Pet Owner's World 2008 - (Page 8) Feature Article The Loss of a Pet Your Pet Sitter Can Help by Ellen Price, Editor Does anyone really understand how important your companion animals are to you? They’re family members and, as such, play an important part in your life. When you need cheering up, they play the clown—or quietly offer comfort and moral support. When you’re happy, there’s no one else who is happier for you—nor anyone as willing to share that happiness so openly and unselfishly. There’s no other living being on earth who provides the unconditional love of your pets. Sometimes it’s difficult for others to see that, isn’t it? But there is someone who understands—your pet sitter. Your family pet sitter doesn’t simply provide impersonal pet care. She (or he) understands the bond you have with your pets and probably has established a loving relationship with them as well. That’s why there’s no one who shares your hurt like your pet sitter when a beloved companion animal dies. Listen to the words of these PSI members as they relate some of their most heartfelt stories. Leslie Ray, Angel Pet Sitters Inc., Springdale, AR: “I’ve had very close relationships with several clients’ pets that have passed on. It is never easy, and it’s one of the most sorrowful aspects of my job. Then again, I do try to concentrate on the positives, and I feel incredibly blessed to have been a part of that pet’s life, even if only for a short time, and even though my role may have been small. I have such fond memories of some of these pets! I get misty thinking about them, but at the same time, my heart just fills to overflowing when I recall special moments. ”One of those memories is of Domino. He was a very old Dalmatian, with cataracts and very stiff, arthritic legs. He was in such bad shape that I would cry every time I left a visit. He couldn’t walk he had to do a lurching, hopping movement to maneuver himself. It was so pitiful that 8 2008 • Pet Owner’s WORLD
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