I have owned and operated a petsitting business for 16 years now.  It has brought me a tremendous amount of joy and, I confess, has sometimes been very, very stressful.  Growing up everyone said with my love of animals I should be a vet.  I knew I didn’t have the stomach for it and I was already seriously writing way back then.  Achieving my degree from SMU with a degree in journalism left me floundering between print and broadcast.  I never wanted to be on TV, but I felt print was on its way out — even as early as the mid ’90’s.  So I stumbled into petsitting which allowed me freedom, the ability to stay close to my recently widowed mother, and I was doing something I loved independently.  I have received many, many notes from clients over the years.  Some leave detailed instructions, some say NOT to call because they’ll assume something is wrong, etc.  But I wanted to post a picture of this note because it made me laugh.  It doesn’t seem like much but it is such a tremendous responsibility to care for someone’s beloved pets in addition to their home.  Combine crammed schedules, medicines, special feeding regimens, and the dreaded alarm codes and it proves to be a lot.  When I was single I took my mother around and, especially during the holidays, it gave us places to be when we had none.  I remember looking into other people’s shiny, happy homes as we drove by and wishing it were more than just the two of us.  Now I am married and have a child of my own.  I have written before she is my very best helper and she has said that she wants to be “a doctor for animals”.  She is just 4 1/2 and has the whole wide world ahead of her.  But of one thing I am certain:  my daughter will always have an innate love for all animals.  The French novelist Colette once said, “Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.”  Poochas gracias and meowci for allowing me into your homes to care for your beloved companions.