Mahatma Gandhi, the famous nonviolent Indian independence leader said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”  I have owned and operated a petsitting business for almost sixteen years now.  I stumbled into it actually, given my whole life I knew I wanted to be a journalist.  We only got to take two road trips to Santa Fe as a family before my daddy died.  After the last I had come home a week later and it was like my friend had never been there at all, except for the fact that my babies were thankfully alive.  My condo was ruined and sadly our friendship was as well.  It got me to thinking:  what would I have done?  I had a list of so many things that a woman who heard me verbalizing them all said I should just start my own business.  I had never set a TOE in Cox School of Business while I was at SMU.  But the next thing I knew I had joined two professional trade organizations, trademarked my name, created a slogan and logo, was bonded and insured, invested in special software, got a dedicated phone line, and spent ALL my money taking out a tiny ad in the Yellow Pages.  For anyone under sixteen you’ll have to Google that.  Mama and I were alone and she liked getting out and riding in the car with me while I made my rounds.  We had no other family and on holidays it was a comfort seeing the Christmas lights and checking on my clients’ beloved pets for them while they were away.  I know many see my job as servile and not befitting my college degree.  I also know this:  it makes me happy.  I genuinely love animals; ALL animals.  Over the years I have checked on almost every kind:  from a vicious Chow named Ted. E. Bear, to an octopus, a cat that used to chase me into a corner and scratch my legs to ribbons, a parrot that said, “Hello” every time the phone rang, lizards, a brood of hens (one gal whose name was Lady Bird Johnson), a goose named Honker, a hedgehog named Spike, and everything in between.  Over those years I have tried hiring help.  I have only had a handful of employees and to my utter astonishment I have wound up having to fire them all.  One was so flaky I had no idea if she would show; one had a master’s degree but could not ever seem to lock a door; another would raid people’s refrigerators and leave IOUs.  I lost friendships over that as well.  It is not rocket science but I think it does require a special type of person:  one with an eye for detail, a good memory, a strong sense of responsibility, an inherent honesty, dependability, and — most importantly — a true compassion for and understanding of animals.  I have been bringing Maris with me since she was a baby.  It was extremely difficult having huge dogs snuffle my tiny baby in her car seat and even more stressful watching her as a toddler with dogs around a swimming pool.  But now she is four and she loves to go with me on my rounds, just like my mama did.  She pours food, reports “accidents”, gives treats, and LOVES them all so effortlessly she manages to coax out even the most frightened animal.  Since we live with wolves, no dog breed fazes her.  I have entrusted the key to a client’s three million dollar home to her while we have walked their dog through a giant field.  And that’s when she was three!  My husband loves animals and will sometimes come with us when he has time.  I am so proud of my child and the way she has gone to work with me when other kids were outside playing.  I remember helping Daddy with his painting business and sometimes it was not always fun.  She has not complained and has never failed to tell each animal she loves them and God bless them; just like she has always heard me do.  I didn’t realize how much she listened until she greeted a French bulldog with, “Hello Lover!” as was my habit.  Note the past tense!  She is, without a doubt, the best employee I have ever had.  And she works for lollipops.  😉