Fiona Pet Care

Do we offer hippopotamus care?

    When asked if we offer hippopotamus care, the short answer is YES! We often smile to ourselves when remembering the many calls our Office has received through our 19+ years providing Pet Sitting services in Greater Cincinnati & N Kentucky. Some callers have been from young children. Some of these young callers have asked if we care for a hippopotamus, with laughter heard in the background. Today, a young caller asked a similar curious question, “do you care for Pets that I want?” We navigate each call to find the exact reason for their call. Why? We care greatly to help each call to our Office. If the call received is not a match for our service, we make referrals for Pet Care!

Hippopotamus
Love the Hippo

    Almost 20 years ago, a young caller asked if we care for hippopotamuses.  Laughter could be heard in the background and they quickly hung up. The same week, we received a call from a young boy asking if we care for praying mantises. We hung up thinking this was a prank call. We received a call from a Mom asking why we had hung up on her son! Billy was home schooled & his family was planning a two-week vacation in August. As a “teachable moment”, his mom directed him to find Pet Sitting help to care for the 4 terrariums of mantises plus one ($25) frog in his bedroom. We met with Billy and provided Home & Pet Care services while they traveled. He had saved his lawn moving money to pay for his Pet Sitting reservation. We offered a deep discount. Ha!

     Global warming has changed how we help devastated areas in our country for recovery of Pets in the affected regions. Back-in-the-day, Hurricane Katrina impacted our area here in Cincinnati for rehoming recovered Pets. We received a call for care for “Harold” a full sized 130# black pig. He was found wandering during the flooding with his name on his collar. He was a beloved pet! Zoos were called nationwide to find a home for Harold. Our client worked at the zoo and decided to adopt him. We can write a book about our adventures of Harold while Pet Sitting. When she traveled, we cared for her Dog, Large Bird, Joe a 4 foot Iguana and Harold the pig. Harold was adored and loved by many!

     Today we received a call from a young girl asking, “do you care for Pets I want”? Most would hang up thinking the young caller was playing a prank. Immediately we explained we strictly make visits to your home. Is this what you need? The answer was as surprising as Billy’s call years ago. She responded stating “I want you to take my puppy”. She then could be heard speaking Spanish to two people, in the background. Ah! She’s calling for her Spanish speaking parents. We navigated the call to find where they live. When we determined they live near Dayton, Ohio, a solid referral source to bonded & insured Pet Sitters was made. We praised her for the great job she was doing for her family. She needed to be supported too! It was an honor to receive her call. Success was hers for her family, with our solid referrals.

      Customer Service begins with the first call to our Office. Feel free to refer your family, friends and neighbors to discover how they can utilize our services. Our CSR Team is adept at navigating the vast spectrum of calls from the public. Our Company refers Sixty percent (60%) of our incoming calls to others. We now refer to the curious calls as “Fiona Pet Care”. We remember our own Cincinnati Zoo offered a huge amount of support for Fiona when she was young. We are ready for your call for Pet Sitting, Dog Walking & Overnight Pet Sitting services. We are all in this together!

Pets Love Cincinnati & NKY!

NATIONAL ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER APPRECIATION WEEK

April 8th – 14th is National Animal Control Officer Appreciation Week. It’s time to thank our hard-working Animal Control Officers for their loyal dedication. They are dedicated to offer services in Cincinnati 24/7 to help Greater Cincinnati. Greater Cincinnati & N. Kentucky benefits immensely from the many aspects our service professionals offer pets, wildlife & animals in our community.

dog and cat on deck in sun

The duties of our Animal Control Officers / ACOs are vast and yet well defined. Most think of aggressive dogs biting our citizens in their neighborhood. Wildlife as well as Pets benefit from their daily mission.

Animal Control Officers Help:

Injured  –  Animals/Pets

Animals/Pets – Sick/Abnormal Behavior

Secured Pets – Cars, Yards, Homes

Hording/Overpopulation – Animals/Pets

Animal/Pets – Abuse/Puppy Mills

Animal/Pets Fighting (Organized & Neighborhood)

They ask the public to be mindful NOT to involve them in neighbor disputes. Fences make good neighbors, yet when pets are on both sides of an adjoining fence, pets can be aggressive. Planned and coordinated time, for pets in your yard, may be the solution when the neighbor’s pets are inside. Your ACO cannot handle neighborhood disputes for barking dogs!

The best way to honor your ACO is with respect. If you receive a citation for your loose dog, don’t dispute the truth. If your pet is picked up, pay the fine and change your behavior. We are all accountable to keeping our community safe and our pets healthy. Provide water and shelter for your pets outside. Keep your dog safe on a leash when away from home or inside your yard when home. Provide licenses for your dogs annually. 

Lastly, and most importantly Spay & neuter your pets to control animal population in your community. It takes time and space to raise litters of pets. There are organized forces in our communities to obtain these young pets. They are sold to labs for testing. They are quit often obtained from your ads to find home, for purposes other than to be inside a home as a family pet. Adopting out pets is a skill and talent most do not have time to manage correctly.

Thank your ACO today! Stop by your SPCA this week. Volunteer your time to help the pets inside. Make it a teachable moment for yourself and/or your children. We all started recycling years ago with plastic & glass. Pets often find themselves transitional in life as well as humans due to divorce, relocation and even death. Take time to “love the ones who love YOU the most”, our pets! Stop by your local SPCA to thank your ACO & to volunteer today!

Happy Tails!

Kyle aka Nanny

Professional Pet Nanny, Inc.