treating my animal allergies through exposure

I have a confession to make.

It's not something I advertise or want my clients to know. In fact, I go to great length to hide this fact from new clients, especially:

I am a professional pet sitter and pet blogger who is allergic to animals.

Huh?

Yes, you heard me correctly. 

This fact that I have not revealed publicly came to mind recently because I had a consult with a lovely, yet exuberant, English Bulldog who I was pretty darn allergic to. She basically wanted to make out, and, of course, I wanted to, too! I did pet her lots, which I intend to do during each and every visit, but I had to do my best to hide my "disease" to her human parents. During our discussion of the ins-and-outs of this pooch's routine, I fought back the sneezes. As soon as I sneeze once, it's all over. Best to keep it under wraps, if possible. I let my eyes water a bit, instead. I feel like if my allergy is apparent during a consult (when it is likely at its worst), my new clients might feel I'm less than capable or feel insulted that I think their animal is "dirty," neither of which is the case. 

When I left the consult, the insides of my arms were welted up from the cuddles and my cheek was red from kisses. Sigh.

Does this stop me? No way! I am madly in love with this dog already. She'll get kisses and pets from me no matter what. It's part of the job. And, besides, I love it.

The good news? The more I pet and kiss her, the better things will be. My method of treating this allergy is to build up a natural tolerance. I do not take medication. I am lucky because my allergy to animals does not affect my breathing. Those who have trouble breathing around animals should not use this method. 

treating my animal allergies through exposure

This is my inside forearm a couple of hours after my consult.

My allergy is primarily a contact allergy, accompanied by sneezing. That means that my skin welts up and itches in areas where I've had contact with the animal's fur or saliva. You can tell when I've been "making out" with an animal because I come home with a fat lip and itchy arms. The worst is when I accidentally rub my eyes after petting an animal. Itchy, puffy eyes result, and the symptoms take hours to subside.

Instead of popping pills or taking injections, I treat my allergy by increasing my contact with these animals and building up a tolerance. I know...sounds crazy. It's a bit uncomfortable at first, but, in the long run, it's effective! I am not at all allergic to my own pets or those I see on a regular basis. I have lots of contact with them, and my immune system has built up a tolerance.

I am most allergic to dogs, cats, small caged animals, horses, and goats. I am also highly allergic to hay, so any animal who eats hay is a double-whammy (horses, guinea pigs, etc.). Brand-new clients definitely have a break-in period for me. I just love on them as much as possible, and after a few visits, things get better. My body fights off the allergen. I also notice that certain dog breeds cause a more severe allergic reaction in me than others. Contrary to popular belief, it's not about fur length. It's about dander and saliva. Frequent grooming helps, but only a little.

The toughest breeds for me are labs and retrievers because their skin typically carries a lot of dander, even when groomed well. Bulldogs and pugs, and other flat-faced breeds are also tough because they typically rub and project saliva on to those around them. Do I love these breeds any less? ABSOLUTELY NOT! In fact, they are some of my favorites!

Thankfully, I am not allergic to fish, reptiles, or birds. 

So, yes, I'm a pet sitter and pet blogger who is allergic to pets, and I treat my symptoms naturally, if unconventionally. Please don't hold it against me. 

honey, i'm home: communicating your arrival to your pet sitter

Call me overbearing. Call me neurotic. 

As a professional pet sitter, my motto is "expect the best, but prepare for the worst," so I ask my clients to let me know when they are home safely. 

Why do I care?

Imagine they don't return home safely, and I don't know it. Though it's never happened in my entire pet sitting career, imagine it did....I made my last visit for the "Smith Family Pets" at noon on Saturday because they are scheduled to return at 4:00 p.m. But they don't. Could they be...

• held up camping and out of cell phone range

• at the airport with drained cell phones, no charger, and a cancelled flight

• something worse, which I won't mention

What would happen to the pets who'd been in my care if their family hadn't arrived home as scheduled and could not communicate that information to me? Who cares about pooping on the floor at this point? What about dehydration or starvation?

So how do I solve this problem? I ask my clients to give me a call or text or email when they have arrived home safely. Even if it's 2:00 a.m....just let me know. I'll see the text and go right back to sleep, and I'll probably sleep easier knowing the animals are taken care of.

Most of the time, if my clients are delayed, they let me know. I'm able to extend their visits, and all is well. 

In order to ensure they let me know about their arrival home, I let them know during our initial consult that I expect a "safe arrival" message upon their return, and it's all spelled out in my terms and conditions. I also leave my clients treats and a note letting them know how things went. That note always includes a little reminder: "please let me know when you arrive home safely." If I don't hear from them when expected, they will get a call from me, and if I don't hear back from them in a reasonable amount of time, I will then make a visit to the pets to make sure all is well. I've done this a couple of times, only to find out that all was well and the clients had simply forgotten to call. Thank goodness. 

I find that my clients really appreciate this feature of our service. It may seem silly and unnecessary at first, but once they think of what might happen if this precaution was not set in place, they immediately get on board and thank me for my insightful ways. 

Insightful and caring? Thanks! Those closest to me call me a worry wart. I'll take insightful and caring any day. 

wordless wednesday: new friends

wordless wednesday: gorgeous gypsy

in case of fire, save our dog #giveaway

As a professional pet sitter, I go in and out of homes every day. Many of those homes have stickers in the window that say "in case of fire, save our pets" or some such thing. I wanted to know how effective these stickers are, so I contacted my local fire department.

I spoke with a fire fighter who outlined his department's policies, which–he made very clear–vary from city to city. He explained to me that the number one priority of fire fighters is to save lives, both human and animal. However, human life has a higher value than animal life. In the case of a fire, the fire fighters on scene will risk their own lives for other savable lives, and, as individuals, they have to calculate the risk based on the specific circumstances. They will not risk their own lives to save property or unsavable lives (in a room that is completely engulfed and collapsing, for example). Though animals are not as high a priority as humans, they rank much higher than property. Odds are, most fire fighters would go in after your pet, provided the risk of losing their own (human) life was low. Our local fire fighter said "our policy is to risk a little to save a lot." That includes pets.

So where do the window stickers come in?

Apparently, they were all the rage in the not so distant past. Fire departments printed them and gave them out. Our local fire department no longer does this, and, chances are, yours doesn't either. "It's a program that doesn't exist any more," our local fire fighter explained.

So does that mean the stickers in our window are obsolete?

Absolutely not. Though most pets are saved because a pet owner who got out of the home tells the fire fighters on scene that their pet is inside, in a case where the pet owner is unable to speak, fire fighters usually pay attention to a sticker, if they see it on a window. They will try to rescue any pets they find, so long as the risk to their own lives is low. The stickers, when updated, can be helpful to them for determining which pets they are looking for.

But if most fire departments aren't providing the stickers any more, how do we get one?

Designer Laura Sly has a fantastic solution in her "save our dog" stickers ("save our cat" stickers are coming soon!). Not only are the stickers she designed functional and arresting, they look great! Even the most stylish home can feel good about sticking one of these in the front window.

Laura has generously offered to give away ten "save our dog" stickers to ten well minded readers. Please enter this important giveaway and help protect your pets in case of fire.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please contact your local fire department to discuss their policies on rescuing pets and window stickers and come back to tell us about it.