Meet The Sitters
Amy
With more than 20 years of personal experience in sitting for animals of friends and relatives, as well as five years professionally through various channels, Amy is a genuine caretaker with an Associate’s degree in psychology. Her degree enabled her to work with seniors doing hospice and Alzheimer’s care, as well as with children as an ABA therapist for kids with autism and Down’s syndrome. Additionally, she spent five years as an elementary school volunteer.
She has a teenage son and a nephew now in his 20s that she raised for a number of years, and prides herself on being a good mom who is reliable, personable, empathetic, and a good listener who treats all she meets with equal respect. She enjoys hanging out with family, watching movies, swimming, and barbecuing.
Amy has a particular affinity for dogs (she says “love seems like an understatement”), although she of course takes care of a wide variety of animals, including (so far!) dogs, cats, birds, fish, sugar gliders, hedgehogs, and turtles – but she does prefer to avoid spending time with mice.
The animals in her personal family, dating back to when Amy was 11 years old, once included her first dog, a Dalmatian named Apollo – who she calls “the BEST dog!”, and rescued former dogs, Bailey & Callie. She shares custody of rescued dogs Brucey & Penny and shares her home full-time with rescued dogs Piper, Baxter, and Dixie. She believes in animal rescue and would someday love to open an animal rescue of her own.
To stay current with her areas of interest, Amy reads animal-related articles and watches animal-related television programming, and additionally continues to read materials related to autism and Alzheimer’s. She is a strong believer in conducting business in an organized, courteous, and professional manner, and brings a calm energy into her encounters with the animals in her care.
Team Sitting – Paddy & Kaelyn
Team sitters Paddy and Kaelyn sometimes work together as a team and other times, depending on schedules, work separately. As a couple engaged to be married when the time is right, they live under the same roof with members of both their families of origin and with a plethora of animal family members as well. Always having people at home to take care of the animals and keep the home fires burning can be quite helpful when these two are on the job staying over at client homes and with client animals.
The companion animals at home include Finnegan, a young bulldog mix, and a Skittlez, a senior dachshund/Chihuahua mix who rules over her younger canine brother, but who also acts as his protector. To round out the animal crew are cats Oliver, Bagheera, and Skunk...plus the "army of strays" that Kaelyn takes care of in the neighborhood!
Paddy
Paddy is a nurturer whose passion for helping and protecting others has led him to care for both human and non-human beings. In addition to his work on our team, he teaches children with special needs, but on a flexible schedule, leaving him time to care for animals as well. He is pursuing a degree online, originally intending to use it for educating children, but now leaning more toward applying it to his interests in nursing, possibly in the psychiatric space.
Over the course of his lifetime, Paddy shared his home and family with various species of animals, including dogs and cats, but also rabbits, lizards, ferrets, snakes, and parrots. Along the way, he had to learn how to medicate and groom many of the animals in his life. In addition to the menagerie of animals in his family, while he was growing up, he also became a reliable go-to person for his friends to call when they needed someone to care for their companion animals during vacation absences.
Without a real preference between dogs and cats, Paddy finds resonance with both species. He does have a special affinity for mammals of all kinds and enjoys birds and snakes, but would prefer not to engage with lizards or spiders (he'll let Kaelyn handle that!).
Paddy is an avid walker, making a habit of walking over four miles daily, so walking clients' dogs is a natural fit for him. When he has a chance to relax, he enjoys unwinding by watching movies with Kaelyn or playing video games on his laptop. He enjoys music of all kinds and keeps his mind busy reading historical literature and psychiatric journals or listening to podcasts in the psychiatric or psychological realm.
With the recognition that we all face our own challenges, Paddy is a strong believer in granting others he encounters with grace and respect. He is loyal to those in his circles and is both direct and honest - even when it's to his detriment. He has a naturally patient temperament and isn't afraid to use humor to bring a smile to those around him. When it comes to non-human species, Paddy's philosophy is that there are no bad animals - just those who need proper training.
Kaelyn
Kaelyn is like a walking ray of sunshine. She has performed customer service in a wide variety of industries over the course of the past decade and cites her patience as one of her top people skills. Of course, that quality comes in especially handy when it comes to interacting with non-human animals as well. As an animal shelter volunteer during her high school years, helping animals find their forever homes, Kaelyn had the opportunity to flex those patience muscles with human and non-human animals in the same space!
Kaelyn's family has always had lots of animals, so she cannot recall any time in her life that did not include sharing her home with them. Besides dogs and cats, she has experience with snakes, turtles, rabbits, rats, and fish. She has a special love of cats but loves all kinds of critters, so will happily interact with them all. Her lifetime of experience sharing her home with animals has included giving medications, trimming her dogs' nails, and brushing her kitties - with some occasional doggy haircuts thrown in for good measure.
Lucky Finnegan and Skittlez get to enjoy evening walks around the neighborhood and through the local park, as both Kaelyn and Paddy like to walk with them. Kaelyn says she also enjoys occasionally taking them up north in the wintertime to walk and play in the snow.
She has taught her dogs some basic commands - sit, shake, wait, lie down - and Finnegan will balance a treat on his nose, waiting for her cue to toss it in the air and catch it in his mouth. Like Paddy, Kaelyn has also been called upon by friends and family to take care of their animals when they need help.
When she's not working and has a little bit of downtime, Kaelyn enjoys doing any kind of artistic activity - with a special love for drawing and painting. She loves to listen to a variety of musical genres and hang out with Paddy, watching television in the evenings or skateboarding with him during more active times. Taking care of those neighborhood stray cats is also a favorite activity for Kaelyn.
Kaelyn finds it important and personally gratifying to treat everyone she meets with the same kindness she would want them to extend to her and believes that if she is able to help someone who needs it, she is called to do so. She applies the same philosophy to human and non-human animals alike. Kaelyn is patient and empathetic, giving her all to those around her, and it makes her happy to make others happy.
New Sitter Biographies Coming Soon!
PLEASE NOTE: All sitters are fully vetted including full background checks for your safety and peace of mind.
Yes, we are insured!
