By Polly Keary, Editor
Vacation season is here, and for pet owners, travel plans can present a dilemma.
Sometimes it's not practical to take pets on long trips, and some pets, such as fish or birds, are strictly stay-at-home animals.
Some animals can go to boarders, and there are several quality boarders in the Monroe and Sky Valley area.
But for animals that can't be moved, or are most comfortable at home, Stephanie Phelps of Monroe offers a service that many other pet sitters don't; she'll move in with your pets while you are gone.
"A lot of people don't do overnights, but I do," she said. "My kids are grown, so I can stay at people's houses when they go on vacation."
Phelps got her start while working at a local veterinary office, where she noticed many clients asking for referrals to a pet sitter.
"I started doing it because I'm a crazy animal person," she said.
Now most of her clients are themselves veterinarians, she said.
The longest she has stayed at a pet owner's home was three weeks, and she often stays several days at a time.
At $60 per night, her services can add up to a small fraction of the overall cost of a European vacation or a long trip to Hawaii.
But some people just need a little help caring for their pets during the work day.
So Phelps also will drop by to visit a pet, feed it, give it medicine or take it for a walk. Those visits are $25.
Phelps takes pride in the fact that, in all her years of looking after pets, she has never lost one.
"I'm so paranoid," she said.
And once, she even got a client's pets through a disastrous winter week in which a tree fell on the house, the rivers flooded, the pipes burst in the house and the gas ran out.
And no matter how many pets you have, Phelps can probably handle them; one client has 20 animals including goats, chickens and a horse.
"I love animals," she said. "I love taking care of pets."
To reach Stephanie Phelps, call (425) 314-8593.
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