Craziest Stories Of My Time As A Professional Pet Sitter

I've been working with animals for over four years now and that chapter in my life is finally coming to a close. Looking back over the years, there have been more highs than lows in this career. Funny thing is, I never sat out to work exclusively in the animal industry for as long as I did, it just happened one summer.

I desperately needed a job to help pay for my college apartment - that I was still being charged for during the summer - and there was a kennel position available in my area. So I took the chance because of money and my love for animals.

Little did I know, that job would be a savior to me during one of the hardest summers of my life. This article would be quite long with the endless stories I could write about, but these select stories are just some of the few that stood out to me over the years.

The time a client was upset I followed her instructions

In this first story, I had been working as a contractor for over a year now and had (or so I thought) a great working relationship with this particular client. This client has specific instructions for her dog like she can only stay outside of her doggy room if she did all her potty, and that includes poo and pee.

Still, following? Well, one time it was a super hot summer day in Georgia and the dog only wanted to pee. Makes sense cause it's so hot and she was barely eating her food, so I was expecting that. According to the client's instructions, if Macie hadn't done ALL her potty business then she couldn't stay upstairs.

I had three visits with her that day, and on the second visit, she still hadn't pooped. I double-checked the instructions and called my boss to let her know because I really didn't want to put Macie back in her doggy room, she loves to be upstairs with the big bay windows and television.

My boss reassured me that if that was the instructions then I have to follow through. Cut to 30 minutes later I receive a message in our pet portal with the client basically yelling at me for putting Macie back in her room. It was awful, so bad that my co-workers started calling my boss to stand up for me and reassuring her that what I did was right and exactly what the client stated in her notes.

Within an hour and a half, the whole issue was resolved with the client apologizing for berating me so harshly. She realized I was only going by what I was told and took back everything she said.

After that experience, I realized no matter how great of a working relationship you have with a client, at the end of the day they are not your friends. Anything can go wrong in an instant and you will definitely be blamed as it was during your care.

My first dog bite

I have only been bit twice in my short career and this story is my first experience. I was walking a reactive dog for his evening walk. His name was Lucky and he had the cutest, slightly floppy ears going for him. We had walked this route a thousand times, usually around the same time as well. He was one of my favorites to walk because we kept a great pace and he barely stopped except to potty.

On this night walk, we were 10 minutes from his place, and all of a sudden Lucky found an old ice cream cone and popped it in his mouth. My first instinct was to quickly put my hand in his mouth and try to take it out. Wrong answer, because he locked his jaw so I couldn't take it!

I quickly realized Lucky wasn't going to let me take this dirty cone out of his mouth, so I just let him have it. It was definitely my best lesson in what not to do when you have a determined dog. Now the dog wasn't being malicious or anything, I was just the dumb walker who put my hands where it didn't belong. 

The second time is a charm

The other time I was bit by a dog was when I worked at my last kennel job. We had a dog in our inside pen that we usually use for older or big dogs that can't fit in the regular-sized kennels. He was a Great Pyrenees - a beautiful dog - and one of the sweetest, gentle giants you've ever seen. Surrounding this pen was a white picket fence and most dogs tend to put their paws in the little slots and usually can get themselves out of it, this day that didn't happen.

So I went to try and pop this dog's paws out of the little slots of the fence, but the more I tried to push up the more he kept resisting. It got to the point where the more pressure I put on his paws, he then instinctively bit down on my hand. When I say bite down, it was done in a response to me causing a bit of pain, which is understandable.

He bit down so much that it broke the skin and started to bleed a little bit, nothing horrendously bad, just something that'll need a little bandage. As I pulled away, he popped his paw out all by himself! After getting called away for a few minutes, I went back to check on the dog and my coworkers told me that he put himself in time-out. Lol!

The dog felt so bad that he caused me pain, that he willingly put himself in a corner. A timeout if you will. I went to console and let him know I was okay. Having moments like that made me appreciate how sensitive some animals can be, especially when they don't mean any harm.

One of the scariest experiences in my career

Leo was an American Mastiff and the gentlest big dog you'll ever meet. And with that introduction, you'll understand why this story is so crazy.

Leo was about 130-pound Mastiff and apparently "small" for his breed. One day we were in the midst of our usual walking routine and all of a sudden he sees this other dog and just freezes. Now, Leo is a super friendly dog, and anytime another dog comes around he wants to say hello. But remember, he's 130-pounds, so most people instantly got on guard around him. 

Leo froze and suddenly lunged towards the other dog. I was still holding his leash and a second later, I was almost dragged on the grass. I immediately jumped up to try and stop him from going after this dog, who for some reason, he didn't like.

The poor owner put herself between the dogs and I came running to grab his collar and drag him away. I was shaking and it seemed like she was also shaken up. I was able to get him away without any damage done except to my poor heart that was racing like crazy! Eventually, I got us home and Leo was just smiling away like nothing ever happened!

The whole ordeal scared me because I wasn't used to seeing Leo act up like that, but I was convinced that something was off with this dog that he didn't like. He never reacted to other dogs we had encountered in the past and never did after that incident. It's probably one of the scariest things that have happened to me working with dogs. 

Working with animals has been an experience I will always cherish. They were there to comfort me when I lost my first dog Precious, and I'm still convinced to this day, that they sensed my grief and comforted me the only way animals can.

If you ever get the opportunity to work or volunteer with animals, please take that chance, you won't regret it. They make life so rewarding and only ask you to love them back unconditionally.