Asshole Neighbors

I'm cat sitting for a client/friend that lives around the corner from me.  I went over to do my cat stuff tonight, and come in to a note on the door from her upstairs neighbor. This is what it said:

"Please clean cat up. Hall way smells terrible. tx    I sent (insert clients name) a note to update as well "

I didn't smell a thing when I came in the front door.  Just the normal hallway smell.
So I'm thinking the litterbox is crazy full - that they had some massive pooping party earlier...  I run over to the litterbox and I find a normal amount of dirtiness for 24 hours

So I think, wow, this guy is an ass.  I clean, I feed, I pet, and I leave.  He comes chasing me out, yelling down the street, "Hey! Are you watching the cats???"  I said yes, and he goes, "What was that smell??!"  I told him that I didn't smell anything at all and that I am cleaning the boxes every day.  He then asks if the litter was still inside, and I said yes, but bagged up.  He said, "Well can you take it outside?"  Um... no? I already locked everything up and have been working for 12 hours.  I have watched these cats dozens of times, I did nothing differently this time.  I told him that tomorrow was trash day, I was planning on taking it out then and that I was not opening up her back door (nor do I ever) because I don't want the cats to try to run out.  He looked disappointed, and wanted to make sure I did it tomorrow.  I will leave this my saying that this man has a dog, a baby, and a toddler.  He can't deal with waiting a day for me to take the dirty bag of litter out??
And such a shithead, passive aggressive note!

Pug Puppy!

Before Christmas, I had a new client meeting.  I was told it was for 2 cats, but when I got there, there was a tiny pug that greeted me at the door!  He was going with his parents :(  Boo, he was such a sweetie.  Don't get me wrong, I love the cats  

Obviously

But there are few things cuter than a pug puppy.  I got a last minute request to let him out this week and of course I went!  When I got there, I couldn't find him.  I knew he was crated, but I didn't see the crate and had no idea where he was.  He wasn't making a peep as I scoured the apartment for nearly 10 min.  Finally I looked down and saw this.

Found him!! But you see how a sleeping puppy in a covered crate could be overlooked.  This kid is nothing but kisses and fun.  We had a ball that afternoon!

Rain, Sleet, Snow, and Antibiotics

This day did not turn out as expected!  First of all, the weather was a surprise.  We were out in rain, sleet, and snow!  When we finished round 1, the sun came out.  All we could do was shake our heads...

We went to the house of cats and birds which is always an adventure.  The lovebird perches by the door - one of the cats tries to get it through the glass by hanging midway up the door - the bird mockingly chirps knowing she is safe.  Good times for all.

In the midst of this happening, out attention turns to the very old and skinny cat walking around.  She is crated because she is frail and must eat a different food than her brothers.  Terry noticed that when she walked, her one right front foot was splayed a bit.  I picked her up to take a look at it.  Her pads were caked with litter, so I peeled away at it only to find that her main pad had almost disintegrated and there was a major infection in 2 places.  The same was going on with her other front paw.  I soaked them in warm water and antibacterial soap and dried them thoroughly.  I applied neosporin topically, but then called the owner to let her know what was going on.  This cat needed antibiotics immediately and the owner ok'd me giving her an injection.  I called the vet who gave the ok for me to pick up an antibiotic injection for this old lady :(  With her age and lack of body mass, this infection could have potentially killed her.  We left the apartment, walked 2 dogs, picked up the shot, went back to the apartment, and I gave the shot and we are now hoping for the best.  Poor little kitty face ;(

Frozen Tundra

This winter has proved to be challenging to say the least.  First thing this morning I had a new client meeting.  I walk out of my house and it is literally a sheet of ice.  I slid down the sidewalk (slowly) and tried to make my way over to this new house.  It is only a few blocks away, however I nearly fell a good handful of times and it took me twice as long.  The concrete sidewalks were slippery enough, but the brick was not even manageable. What was in front of their house? Brick.  I had to grab on to their iron door and pull myself up to be able to ring the doorbell.

My next stop was a house in a courtyard.  What is in front of the courtyard ? Brick! Awesome.  It was there that I ran into a man in his late 60's/early 70's who was attempting to get the trashcans back into the courtyard.  The 2 of us were trying to gracefully skate our way to safety.  He told me, "Grab on to the trashcan!  I'll pull ya!"   I did indeed grab on and then started sliding towards the street.  Neither of us could get back to the gate.  When I finally made it into that house, I had to call Mike to come and rescue me.  There was no way that I would make it on foot.  Even with him driving, I had to tackle more brick, outside steps, and slipping all over the place.  I am completely fine with the winter, I love the cold.  The ice though... that damn ice....

Humping dogs and lizards

Fun overnight situation !  A little munchkin of a dog who is a total sweetie (plus likes to hump legs), plus a gerbil and a bearded dragon!  I love the involvement of rodents and reptiles - definitely don't get enough of them.  The pup loves to cuddle and actually let me sleep till 7:30 this morning! (Yay!)  Although I do love their company, I miss my house!  This holiday season has been so busy I have barely been home :/

Flood!!

What seems like a simple cat job......is a crazy flooding nightmare!
There are 2 awesome cats that I am watching

Sweet cat kids, food/meds/litter - easy enough.  I was told to watch for flooding in the basement.  It rained, it threw towels down, ta da.  But then, Terry and I heard dripping water.  It was the sound of water dripping into water.  We followed it and found the culprit. The washing machine was dripping water into the basin even though the valves were shut off.  It was almost overflowing.  Awesome.  There is no drain or utility sink, so I had to bring buckets of water up to the kitchen to lower the water level enough to put the washer on the spin cycle so that it would drain.  The next visit it filled up again.  I kept going back to check, it kept filling up.  The client is unreachable by phone, but I sent an email and left a voicemail. Rather than flooding her house, I had a plumber come over on Monday to take a look at it.  He fixed it for now (hero!) but the whole situation was a pain.  I am not only pet sitting, I am house sitting.  If it were me, I would want it fixed, so that was what I did.  It pays to have many contacts in your arsenal :)

Pepper

I am in love with a cat.  It is a new client - and this cat is such a love bug I can't handle it.  She is so pliable and sweet and purry.... plus she is a Rex, which makes her even more amazing!  Got lots of love today, which I needed :)

Christmas

Christmas Eve day!!!  Whoa!  Who knew what a crazy day it would be??
Terry and I started rounds at 7:30 am - our Round 1 was 19 visits.  Things were going pretty smooth... until we got to an apartment and I couldn't find the key on my gigantic key ring!  I had the key yesterday, and it just disappeared.  The only one out of 30+ keys!  Luckily the client lives over a corner store and they are his landlords, so I run in there to see if they have a spare.  They don't, but they said they would get in touch with the landlord.  I gave them my card and told them to call me.  We re-traced out steps and then went back to my house to double check that it wasn't here.  While at home sitting amongst a pile of keys (feverishly looking for this one specific set), my phone rings with a new client asking me to start tomorrow to watch a cat.  He told he that I am already watching a cat in his building.  (Convenient!) I ask what his address and he says 423, but in my crazed brain I hear 403 which is the building that I need to get into.  What a coincidence!  So I ask him if he can get a hold of the landlord, he does and calls me back.  Says the landlord will call me.  I told him that I would meet him once I got this key fiasco over with.

Phone rings again - another new client.  The girlfriend is in California and the boyfriend was leaving in 2 hours to go to Virginia.  Their dog sitter was M.I.A.  I said that I would go to meet him after the key fiasco, and then the other new client meeting.  I hang up with him, and the corner store calls!  They tell me that they have keys for me. YAY!  We rush over there, and they cut keys in the back of the store for me! Who knew?? $4, worth every penny.  We go upstairs to feed the cats while breathing many sighs of relief and feed those kids.

This was the enthused look I got after running upstairs!


So at this point, I am still thinking that the new client is in this same building.  I call him and he says he will come to the door.  I don't see or hear him.  It then dawns on me that I am over tired and stressed and he is in a completely different building.  F*&^(&!!!    So we head on over there, meet him and his cat, etc.  All goes well.  We then rush to meet the new dogs so that this guy can make his train to Virginia.  Sweet, amazing dogs - love them!  I have last minute clients, but never 2 last minute clients on the same day that they are leaving on a major holiday, plus a key loss!  In the 12 years that I have been pet sitting, this is the 3rd time I have lost a key.  Still have no idea how or where the others went.  I'd say that is pretty decent.

After 19 visits, I came home to lay down, entered a deep sleep for 2 hours and then had to wake up to begin round 2.  Oh holidays.... I want to rip my hair out :)

The downside of owning your own business.  Utility Companies.  PECO has been trying to come to my house to change out my meter for months.  Well, I don't have 5 hours to spare EVER, so I have been avoiding them.  They call, they leave stuff on my door, they send letters, and I literally couldn't be here to wait for them.  Well, then they decided to royally screw me and send me a letter stating that they will shut off my service on December 20th if I don't have them come in to change the meter.  AWESOME!  Way to treat your customers who pay their bills on time every month for the past decade.  So, I had to give in and set up an appointment.  They said that they would be here today between 7am and 12pm.  I am having to get Terry to cover morning walks, and possibly lunch walks...  I cannot sit here and do nothing!!  I'm losing money, I'm restless, and I need to get out of this house to do my job!  With my schedule, 5 hours at any time just doesn't work.  So I wait.... and wait.....
Hopefully the litterbox smell in the basement will get the Peco guy to hurry up and leave when he gets here.

It's already been a snowy and icy winter, and it's only mid December!  These dogs are not having it, especially with the sleet.
Fluffy, fast falling snow:  Good
Thick cold sleet/slush : Bad

These dogs want to just stay in their sweaters and curl up on the couch.  Except for Bailey.
Here is some of this years winter wear

Why don't people listen??  I am a considerate person who likes to put out a warning, yet people are idiots!  I will explain.  On Friday I went to walk Cali, a very quirky big dog.  She and I are best buddies, I get kisses galore.  She does not like everyone, or every situation.
Actually, her list of dislikes include:
Skateboards
Walkers/Canes
Homeless people
Some black people
Men with long hair (especially those who smell of cigarettes)
Other Dogs
Shady People on the street

When I arrived at her house, there was a man fixing the lock on the courtyard gate.  I told him that I would be bringing a dog through and would probably need him  to move.  He just nodded and ignored me.  I went in to get the pup and we head through the courtyard to the gate.  I get about 10-15 ft away and yelled to him that I have her and asked if he would  mind walking out of the gate until we pass.  The conversation went something like this:

Me:  Hello!  I have the dog, would you mind walking out of the gate so that we can pass?  She isn't so great with strangers?

Fix It Guy:  Oh she's fine!

Me: No, really, she isn't good with new people.  I don't trust her.

Fix it Guy: She's fine!  I'm part dog!  Don't worry, look!  She is wagging her tail!

Me:  Yes, I see that, but really... I don't fully trust her.  She doesn't know you and can be weird with men.

Fix It Guy:  Just come through, it'll be fine!  (as he gets on the inside of the gate and rolls himself back into a bush, basically he looks as if he is in a jail cell )

So I say, ok, and start to walk towards him.  Cali proceeds to bark, growl, and lunge at him.  He gets all up in arms saying, "Whoa!  You weren't kidding! You got her?!"

Of course I have her!!!  I told you to move!!! I told you that I didn't trust her!!  Then he starts asking if she is like this is with me.  Of course not!  That's why I am one of her walkers!  UGh!  The stupidity!  Moral of the story is, if someone tells you to move out of the way of their dog - DO IT!

Innocent face :)  Love this girl

Loving her kong

I've been hanging out with these Birds on and off.... trying to get them to accept me as a buddy so that their mom can feel comfortable with me caring for them.  With birds that are so bonded to their owner, it's tough!  Breakthrough this past Monday!  I got a voluntary shoulder perch! (Huge deal!)

Philly Marathon: Great concept, Horrible travel.

Everywhere I had to go, there were runners.  I get super choked up and emotional watching a marathon (don't know why) so I try not to stand around being a spectator.  I had to cross South St. to medicate a dog and there were literally thousands of runners, PLUS I had a backpack.  I wasn't planning on crossing paths with this event, and I didn't want to be the jackass with a backpack running through the runners with cops everywhere, so I waited.  And I waited... and then I got impatient and told a cop that I had a backpack, I needed to cross and I was going to find a hole to get through.  He seemed to not give a crap, so I found my opening (much like double dutch) and ran through the runners while simultaneously apologizing for doing so.
Stress!!

I can't believe I have been so busy since that my last blog was in August!  Apologies to those who actually follow me :)  I will try to keep up and be more attentive.

A few weeks ago I got a request for grooming.  Now, I am NOT a groomer.  I will shave my own cats (badly), but nothing for money.  Sure a can give a decent bath... who couldn't?  But I hate to ok myself doing services that I do not excel in.  I told the owner that I could do a bath and a mediocre butt shave at best for her 2 little papillons.  How bad could it be?  They equal approximately 8 lbs of dog between the 2 of them.  I took them over to my house and looked over my products.  Since I had no dog shampoo, I decided on Kiehls Amino Acid shampoo and Burts Bees Mango Conditioner (both excellent products)

We did a quick butt shave and into the tub they went.

They were so good!  They just sat there and took it!  Not a peep from wither one of them.  We bathed, we brushed, they got a good blow dry (it WAS freezing out) and then we walked back.  Total troopers, happy mommy, happy dogs :)  I will not add grooming to my repertoire, but small things like this can definitely work!

Post bath hugs - I was exhausted!

The finished product

So a few months ago I was going an overnight at a house with many books on the coffee table.  I was having trouble sleeping, so I started reading one about Haunted Philadelphia.  As I am flipping through the pictures, I see a clients apartment!  I read further, texted her immediately, and she said she was going to investigate.

The story that I got from her was this : It is haunted by a female ghost. Her name was Cloris & she was an 18 yr old dancer so feel in love with one of Joseph Bonaparte 's men.  She went a little nutso on him & followed him into a boat.  They caught her & threw her in the stable which is now our gated garden.  She tried to escape & they shot her in the back in the alley way where the trash cans are.

There were some suspicious pictures taken by her fireplace of the cats that I will have to get from Terry.  Have I seen shadows? Yes.  Did I feel uneasy? No.  Just interesting that my clients apartment is sorta famous :)