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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Sunday, October 26, 2008 - 8:17 am
Aww, thanks MB, Eggie and Nic. No angel, for sure. My adrenaline kicked in and did the job. Nic, I forgot to add that the first thing I did after taking care of Jack was to keep the dogs in and plug up every side with logs from their woodpile. (So it wasn't just that one hole; it was all the sides. Remember I said that Buttercup was cutting in and out under that shed? It could just as easily been her stuck that day, I guess. I cut my arms all up cuz I was in a hurry to get that done so I had time to attend to everything else. But I did do a good, solid job. I had logs laying across and then others jutting up vertically (as supports) all the way across so I COULD let them out again to pee without worrying. That was one of the first things I told the husband, too: that he didn't have to rush right out and attend to it because I thought it would hold short-term. Gah. I'm tired just remembering about that day!!
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Vacanick
Member
07-12-2004
| Sunday, October 26, 2008 - 10:12 am
Wow HP ... what lucky dogs they are to have you looking out for their interests! 
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Sunday, November 02, 2008 - 7:23 am
Ha, Nic. Never sure about that. I got 2 lovely notes from the owner, though. In her last one, she said her 3 dogs were lined up at the door every morning, as if waiting for something. And then she figured out it was me they were waiting for! She told me I truly was a pet nanny! That made me feel so good. Some pics and stories about my newer clients:
Bentley, a 2-year old cocker spaniel that's a hoot. He and his owner (a nurse who works the night shift) live on the 3rd floor of an apartment building with an elevator. I walk this dog at 9:30 at night (in the well-lit doggie walk area) and from the moment I bring out his leash, he is ready. He dashes to the nearby elevator, paws at the door til it opens (I know, I hold him back) and then scoots inside before the door is fully open. Once inside, he paws at the door constantly until it stops, scooting out again once there's a big enough opening to get his pudgy body out. He walks on the leash nicely, though. Loves to play fetch and tug of war, loves to have his tummy rubbed, and is just a thoroughly enjoyable dog.
Button, a friendly, 6-year old female collie and her "sister," Terri--a mixed terrier who is 12+ years of age. I didn't have the pleasure of caring for these two as I awarded this job to the sitter whose schedule matched the client's needs. Very nice, caring owners. Got a nice email back about our service and my sitter just this morning! They recommended us to their next door neighbor. So I passed that along to my sitter and I'm smiling.
This is Josh, a 13 1/2-year old yellow lab, who, unfortunately, is going through some hard stuff. He has pharyngeal paralysis (not due to debarking, btw) and hind-end paresis. The first means that when he barks, the sound is muted and husky--and it is dangerous, in that when he barks (which is constantly) or gets excited or exercises (meaning walking out to the backyard), his oxygen flow is sharply curtailed. It can result in fainting and death. The second condition means that his hind legs are partially paralyzed. So he doesn't have good traction, doesn't walk well, and can fall down easily--esp down steps. The third thing that is going on is that his owner (the husband) died 5 years earlier. At the time prior to his death, the dog sensed what was going on and started drooling constantly. He still does that, but not as much. Now, the other member of the family (the wife) is in the hospital. So the effects of the turmoil are showing up in him and the other pet in the house, his "brother, a younger lab. He is turning his nose up at most food, is having bouts of diarrhea and is vomiting. (The daughter, who came to stay with the animals--and is there mornings and evenings--has been taking him to the vet for continued monitoring. Just started him on imodium and some antibiotic yesterday when the ultrasound came back showing nothing.
This is Josh's brother, Corey, a 7-year-old black lab is the widow's dog (while Josh was husband's dog, essentially). I've been working hard at getting Corey to play. He is just seems so controlled and spiritless. I finally got him to play all around the house just yesterday, when I got on my hands and knees and chased down a stuffed toy (squirrel) while throwing it from area to area in a circular path through the downstairs rooms. He was actually having fun! It was so good to see.
 And this is Minnie, a wonderful, 3-year-old rescued calico cat in that same family who plays and snuggles with Corey. I love this cat, too. Very friendly! She is an escape artist, though, so I have to be careful when I open and close doors. If she gets in the basement, she will hide in the ceiling tiles and is terrible to capture. (Luckily, that hasn't happened to me--but the daughter wasn't so lucky. She had that to deal with--plus cleanup from Josh's sudden overnight sudden bathroom and vomiting issues. I brought over my SpotBot and cleaned up all the stains for her.) I was solicited for the above job by the three daughters of the hospitalized woman. They evidently found me on the net via Google. Two of the women are on the east coast and one is out west. Had to supply names of my clients who were willing to answer some questions from the women about me and my care. Five out of five of my clients who I asked aid yes, they would do that. And I got the job. I've been there twice a day since. Not sure when this job will end. There are more! But I have to dry my hair and get ready to go see Josh, Corey and Minnie. Then I have another consult tonight.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Sunday, November 02, 2008 - 7:29 am
HP, thanks for the continued updates. What heartwarming stories in a heartwarming success story. Really, you should write a book!!
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Sunday, November 02, 2008 - 11:31 am
They are all adorable, but oooh I luv Bentley! I am a total sucker for Spaniels. If I were a doggie person and not a kitty person, I'd definitely have a Spaniel. They are, IMHO, as cuddly as kitties! (When I was a teenager, in the good foster home, they had Bonnie, a black water-spaniel and I took her for walks, etc. That's when I developed my fondness for Spaniels.) Thanks for sharing your wonderful stories... I think we've got the new James Herriot in our midst... Jane Herriot? 
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Hukdonreality
Member
09-29-2003
| Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 3:57 pm
What, no folder?!? But, but, but...it's your Birthday Herck! Hope you're having a great day!

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Debra
Member
11-20-2003
| Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 4:29 pm

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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - 8:13 pm
Happy Belated B'day HP, I hope all your wishes and dreams come true!
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Saturday, November 15, 2008 - 5:58 am
Aww, thanks, Hukky, Debra and MB! I worked on my birthday (part of a 5-day overnight job), but have this weekend pretty much free. Ed got me flowers and a million cards (one featuring a photo of a dog that looked so much like Hercky . . . ) and we SPLIT a whole bottle of champagne last night. Oof! Today I am an early riser because I have an interview with another sitter. I have already met her and am sure she will be a great addition (a grad student who is only here til January but will be a big help thru the holidays. My clientelle has grown again and I am so busy I can barely breathe! I am saddened to report that Josh, the yellow lab in the photos above, is gone. The owners put him down last Saturday as his health had just deteriorated so much. I think it was a wise decision. I wish I could have said goodbye to him first, but . . . I am still going there to take care of the black lab, Corey--and give some attention to Minnie, the cat. Such a heaviness in the atmosphere; I am doing my best to keep Corey smiling and playing, and I think I am doing a pretty good job. (I gave him a raspberry on his belly the other day and it must have been his first ever. I swear he laughed!) So of course, I kept it up and we were prancing and dancing all over the house in play. He kisses me constantly--with this little nip of his teeth in play, so I have little hickeys on me here and there. And Minnie came up and laid with us when I was laying beside Corey giving him a nice massage. Just wish I had a picture of that. We're having Thanksgiving on the 23rd because I am so busy on Thanksgiving Day with visits I felt I couldn't turn down. Some new pics of doggies who are The Pet Nanny clients;
Avy (pronounced with a short a sound), a 6-year-old, 25-pound cocker spaniel-poodle mix owned by a single (very cute--looks a lot like Brendan Fraser in Encino Man) guy (with a great job) who just broke up with his girlfriend. I am introducing our newest sitter to Avy and the owner tomorrow as his regular sitter and 2 backups (me included) are booked for the time he wants coverage. And my new sitter is a knockout--so who knows?! You can't greet Avy when you first walk in or she will pee everywhere. And she won't eat out of a bowl! (She eats her dry-only food on a placemat instead.) Another sitter walks this dog regularly (not me), and I understand she is a dollbaby.
 Sarah, a monster of a lab mix, but still a puppy at age 2. She's a big girl (70 lb of all muscle) who is loving and sweet but doesn't know her own strength--or manners of any kind. (The owner just adopted her.) Another sitter visits her 3 x a week and is attempting to teach her to walk properly while on a leash.
Francie, a shy, 10-year-old doxie-beagle mix who is a recent New York transplant. She is temporarily going back and forth between husband and wife until the husband joins his wife--who came here to accept a nursing position. The poor doggie hides from the sitter when she arrives. But I will get the chance to walk Francie starting next week as that sitter is going away for the rest of the month(!!)--just when I need her (hence, the new hire). So I will try to be very sensitive--and hopefully draw her out a little. This job is 1 minute away from my home--in an apartment complex right around the bend from my development! More pix and stories to come! Gotta run!}
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Saturday, November 15, 2008 - 12:51 pm
I somehow missed the Nov. 2 posting, so I am just catching up here.
quote:I finally got him to play all around the house just yesterday, when I got on my hands and knees and chased down a stuffed toy (squirrel) while throwing it from area to area in a circular path through the downstairs rooms. He was actually having fun! It was so good to see.
Oh, HP, you were born for this job. How old are you? (you don't have to answer that; you are two months younger than Bigdog) I can just see you on your hands and knees going after a stuffed squirrel in the hallway to get the dog to play. Hahahahaha!!! Betcha HinkyPinky is laughing his ass off too.
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Sunday, November 16, 2008 - 2:18 pm
This the the 'heartwarmingest' thread EVER!   
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - 5:03 am
Blush, Juju. (Beaming inside, though.) I wrote on Corey's Report Card (the black lab Juju mentioned) that I had given him raspberries on his belly and that I had "pretended to eat him up." I got a call from the daughter asking me if I had fed him raspberries! And did I really eat them off of the dog. LMAO! (Uh, she's a cat person, not a dog person, so I guess she knows not the way of playing with a dog--says YodaDale. MB, More new pets:
Elvis, (in the shirt) a 5-year-old male Silky Terrier. And Zoe, a wild 6-month-old female Vizsla. She is hyper and still needs to be crated when people are absent from the home. Btw, I would NEVER get a Vizsla based on what I saw of this one, though she is a beauty. They need TONS of exercise to be calm, and this one evidently doesn't get enough. Just totally out-of-control-wild, even if lovable.
Bailey
Barney These two are 9-year-old beagle mixes who are litter mates, believe it or not. That Bailey (a female) is a real sweetie but pretty shy. Barney (male) is a "sensible" dog and easier to approach. He has diabetes so gets insulin shots twice a day--and takes them like a trooper. Still more to come, including a Westie and a greyhound.
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Skootz
Member
07-23-2003
| Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - 6:18 am
omg, look at Bailey's eyes, he just sucks you right in. lol Love reading all about your clients HP, thanks.
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Vacanick
Member
07-12-2004
| Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - 6:39 am
HP I love reading about your new clients!! I'm so glad your business is doing so well .. what a perfect match! <3 Btw .. I grew up with Westies. I'm curious how you find their temperment.

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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - 8:57 am
Love your check-ins, HP!! You are so good to those babies.
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Monday, December 01, 2008 - 2:11 pm
Wow. In the middle of posting and lost everything--screen went blank. Not sure if it was a TVCH hiccup or a Comcast one! ANYWAY . . . My latest and most challenging client: Morgan, a 10-year-old male (rescued) greyhound. He was lovely at the consult (with the owners; the primary sitter, Heather; and with me)--though noticeably shy. We did a practice walk together so they could show us his routine, and Morgan did let us walk him without an issue (Heather and I took turns). Course the owners were present. Heather had to do the initial morning walk; I would do that night's overnight, and then she was set to do the remaining 3 overnights. When Heather got to the client's home early in the morning for that first visit, she walked in and encountered this:
She called me from work after trying and trying to get him to calm down and get on his collar and leash--leaving me a message that she'd had a "bad experience." !!! I called her back as soon as I heard the message and she told me about him snarling and growling and barking at her--not letting her anywhere near him. I told her I was glad she was okay. (She said she wasn't scared, just shocked by the turnabout in behavior). I got dressed and went right over. Found the same thing (that's when I took this shot to show the owner) but DID manage to get him collared, leashed, and out--and on a walk that had the right results, if you follow. (My secret? Leftover turkey from our early Thanksgiving dinner!) Yup, I used bribery! But he was just as ticklish with me. In fact, when I went to pet him, he bit my hand. But he DID try to give me warning, and he didn't break the skin. I was intelligently leery, but not actually scared--because he was shaking like a leaf. Literally. So I knew he was just scared out of his mind by his change in routine. I had the overnight that night. We did get along as long as I left him alone (just like a cat!) I tried food to win him over: a JumbBone:
I let him gobble down little hunks of turkey as I leashed him. So we did get our 2 evening walks done. Here he is with his bedtime buddy:
And here he is in his owner's bed. He let me sit on the bed, but not touch him. See how he is trying to pretend I don't exist?
Below, you can see when he came in to the computer room when he heard my spoon clinking against my cereal bowl! (Yes, I let him lap up the milk in the bottom.)
And here's Morgan in his downstairs lair, getting ready to fire off warning barks:
Now Heather worked on him, and little by little, she won him over--enough so that by the last overnight, he was sleeping on her bed (came to her on his own!) and was letting her pet him wherever she wanted. (He'd been leery of any touching of his head or neck areas previously.) So that was amazing progress. And the owners, though shocked to learn he was so desperately frightened (and frightening) have hired The Pet Nanny (and have asked for Heather) to come once a week and walk him, so the NEXT time they go away, there will be less drama and trauma! Yay!! I told Heather I thought she'd done an outstanding job. And the owners left her a NICE TIP!! (Which she gets 100% of; I don't touch tips.)
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Monday, December 01, 2008 - 2:18 pm
WOW!! What a great story. I love dogs, but I think I would have been way too freaked out to try if a dog bared his teeth at me like that!! Good for you and for Heather!! And it is a great idea for the owners to hire to walk him once a week!! Is your business thriving as much as one would think by reading this thread???
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Monday, December 01, 2008 - 8:02 pm
Dang, HP, I don't think I would be able to get him calmed down either. Kudos to you and Heather. That sure was a scary pic. The poor little scaredy-cat.
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Sunday, December 14, 2008 - 8:30 am
Just finished 7 days of mid-day AND overnight visits for Jack, Buttercup and Roxie. (See back a page or so--Jack was the doggie who got stuck under the shed, if you recall). The owners went on a cruise with all their (grown) children and spouses. This time there were no surprises or shocks. The doggies and I had a lovely, lovely time together--even though I'd put my back out the night before the visits were to start. Ack! Each morning was tough getting out of bed, but then my flexibility returned, with just a bit of anxiety about moves that taxed what felt like a pinched nerve in my butt--but the pain extended downward to my feet and upward to my spine. (Happened after I cleared leaves in preparation for putting up Christmas decorations outside.) The surprise of the visit was that Roxie joined Buttercup, Jack and me in bed on the last night! (That's a first-the owners were shocked.) She looked so left out that night (has a bed beside the guest bed), that I helped her up. And yes, she wanted to be there with us. She stayed put 3/4 of the way through the night, when she eventually got hot and wanted down. I am so booked this month, it is unbelievable. I now have 37 customers and most of them have become steady customers (not just holiday jobs), which is amazing to me! More pix when I return from a consult and sitting job with 3 cats. I spent a week with this crew back in mid-November and will see them again for an overnight on Christmas Eve:
Chase, a 10-month old Airedale. Sweet doggie who loves to fetch.
The owner (face obscured by me) was recovering from a knee replacement. I took care of her doggies while she recuperated. That's Max, her 13-year-old lab, and Gracie curled up nearby (2 year old female welsh terrier) and Rudy (her litter mate, a male) near her pillow. (Chance was elsewhere, but he sleeps with her, too.)
Gracie love.
Rudy peeping.
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Twinkie
Member
09-24-2002
| Sunday, December 14, 2008 - 9:22 am
HP, I love hearing about your doggie tales and seeing the pics! So interesting! You and Heather did a great job with that poor scared pup!
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Sunday, December 14, 2008 - 9:37 am
Hp you are amazing!!
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Sunday, December 14, 2008 - 9:40 am
Yay, another HP update!!! I love seeing the pictures of all the lovely little rascals and knowing our very own Pet Nanny is loving them up while the owners are away. You go, HP!!!
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Citruscitygal
Member
08-07-2003
| Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 12:44 am
Missing the latest news and pet pics. Hope your holidays were happy!

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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - 8:49 pm
We're moving. And that means losing the business I've been building so lovingly here. As of last Friday, after 2 years without real employment, my husband accepted a job offered by the federal government--in D.C.--and right across from the White House, of all things. All that's left is the security check (read "credit check") before it's official--and tttt, that could be cause for him not getting it. [We had perfect credit until a year ago . . . now we owe too much money.] But we've been assured it will be okay. We'll see. It's doing what he knows (real estate--and don't ask me why they need a real estate person, but they do) with the VA and they want him there right away. It looks like we'll be moving Feb 14. Because it is a part-time job (4 days a week) for the first 3 months, things will be tight. Then it will become full-time. You can imagine what this feels like to me. But the reality is, though my business has been growing by leaps and bounds, it brought in nothing even close to what we needed to pay all our bills. So I'm being the adult and not kicking and screaming--on the outside, anyway. I may or may not start all over again in D.C. (We will probably move to nearby MD, btw. Ed has already been there to scope out some possible places to live.) He tells me I need to get a "real" job so we can pay our bills. Sigh. Each month, the business did better and better . . . and I was able to keep adding sitters. So I was projecting in my head that a year from now, the income would be solid and helpful. But . . . One happier part of this is that all my work will not be for nothing. One of my sitters wants to buy my business. We will be meeting this week to discuss her offer. I'll share some of my latest stories and photos in a bit . . .
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Vacanick
Member
07-12-2004
| Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - 9:09 pm
HP ... I was just thinking of you this morning and here you are! Congratulations on Ed's new job .. how exciting to be working in Washington DC right across from the White House. Please say 'Hi' to Robby from us! It is sad about your business but what an adventure you've had. And what a wonderful experience for both you & your clients. You had a dream and you went after it. You should be so proud of yourself. Keep us posted!

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