My Friend, the Babysitter

May 27, 2009 -

I must admit I got myself into a swirl of traveling last week and part of this week so neglected my entry last Friday. I've been on six flights and visited three cities in two states. During that time, one thing that was a relief was to know that the puppies and Rosso were well cared for.

I've always been lucky that I have close friends in my life that love dogs. Even still, it's so hard to figure out what to do with my dog (or, as is the case this time: dogs with the puppies being around) when I'm going to be away from home. I'm always weighing out whether it'll be too much to ask of my friends, too long to leave my dog, whether he'll get into mischief, etc. I always feel guilty asking someone to watch him.

I know there are a lot of options when considering/having to leave your pets at home when you're traveling. Just a quick search around the good ol' Internet yields many tips and articles about using pet sitters and boarding your pet. But honestly, with money the way it is for me lately, it's hard to be able to do that

One idea I found interesting is the Pet Watch Club, an online community that organizes pet parents to create a network of pet babysitters. Without joining, you can do a search of people within your zip code that are in the network. (You have to join to be able to contact anyone.) A quick clackity-clack on my keyboard and I found several right in my area, more than I bothered to count. Kinda neat, though I'm not sure how quickly I'd trust someone online. However, I know that once you're in an online community for a while you build bonds and friendships with people, sometimes transcending to real life. Some of the most important people in my life I met online. 

Which got me thinking about my own friends and colleagues. Most of us have pets, so it would be easy to create a sharing program where we watch each other's pets. Spreading the "joy" of watching Rosso to more than just one person any time I go out of town appeals to me, as does putting in my time by watching my friends pets, in turn (and then I'd feel less guilty about asking in the first place!)

Maybe I'll try it out soon! I'm going on a quick puppy delivery trip in a week or so!!

~Shana