Ashley C. Pet Care Provider in Clifton, NJ 07013

I have 5 years of experience in watching over the pets of family, friends, and professors. Being trusted with your pets safety and happiness is not a task I take lightly. I enjoy going above and beyond in my service, and will gladly adapt to your needs and schedule as best I can.

_Background_
When I was a child, my family adopted our first dog. She was incredibly special to me, and as I trained her, I developed a deep respect for how dogs interact with their human families. With the arrival of our second dog, I saw how my family's life evolved around the two. We quickly learned that we were not acquiring pets, but rather dynamic individuals with their own personalities. As such, companion animals deserve respect, patience, care, protection and understanding.

In high school, I was a boarding student, and I greatly missed my dogs. The professors also lived on campus and this meant their pets lived with them. I was their pet sitter for my four years there. I walked my dorm parent's Cavalier, my Spanish teacher's retired and rescued Greyhound racer, and I visited Haley, the elderly pitbull on campus, whenever her owner was away.

I was able to pet sit cats as well, knowing I would have to wait calmly and quietly for a while before they would let me give them some company. Each break from school, I worked and volunteered at an animal shelter, almost exclusively with cats. One year, I had the opportunity to foster and hand raise two 3-day old kittens. The male grew to be the most handsome cover of the shelter's adoption calendar that year (if I do say so myself.)

In the past I have had birds, lizards, reptiles, crustaceans and rodents. The scaly tails of rats make me smile, the claws on crabs fascinate me, and a squawking parrot is no problem for me as I'll likely talk back.