S&R Pet Sitting
"We Treat Your Pets like family"
856-234-8887
Cell: 609-744-9827
srpetsit@gmail.com
S&R Pet Sitting in the News
"A Walk in the Park"
By MARLYN MARGULIS
Special to the Courier-Post
Bob Damsey arrives at a Moorestown home, unlocks the door and greets Kira, a standard poodle.
Immediately, Damsey grabs a red leash and takes the dog outside for a bathroom break. They take a walk around the yard, and later play with a tennis ball.
Damsey and his wife, Sandee, started S&R Pet Sitting in 1998 as a way to make a bit of extra money. Today, Damsey, who retired from sales, runs the business full time with his wife.
"I was always a lover of animals," said Damsey. "But when I was younger I never had any pets."
Today, the couple has two dogs of their own that were adopted from a shelter. "We take care of them because we feel for them as though they were our own children," he said.
Damsey spends about 30 minutes at each client's home, filling water bowls, dispensing treats and food, going on a short walk and offering some toy time. He also waters houseplants and collects the mail when clients go on vacation.
"We've always kept it small," he said. "We don't want to be inundated with too many clients."
Damsey, who points out that the business is insured and bonded, is thankful there have been few pet emergencies while clients are away. But he remembers one in particular.
A cat died while one family was on vacation. But it turned out the feline was supposed to start a heart medication that was delayed until the family came back.
"That was the most harrowing experience that I've ever had in this business," he said.
Next stop is a home in Mount Laurel where Buddy, a small terrier, lives.
The dog greets him at the door and Damsey offers a kiss.
"It's a great alternative to kennels," he said. "The animal remains in its own environment."
"Moorestown, Cherry Hill Couples Turn Love of Pets into Livelihoods"
By MARLYN MARGULIS
Special to the Courier-Post
MOUNT LAUREL
Bob Damsey arrives at a tidy Mount Laurel townhouse, unlocks the front door and heads for the kitchen.
A moment later, a black and white Springer spaniel dashes into the living room, panting and jumping. Freedom!
"How are you doing today, Talia, sweetheart?" Damsey asks his client. "We're going out very soon. Have you been a good doggy?"
Damsey of Moorestown and his wife, Sandee, have turned their love of animals into a business ...
At a cost of about $10 to $12 per hour, pet sitters offer services that go beyond visiting a client's home and walking the dog. They will administer prescribed medicines, follow dietary restrictions and take animals on veterinary appointments. In addition, they often perform house sitting chores - watering plants, taking in the mail and the like.
S & R Pet Sitting serves clients in Medford, Marlton, Mount Laurel, Moorestown, Palmyra, Riverton and Delran...
What gives these pet sitters the most satisfaction? "Knowing we are caring for these pets like they are our own," Neal replies. "Pets are my passion."
After meeting a pet's owner, both couples schedule a second home visit to make sure the animal will accept them. Damsey began pet sitting part-time in 1994, while working full-time as a motivational materials salesman. After retiring a year ago, he devoted all his time to S & R. His wife, who has a full-time position with an insurance firm, does part-time sitting. They have cared for 15 pets in the past year.
The Damseys first client was a cocker spaniel named Crystal, who was a little skittish. "Crystal was very sweet," Sandee remembers. "I came into the house and expected her to greet me. I didn't see the dog and kept calling her. I found her upstairs in back of a couch, which was one of her favorite spots. I had to get her out for a walk. She wouldn’t move."
"I said, ‘Come on, sweetie. Let’s go.’ Then I got out a doggie biscuit. Crystal went down one flight of stairs and stopped in the middle. I finally threw the biscuit outside the door. When she went to eat it, I leashed her."
"County Couple Cares for Pets - Dogs, cats get to stay at home"
By Noni Bookbinder Bell
Special to the BCT
MOUNT LAUREL — Several years ago. Bob and Sandee Damsey kenneled their beloved dog, Charlie, while they went on vacation.
"It traumatized him," Bob Damsey said of the 5-year old Pekinese-Lhasa Apso mix. "Charlie was an adopted dog, and he must have thought we were abandoning him. If we had left him home in his own surroundings, it may have been easier for him."
The experience led the animal-loving couple to consider starting a pet-sitting service, Damsey said.
"We felt there was a need for professional pet-sitters," he said. "So, about three years ago we started S&R Pet Sitting Service. Sandee, who had owned a German shepherd before we were married, had taken an American Kennel Club dog obedience and light-protection training course. We love animals. For us, pet-sitting isn't a job, it's an avocation.”
The venture operates mostly on a seasonal basis, Damsey said, with the busiest segment beginning during summer vacations.
"It's a business with very low overhead, because we operate from clients’ homes. We are insured and bonded, and do some advertising including fliers, but the startup costs were minimal. Most of our clients come from referrals."
The couple, who operate the service from their Mount Laurel home, also care for house pets for business travelers, and plan to add dog training to the company’s list of services.
I’ll be taking dog-training courses and will receive certification, like my wife," Damsey said.
"We plan to work with the animals and their owners. You can't train a dog without teaching its owner as well."
S&R Pet Sitting Service's fees are based on the number of animals in the household and the care required. The Damseys care for dogs, cats, birds and fish to owner specifications. New clients receive a free consultation at the animal's home.
"I fill out an application, including information about the pet's history and habits, feeding, medicine and veterinarian instructions, and other pertinent data," said Damsey. "Dogs then get a free trial visit. Sometimes an animal will act differently when the owner is there, dogs especially. We ask the client to not be at home to see how the animal reacts when we come in."
S&R Pet Sitting Service is a member of the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (NAPPS), headquartered in Washington, D.C,, Damsey said. The organization recommended an insurance company for bonding, and offers seminars and training courses for pet-sitting service owners.
According to NAPPS, more than 60 percent of American households have some kind of pet, an estimated 110 million cats and dogs alone. "Animals are happiest when they are in their own homes", Damsey said.
"Professional pet-sitting offers an alternative to kennels, or having a friend or neighbor care for the animals," he said. "In kennels, animals can get fleas or kennel cough, a wheezing cough which comes from a transmittable infection."
“We feed and walk dogs, as often as three times per day," he said. "We brush and play with the animals. We change cats' litter boxes and clean bird cages, take in the newspaper and mail, and water inside plants.
"Animals are happiest when they are in their own environment," Damsey noted. “Even though the owner isn't there, they know they aren't being abandoned because they are being lovingly cared for in their own, familiar home."