t have to approach strangers in public as much and snuggle their animals. hahaha.
Here is a pic of my pet family with Lucy (dog), Tyler (tabby in kitty heaven) and Bella.
What a lovely group photo! They are all so
obliging! Yes I have a mismatch with my partner. I’m dog mad and now accept many solo sits to give my wife a well earned break!
I could adopt tomorrow but then I’d be giving up the wonderful variety of pets and owners that I get to meet throughout the year..
I’m finishing a sit tonight and starting another tomorrow! So yes they are a lifeline and one way or another they are vital to my happiness.