Some Other Local Pet Sitters

Hello, clients, [Warning: My kitten, JoJo, is "helping" me with this message, so if there are any glaring errors, typos, gibberish, etc., I blame him!]

Thank you all for your kind messages you have sent to me over the past week. I will respond to each of you individually in time, but I wanted to respond more immediately to your requests for referrals of other sitters. In lieu of responding to each client individually with names of specific sitters in that client's area, I decided it would be more efficient to just post names and contact information for all of you on my website. Please do your own due diligence on these sitters! I know many of them and believe them to be kind and thoughtful people, but in most cases have not talked to their clients or checked their references so cannot vouch for them as pet sitters. I am merely providing you names so that you can follow up for yourself.


For those in Western Albemarle and surrounding areas:

(1) Laura Daly, Country Life Pet Sitting, http://www.countrylifepetsitting.com, countrylifepetsit@embarqmail.com, (434) 566-8483, see website or contact Laura for details on areas of coverage, but I believe she covers Crozet and 5 miles surrounding Crozet, Batesville, Greenwood. Laura has cared for my kitties before and Laura and I have been back-up for each other in certain circumstances. I know from these experiences that she is reliable, thorough, conscientious, and trustworthy and I highly recommend her!
(2) Sandy Getchell-White, Purrfect Place for Pets, http://www.purrfectplaceforpets.com/, contact Sandy for specific coverage area, but her focus is Ivy (I think this includes Owensville Road and any roads off of that, and also areas of 250 and Garth Road surrounding Owensville Road).
(3) Feather Stein, (434) 964-7880, focusing on Crozet, Batesville, Greenwood, Afton, and possibly areas of Nellysford and Waynesboro.

Charlottesville (and each of these sitters probably also services some radius around Charlottesville or another area, but you will need to contact them to find out):

(1) Belinda Akers, (540) 256-4477
(2) Elissa Lauer, (434) 906-6601
(3) Alice Knicely, Petwatch Services, (434) 977-7387 - Alice is a wonderful lady, but I have no idea if she's accepting new clients.
(4) Maria Sweeney, Petworks, midday dog walks and boarding only, (434) 973-5965, (434) 465-5965
(5) Ronnie Kahn, Rainbow Pet Sitting, http://rainbowpetsitting.com/ - Ronnie was very kind and helpful to me when I was first starting out. I have no idea if she is accepting new clients.
(6) Linda Porzio, Housecalls for Cats, (434) 589-4383 - Linda has been so kind and helpful to me throughout my entire pet-sitting experience. I think she might be the kindest person on Earth and therefore is probably the best kitty sitter on Earth, but I don't think she's taking new clients right now. She has been so helpful to me, though, that I couldn't leave her off of this list!
(7) Scott McNabb, mcnabbpetsitting@aim.com, (434) 825-3587
(8) Pet Nanny Services, http://www.petnannyservices.com/

Fluvanna:
(1) Ashleigh Morris, No Place Like Home Pet Services, http://fluvannadogs.com/index.html, serving primarily Fluvanna, but also some in Charlottesville - Ashleigh has also been an excellent mentor to me! She is also a dog trainer!
(2) Sheila Strick, (434) 466-5564

Note: If you don't have luck with any of these people, you might ask them if they know of others. You can also ask at your veterinarian's office if any of the vet techs there do any pet-sitting, ask around at shelters or other animal rescue groups, or try care.com.


I hope this helps a little bit and that you are all able to find great people to take over the care of your sweet critters when needed. Again, I will respond to each of your e-mails individually and will also begin the process of returning keys and any credits due as soon as possible. However, I am still providing pet-sitting services through early November, so I may not be able to focus on "closure" items until that time (however, if you need your key asap, please let me know). This is all very sad to me and I am grieving the loss of all of your wonderful pets right now! Please give them all kisses from Auntie Mel!

Please feel free to contact me if you have any specific questions about any of these people - or anything else!

Best regards,
Melissa