House Sitter in Calgary, Alberta

I’m flexible with rates, depending on your needs. Someone asking me to take care of 6 horses, 10 barn cats, and their sheep dog is going to pay more than someone who wants me to water their plants and flush their toilets! A person can assume why- ha! I’m VERY transparent, open to communicating these things, and we can meet over coffee as well to avoid miscommunications as I’m actually very personable and easy to get along with. I grew up on a farm in rural Alberta, and I've had animals my whole life. I've never not had a dog or a cat in the house, and usually we always had more than one. I spent most of my junior high school years walking dogs at the SPCA in my spare time, and then when I was able to drive I began house sitting and farm sitting for the locals in my town until I graduated high school and went to college. In 2019 I moved to Calgary, and after 2 months I realized how lonely I was without an animal here. I contacted one of the individuals who I used to house/pet sit for who also manages the SPCA from my home town and they actually let me choose a cat and gave it to me. He is my absolute best friend, and got me through a lot of tough times in my initial move here. I now have a pitbull terrier, Odin, and another cat, Callie, as well as of course my best boy Muss. We also care for my husbands sisters cats Dio (an Insulin dependant diabetic cat), and Nook. I have extensive experience caring for dogs and cats, and I have also fostered cats (and continue to foster) with AARCS in Calgary. I have amazing references if you would ever need piece of mind. I currently work in the Foothills ER and Childrens ER but have taken a step back from the busyness of my roles there due the advice of my doctors, but I need something to keep myself busy! I still work, but I have a lot more free time than I used to- since I don’t work 200 hours a month anymore. I have a fenced yard, and a generously sized fenced dog park next to my house that is always empty. A reliable 2021 jeep, clean drivers abstract, insurance, and registration. My criminal record check is clear (and on file with AHS, but I can always have a new one pulled, as well as a vulnerable sector) and I have extensive hands on first aid and cpr training and experience- not necessarily specific to animals, but knowledgable of same, and quick to think on my feet in a crisis. I am very easy to contact and I am trained in conflict management and prevention. I have a very calm demeanour and know how to deescalate a situation. I also have a pup of my own who is high energy, so I know what its like to be frustrated! I am an early riser so I get up and feed everyone, do medications (insulin for our household), and then do all of the toileting/exercise. We snuggle for a bit and relax and then figure out what kind of fun we will get into. Some days hold more adventure than others. Evenings are the same as mornings, and we snuggle up into bed early with the crew! I have some knowledge of farm equipment, although things have changed over the years, and some farmers (as we know) jimmy-rig their machines so I’ll probably need a brief how-to if you need to prep me to pull bales for you or push snow if you’re gone for an extended period of time. Otherwise I come with for the most part my own set of common sense that gets me by for the time being! (And a dad who’s always just a phone call away to answer any other silly questions I have).