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

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

Busy Week

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day Weekend! My husband brought me home a BEAUTIFUL flower arrangement, I just had to share with everyone, he is so sweet. I love Yellow Roses and Purple is my favorite color so he instructed the florist of what he wanted and they did a great job, we use Gingerbread Florist often, they are GREAT!!! Times are slow for him in Real Estate selling houses if you know anyone looking to buy or sell their home please check out his website GoldenRealtyNC, we also do property management as well. Thank YOU!!

I have been busy promoting the SPCA Dog Walk wherever I can and posting flyers at coffee houses, libraries and vet offices. We are hoping for a great turnout at the event and that the SPCA will reach their goal of $130,000 for the new Spay/Neuter Clinic, read about the new clinic and the good things they are doing!!!!

The See Spot Read program I am involved in has a new Meet-Up Group please check it out, if you have a therapy dog we need volunteers, we are starting up a program at Fox Rd Elementary School next week, I am so excited about the group and how much it's growing. The kids really enjoy reading books to dogs and interacting with them, it's fun for everyone!

I am off to walk some sweet pugs, their owner has been working a lot of long hours lately and I am seeing them twice a day at 10:30am & 4pm giving them extra attention, walks & TLC. The girls are doing fine, but their owner is ready for long hours to be over, it's tough being a lawyer I am sure, I enjoy my job immensely and don't have to worry about getting stressed often, only on Holidays so I get overwhelmed, but ever since Erin has joined my company I have had more free weekends and time to work on marketing my website and business. I hope to hire a 2nd person this Spring and keep them as busy as Erin stays.

Have a great rest of your week!

Cindy of
Cindy's Pet Sitting Services

Do you have a Therapy Dog? Get involved....

Happy (my Maltese) is a Therapy Dog and loves going places with me.

We are involved in the See Spot Read Group which is a program involving with kids and getting them to read books to dogs. We love it. We have a session this afternoon at the Green Rd Library at 4:30.

If you know anyone that has a therapy dog please refer them to either of these great yahoo groups

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pawstiveconnectiontriangle/ OR http://groups.yahoo.com/group/raleightherapydogs/ we need more volunteers!!

Cindy of
Cindy's Pet Sitting Services

Erin & I did a new client consult Sunday afternoon, the job was assigned to Erin, as they live in Mordecai near her. I do go on all new client consults even if I don't do the job, as I want to be personable with my clients and have them meet the owner, tell them about my company and answer any questions that they may have. This couple was the happiest couple ever to meet us and hear about pet sitting and the services we provide.

They didn't know there was such a thing, they have boarded their dogs at different places in Raleigh have stories from each place and they were very frustrated. The wife got on line and typed in google - boarding alternative and discovered pet sitting. Then she typed in Raleigh NC pet sitter and found my website, she said I came up first and saw her zip code in my listing (thanks to my Google AdWords ad - YAY!) she loved my site and knew we were the ones to contact. She then had her husband check my website out and he was the one who called me after viewing my site to set up the consult.

How do we educate people that there is such a thing as pet sitting and that you do NOT have to board your dog? Keep them HAPPY at home!!!

That is one of my questions I ask on the consult, have you ever used a pet sitter before??

That is when she told me about how she discovered pet sitting and they wish they knew about it sooner. They have told all of their friends this past week about it and the consult they had scheduled with us and she said none of their friends knew about it either. This couple is in their 30's, she is a nurse at Wake Med, she wants us to leave her postcards this coming weekend that she can put up at work and said she is telling every pet owner she knows that they can keep their pets "happy at home".

I am so glad we can educate people that they do have alternatives to boarding, and they yes, pets are much HAPPIER at home in their own familiar environment, not in kept in a cage!!

Cindy of
Cindy's Pet Sitting Services

Enjoy the Big Game & the

Great Commercials!!!!

Go Steelers!!!

Cindy of
Cindy's Pet Sitting Services