Kirsten

My name is Kirsten (currently 58 years of age) and my husband and I love living in the Bayside area. I’m happiest when spending time with animals, being in nature, enjoying healthy food, and travel whenever possible. 

I’m known for being reliable and finding it easy to recognise and respond to the needs of the animals and their people’s expectations. 

I love all animals but with regards to pets I feel particularly drawn to dogs with whom I tend to connect with quickly. I’m one of those people who say ‘hello gorgeous’ to every dog I walk past. 

Whilst I'm permanently employed with regular part-time hours (as senior manager with expertise in Quality, Risk, People and Safety Management), I'm now working mainly from home/remotely. This has allowed me to increasingly undertake house and pet sitting activities since 2019, and my love for it has further grown with every opportunity. 

I’ve completed an Animal Welfare course with ACS Distance Education and envisage to offer pet and house sitting activities when I can be available, such as: 

· Dog walking – max. 2 and from same household and max. 2 walks per day – subject of location/travel requirements. My dog walking rate is for 1 hour/walk.

· Dog/cat house visits up to 2 per day 

· House and pet sits overnight – length of period of time will need to be discussed as my availability may vary.

I have a car and able to transport pets, e.g. to parks, beaches, veterinarian appointments. 

I've been looking after several dogs and cats of all ages, as well as a couple of birds, meeting their behavioural and medical needs. This includes sits, care and activities for single days as well as for longer periods of time, including house sitting. It's been such a pleasure to be able to help a couple of dogs become more confident and gradually desensitizing, walking on a leash around noisy suburban streets and train crossings, experiencing different environments, going to dog parks and beaches, improving their responsiveness to commands, various socialising with other dogs, fetching and retrieving balls and sticks and some swimming at the beach, more relaxed travelling in car, arranging and taking them to vet appointments and taking care of their recovery, administering oral medication and wound healing aids, and giving lots of chest scratches, massages and cuddles.