Busy, Busy - Memorial Day Weekend & Summer!!

I am not great at updating this Blog now that we have a Facebook Fan Page that is where you can find our posts and lots of our happy client photos. Please check out our fan page and Become a Fan - http://www.facebook.com/CindysPetSitting

Also please leave us a review on the review tab there, feel free to post photos, comments, whatever you like - it's your page too and we like to stay interactive with your clients!!

We hope to see you there, we are jammed packed for pet sitting over Memorial Day Weekend and staying really busy this summer with both pet sitting and live-in pet care jobs. Did you know we do live-ins? Your pet sitter will live out of your home for $100 a day and your fur-kids will get LOTS of attention, walks and love - people love it and it's a very popular service. We have 5 sitters that do this - Monica, Taylor, Colleen, Jill & Jess - so if your main sitter is not available there is always another choice, as soon as you know your vacation plans reserve us to get your normal sitter!

Have a great summer everyone, since it's already in the 90's this week, I have a feeling it's going to be a HOT one - please remember to give your pets fresh COLD water often and if they are staying outside for any length of time to put ice in their water and be sure there are shady spots for them to get out of the sun. You could get this neat contraption too to make a fresh water source for them outdoors - Outdoor Water Fountain.

Cindy Golden of

Cindy's Pet Sitting Services

www.CindytheSitter.com

919-605-5133

Keeping your Pets HAPPY at Home Since 2004

February Already.......

Time flies and I am bad at blogging I admit it - we have been busy caring for pets, walking your dogs and keeping everyone happy at home!

We closed out 2009 with a busy Christmas and starting 2010 with busy New Year.

We have picked up 2 new mid-day walk clients and also started caring for pets at Sunrise Senior Living, they are wonderful and have great pets and people living there!

My Mom has decided to come work with me so we have expanded our service area into NE Raleigh now - covering Hedingham, New Hope Rd, Trawick Rd, Skycrest, Buffaloe Rd up to Southall and 401 up to Spring Forest Rd so if you know anyone in those areas please refer them our way.

The SPCA Dog Walk is on Saturday 4/17 and we have formed a team again this year and looking forward to this great event!!

I hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day Weekend with the ones they love whether they be human or fur-kids.

We are getting busy for Spring Break so make your reservations today!

I am ready for warm weather myself, keep warm until then....

Cindy Golden

www.CindytheSitter.com

919-605-5133

Keeping Your Pets Happy at Home in Raleigh, NC since 2004!

Holidays are HERE!

Wow, I can't believe it's Thanksgiving week and Christmas is less than 6 weeks away now and it will be 2010 before you know it. Time just flies by.

Here are some great Holiday Tips for Pets - I hope you have a wonderful Holiday season, we are very busy pet sitting and taking care of all of your furry friends, this is a busy time of year for us, but we love it!!!!

Make your Christmas and New Year's Reservations today if you know your out of town plans, we are booking up fast!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Cindy Golden of

Cindy's Pet Sitting Services

Servicing Raleigh since 2004

919-605-5133

Keeping Pets Happy at Home

www.CindytheSitter.com

Presents 4 Pets

Please Donate to the Presents 4 Pets Campaign, it's a great cause to help local rescue groups and shelters - I know you have stuff around your house you aren't using - bowls, collars, leashes, old towels, blankets, maybe even a crate.......Shelters need this stuff.

Tell anyone you know about it too, spread the word, you can drop off your donations at over 70 local locations - check them out - DONATE TODAY!!

We have many people making Thanksgiving reservations, book your sitter today!!

Cindy Golden of

Cindy's Pet Sitting Services

919-605-5133

Keeping your Pets HAPPY at Home!

AKC Responsible Dog Owner Appreciation Day

Come out and see us, at the Fairgrounds - we will be out there from 10am - 2pm, it should be a great fun event and you can get lots of FREE stuff!!

Come out with your pooches and say HI - we hope to see you there.

Cindy Golden of

Cindy's Pet Sitting Services

919-605-5133

Summer is Coming to an End....

Where did the time go??? Summer comes, summer goes so fast!!!!

I hope everyone enjoyed some great vacations I know we have been really busy pet sitting this summer. That's a good thing, we love keeping your pets HAPPY at Home and looking after your home as well. So many people don't realize it's more than just yours pets that we care for. We make your home look lived in by rotating lights, getting mail/paper/packages, putting your trash at the curb and brining back up as well as watering your plants and any other tasks you may need.

Labor Day is approaching quickly, please make your reservations as we are booking up fast. Thanksgiving and Christmas is also filling up. We are doing 2 live-in jobs over Thanksgiving, so if you need that service, we only have 1 more sitter that is available for that.

We have several openings for mid-day dog walks, for those that work long hours or have a smaller dog that needs that exercise and potty break. We offer a discount for booking us at least 3 days a week = $14 per visit.

Did you see this article - http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1656168.html what will people complain about next???? Pets are not harming anyone by sitting outside in patio seating with their owners. So many people are not having kids (me included) and the pets ARE their kids, and in my opinion much cleaner and more well behaved that a lot of people's kids.......

We are gearing up for Presents 4 Pets (P4P) and will be collecting your donations of pet supplies from now until 11/14 when we will present the colltions to the Pet Foster Network who will distribute the supplies to local rescue groups that are in need. So if you have any gently used bedding, toys, crates, other supplies or want to donate pet food or monetary donations please let me or your sitter know and we will come collect it. Thanks so much!!!

Cindy Golden of

Cindy's Pet Services

Keeping Pets HAPPY at Home!

919-605-5133

It's Friday!!

The weekend is here and thunderstorms are rolling in. Everytime I hear thunder I think of the many dogs that do not like or understand these loud noises. Here is a great article to read about the Fear of Thunderstorms and other Noises.

I want to welcome Angel Wasserman to the triangle, she is a dog trainer that owns Paws in Training. She has a great site with many helpful articles - I really like this one - The Joys of Pet Sitters.

I am off to FL next Friday for a week vacation, Erin will be handling the business and doing any introductions if my clients call and need service. We are always available and with 3 full-time and 2 part-time employess, we always welcome new clients as well.

I also want to metion the AKC Responsible Dog Ownership Day at the Fairgrounds on 9/26. We will be out there with a table set-up educating Raleigh about the benedits of using a pet sitter, so please come say HI!!

If you need service on Labor Day weekend please drop me an email to schedule service as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas, we are always taking reservations and don't want your sitter to get full and have no openings which is what happened on July 4th weekend, that was crazy.... We broke all sorts of records this month thanks to our great clients we are growing and becoming known as the Downtown Raleigh & North Hills Pet Sitters, keep spreading the word, we love you and appreciate you all and your furry kids!!

Cindy Golden of

Cindy's Pet Sitting Services

919-605-5133

Summer is flying by....

And we are taking care of MANY pets!!!

I have 2 new hires - Abbe and Adrienne, who both want to work Full-Time Pet Sitting so we are looking for LOTS of new clients! So tell your friends, family, neighbors and even people you don't know the benefits of using a pet sitter and keeping your pets HAPPY at Home!!

Abbe is going to be helping Erin in the Oakwood Area as she has way too many clients to handle at once especially over the Holidays, July 4th weekend she was up to 28 stops a day, she broke my record of 26. Abbe also has openings for mid-day dog walks and will cover the Five Points area as well.

Adrienne is looking for mid-day dog walks, pet sitting clients near Crabtree, Six Forks/Millbrook Area and Five Points. So keep your ears open anyone that has pets send them our way, we do give referral credits for telling your friends about us!!

Cindy Golden of

Cindy's Pet Sitting Services

919-605-5133

Summer is Here.....

.....and it's going to be a HOT one, YAY!! We went to Carolina Beach last week and really had a great time. I of course had my laptop with high speed internet and my blackberry that I love!! Our Maltese girls LOVE the beach and we love taking them. We rent a condo at the dead end where Freeman Park is and we drive on the beach a lot, we love it. Very pet friendly, if you have control of your dogs they can be off leash, we do of course, so they LOVE running!!

I know I haven't updated this in a while, not much to say really, I am bad at this blogging thing, LOL. I am pleased to announce that Erin French has been made Assistant Manager of Cindy's Pet Sitting Services and has earned the title. Many of you know her and use her for your pets, she is great and does an awesome job taking care of everyone.

We were named Best Pet Sitting Service in the Triangle by the Independent what a great honor. We only cover a small portion of Raleigh but I was really excited to learn our clients voted for us and we were named #1.

This month marks our 5th Anniversary, time files when you are having fun, we have awesome clients and a great staff of caring pet sitters, we love our jobs!!!!

Have a great Father's Day weekend call or spend time with your Dad if you can. My Dad is going to be having back surgery soon it looks like, I hate seeing my parents get old, it's a fact of life though.....

Cindy of Cindy's Pet Sitting Services

Keeping Your Pets HAPPY at Home!

919-605-5133

Happy Memorial Day Everyone

I don't know about you but I really appreciate the meaning of this day and all of our honorable soldiers that have given their life for our country. If you are looking for ways to celebrate here are some great links for you.

More GOOD News for NC at least I think so - Smoking is BANNED in public places, YAY!!! I am all for this, will make our local bars more enjoyable again, I hate smokey places personally. Speaking of bars, I am going to plan a girls night out at a place that does Karaoke soon, so watch for that announcement. I have several clients and employees that are interested, it will be a fun event and who knows, I may even sing......with enough margaritas in me anyway - HA!!

Remember to leave your pets plenty of fresh water in this upcoming summer heat.

Have a great rest of your weekend and remember to call me to schedule any summer vacation pet sitting, we have several booked already for the July 4th Weekend.

Cindy Golden of
Cindy's Pet Sitting Services
919-605-5133

Hot Temperatures Are HERE in Raleigh, NC

Whew, Busy Week, Busy Weekend & Hot Temperatures.    

Summer is here early as usual is seems we missed Spring :-( 

Here is a tip to keep your dogs water cool put in a few ice cubes, they will love you for it.   

It's shedding season so brush your pets often to cut down on the hair in your home.  

Tis the Season for Vacations which means Busy Pet Sitting Times for us, I love it!!!

I did 9 new client consults with week, it's a record, wow!!

Not much news here, just posting to keep this page updated.

If you have any trips planned please contact me to get on your pet sitters schedule.

To all the Mom's out there have a great Mother's Day tomorrow!!!

Thank You and Stay Cool!!

Cindy Golden of 

Cindy's Pet Sitting Services

919-605-5133

Keeping Your Pets HAPPY at Home!

Flea & Tick Season is here, take care of your Pets

It's Tick Season, I have already found one on a pet, here is some good advice if you don't know how to remove them - http://www.ehow.com/how_2257_remove-ticks-pets.html.

Please make sure your pets are on a flea/tick preventive - I recommend and use Frontline personally but there is also Advantage and 2 oral ones named Capstart and a new one -Comfortis to use if you pets do become immune to the liquid applications.  The oral ones only treats for fleas, not ticks.  DO Not use Promeris it's not a good one.    Here is a link on how to Apply liquid Flea Treatments, do not use what you buy in the store, it won't last or do a good job at all and some pets have bad reactions to it.  

BTW, the SPCA raised over $164,000 for the new spay neuter clinic at the Dog Walk!!   Again I thank everyone who supported Cindy's Pet Services team and donated, we raised $2,770 ourselves, what a great success the event was.

Pet Sitting News 

I have a new full-time employee Holly, I have given her my 3 mid-day walks and she wants to get 3 more to have 6 daily, so if you live in the North Hills or Five Points Area and need your pups exercised while you are at work or have a new puppy, please contact me to get on her schedule.    I am doing more promotion and managing of the business and less dog walks and dog sitting, I am officially the cat sitter now.     Plus my tendinitis has been giving me lots of trouble in my arms so it's probably good I am not walking dogs much anymore my doc has been after me for a while to take it easy, he wants to do surgery but I don't want to....we will see!

**Memorial Day is fast approaching, we are taking reservations for pet sitting so please contact me today to get on your pet sitters schedule.

Have a great weekend everyone, looks like rain is coming at us again.......

Cindy Golden, owner of 

Cindy's Pet Sitting Services

Keeping Pets HAPPY at Home!

919-605-5133

Is it Summer Already??

You would think so with the weather today, WOW, it's 87 degrees here in Raleigh, NC.  I love how we skip right over Spring and go right into Summer here in NC, my favorite temperatures are between 55-75 degrees.  

The SPCA Dog Walk last Saturday went great, you can see the photos of the Downtown Raleigh Event at this link.     It was quite a crowd walking over 1,100 people and there were over 2,500 at the event, they surpassed their goal of $130,000 and raised over $160,000 - YAY!!   My great clients, family & friends raised $2,770 for this great cause.  We will be participating next year as well.

Did you know there is a Pet Only Airline now?   Check out Pet Airways it's a great idea, but wouldn't you want to travel with your dog, you really would send your dog off on a seperate flight, you think they would combine humans with their dogs, that sounds more reasonable to me.  

I wish they would have a cruise ship line where dogs can travel and stay with their owners, wouldn't that be awesome?    We want to take another cruise next February but we really hate leaving our girls behind we like to take them on trips with us, they are so much fun.    

We are going to the Carolina Beach from 6/6 - 6/13, I can't wait, it's such a fun place, we always stay at a condo at the dead-end AKA Freeman Park and we love to drive on the beach, walk the beach and just relax for a week.     

I have expanded my service area into Cameron Village and the NCSU area now, I have some great ladies working for me that are of course devoted animal lovers and I have been boosting up marketing to get more business.   Please spread the word about pet sitting and keeping your pets HAPPY at Home!!!    We have openings for lunch time dog walks for those that work long hours and your dog(s) need that exercise and potty break mid-day.    All 4 girls - Erin, Holly, Maggie & Whitney - offer Overnight stays in your home as well as Live-In Pet care

Have a great weekend and enjoy this beautiful weather.

Cindy Golden of 

Cindy's Pet Sitting Services

919-605-5133

Busy week with Spring Break and Easter Weekend!

Spring Break has been busy, last week I hired 2 new pet sitters to work for me Spring is here, Summer is coming and Erin & I need more help. So I welcome Whitney & Maggie who joined my pet sitting team!! Both are students, with light class loads as they are entering their senior years, both are HUGE animals lovers and great girls, I look forward to you meeting them.

The SPCA Dog Walk is Downtown Raleigh in Moore Square next Saturday from 10-2pm, walk starts at 11AM. I look forward to seeing you there, we will have a vendor table set up with lots of FREE Stuff, please come see us and the many other vendors out there.

Have a Great Easter Weekend and if you haven't see these Bunny Identity Theft Photos do take a look, they are too cute!!

Cindy Golden of
Cindy's Pet Sitting Services
919-605-5133

Hair O' the Dog Event is Downtown Raleigh Saturday 1-7pm

I hope to see some of you at 101 Lounge + Cafe on Saturday in Downtown Raleigh. I will be there at 1:30, the therapy dog group we belong to is going. I am trying to talk my husband into going as well so we can bring both of our girls out, they do love outings. If it's raining I won't go though as our Maltese don't do well in the rain since they are in long coats and I don't think it will be much fun without them there since it's a dog event!! A percentage of the proceeds benefits the Wake County SPCA.

This week has been crazy for pet sitting, busy, busy..... I am going to hire 2 more employees within the next few weeks to help out as summer is coming and Erin & I can't handle all of our clients pet sitting needs. After we get thru Spring Break week and Easter Weekend, we are going to be exhausted and ready for some relief.

Mike & I have scheduled our annual Carolina Beach vacation for Saturday 6/6 - Saturday 6/13. We love getting away for a week and relaxing on the beach with "our girls" AKA our Maltese dogs. As long as we have internet we can work while we are away. Erin will handle my business and any new client consults that may come up, she is definitely my right hand in this business, I am so glad to have her working with me.

I met a great contact this week, Amanda with Sitter Connection she and I met for coffee just a while ago and we have been exchanging emails this week. She has been very helpful and has referred a few of her babysitters that work for her to me to work as pet sitters. I have 3 good candidates I will be interviewing next week. We discussed marketing and advertisting our websites and where we post fliers, and postcards, that is how she found me, a flier I had around Five Points. I look foward to networking with her and her many clients for any pet sitting needs they may have as she doesn't offer that service.

I hope you all have a great weekend and stay dry, looks like more rain is headed our way, fun stuff, we can't complain about being in a drought anymore that's for sure.

Cindy Golden of
Cindy's Pet Sitting Services
Keeping Pets HAPPY at Home!!
919-605-5133

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race = 3 Dogs Die in Alaska

I am upset about this, I am sure you have read or heard the story on the new, if not read it here
Fox News

It is so sad there were racing in -50 F, how can this be prevented? It just seems cruel to me, I can't imagine holding my dog watching it die from hypothermia, how horrible! I'm really not sure I understand the purpose of this race in the first place.

I know the Siberian Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes are working dogs and love cold weather and racing but for dogs to be dying along the way, something is wrong here. I think vets should be on call and be at the check points where the dogs will be evaluated out to be sure they can continue the race.

What do you think???

Today is the 1st Day of Spring and signs of warm weather are flowers are blooming, trees are filling up with beautiful leaves, birds are happily chirping and business is picking up for vacationing pet sitting clients here in Raleigh, NC - YAY!!!

I plan to hire again next month, as we are getting busy and I need to add another person to my pet sitting team.

Enjoy the weekend everyone and remember a walked dog is a HAPPY dog, take time to give your dog and yourself exercise, you will love the quality time spent with your pet and they will love you for it!!

Cindy Golden of
Cindy's Pet Sitting Services

Reasons to Use a Pet Sitter

It was an unfortunate event that killed Martha Stewart's dog and 15 others at the kennel it was being boarded at, if you haven't read the story read it on MSNBC.

There are MANY reasons to use a local pet sitter, who would have thought that would be another one. Use a Raleigh, NC Pet Sitter and Keep Them Happy at Home!!

Erin & I service a large part of Downtown Raleigh, Five Points, Hayes Barton, Bloomsbury, Fallon Park, Historic Oakwood, Mordecai, Village at Pilot Mill, Boylan Heights, Cameron Village Area, North Hills Area, Drewry Hills, Anderson Dr, St Mary's, etc......

It is cheaper to use a pet sitter than a kennel when you have more than 1 animal anyway, if more people would use a pet sitter there would be happier pets and people in the world, that's just my opinion though :-)

On to brighter news, Mike & I and "the girls" had a great time at Chimney Rock this past weekend, it was wonderful weather and just a beautiful day to explore the area. Lake Lure, NC is just gorgeous, we really enjoyed our trip, it was a much needed get-away!

On the rocks at the River

Lake Lure is GORGEOUS!

At the Top of Chimney Rock

An Overlook of Lake Lure at Chimney Rock

The girls were exhausted after all the walking, they did great though and had a good time, they love taking road trips with us and we enjoy having with us, it's great quality time for us and them, we need more of that!!!

Have a great rest of the week and weekend, it's going to be rainy, YAY!

Cindy of

Cindy's Pet Services

Beautiful Weekend in Raleigh, NC

My husband, Mike and I have decided to take advantage of the wonderful weather this weekend. I am actually free with no pet sitting jobs, thanks to Erin taking another one for me giving her 4 this weekend so we are taking a road trip with "the girls" (our Maltese) going to Lake Lure - I found a great Pet friendly place online we are looking foward to our trip and going to Chimey Rock Park to see the waterfall, it's one of my favorite things in the world, I just love them!! I will post some pics next week.

Please mark your Calendars for Hair O the Dog - another event benefiting the SPCA - sounds like fun and I hope to make it out there on Saturday 3/28. The therapy group I belong to is going, I am going to bring Joy if I do go, she is not therapy certified as she is a little spastic but she is a ton of fun and loves people.

Have a fun, safe and sun-filled weekend everyone!
Cindy of
Cindy's Pet Sitting Services

Want a Custom Collar or Leash for your furkids??

One of my clients and her girlfriend are now making them and I told her I would share the link with pet lovers - http://www.theotherkiddesigns.com/ Magnum and Higgins are my English Pointer clients and yes, they are named after Magnum PI show!

So if you have clients looking for something custom they can do it, they are also setting up at Bark Around the Park at 4/18, so those attending will see them there. I will be at the SPCA Dog Walk that same day, please Sponsor Erin & I for any amount just $10 helps to save a life - http://www.spcawake.org/goto/CindysPetSitting or better yet sign up to WALK with us, I have formed a team, just click the link Join Team above the list of team members names. I am also setting up a vendor table and giving away large calendars with all sorts of dog breeds as well as imprinted cups, doggie treats, Pet Poison Helpline static clings (which is a great thing to have) and other things, come out and see Erin & I!!

Enjoy the forthcoming snow everyone, I am ready for SPRING myself!

Have a great week,
Cindy of
Cindy's Pet Sitting Services

Best Rescue Story

The PEDIGREE company is honoring Peyton Gaudiosi with the "Best Rescue Story."

Wonderful story, watch the video talking about it too - http://wake.mync.com/site/Wake/news/story/25739/raleigh-woman-honored-for-rescuing-dog/ - this new technology is also being developed to help soldiers with large skull defects.

Speaking of Soldiers, Tuesday evening Happy & I are doing a Reading session for children of deploying National Guardsmen at a local church, this is so exciting people are finding our group and asking us to do things now.

Here is a picture of Happy at the Boys & Girls Club this past week she loves kids reading books to her. And likes to pay on her side and get belly rubs at times as well like in this photo.

Have a great week everyone, it's slow for me this week pet sitting so I am taking the time to market my site, the SPCA event and posting signs around the areas I service trying to drum up new business, Spring is coming and people will start travelling more (I hope anyway)!!

Cindy of
Cindy's Pet Sitting Services