Demand for pet sitting is booming in Nova Scotia as we take to the skies for travel and head to the office again.
Now that pandemic restrictions have dropped in our province, some Nova Scotians are spending more time outside of the home without their pets.
Nicole Pettipas, the owner of Paws@Home, tells our newsroom that means it might be a struggle to find pet care for your furry family members, especially if you live in Halifax.
Pettipas offers drop-in visits and live-in stays for cats, dogs, and other small animals. She adds since the pandemic, she’s noticed animals are struggling a little bit more with spending time alone.
“I move into your home and try to maintain your pets’ routine as closely as possible,” Pettipas explains.
Professional pet sitter Nicole Pettipas.
The biggest tip Pettipas recommends is to start looking for pet care services as soon as you look to book your trip.
She says the first two years of the pandemic were tough, but now pet sitters are seeing a surge in demand for their services. She’s had to turn many people away with her live-in services booked through until February 2023.
Pettipas’ drop-in visits for cats have been full for most of 2022.
“In 2020, there was nothing, nobody was going anywhere. In 2021, people were travelling locally with a lot of maritime weekends,” Pettipas says. “But for the most part, people did not travel down south and were not going to the States, to Florida, or anything like that. In 2022, it’s almost back to normal. I’ve got clients going to South Africa, and Italy. People are going further and staying longer.”
She’s been working in the field for 12 years after placing an ad on Kijiji. Pettipas says business connections are based on trust.
“You’re trusting me with your home and your animals,” Pettipas explains. “For almost all of my clients, their pets are in line with their kids. They’re just so important. So you’re trusting me with these incredibly important things and you have to be careful with me. I have to be comfortable with you. I’m in your house, so it’s all about trust.”
Pettipas says she continues to look to the future with excitement as the world opens back up from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pet sitting “mostly dogs, lots of cats, and sometimes, house pigs”
Brittany and Adam Wile, owners of Paw Quest Petcare, say business has also been booming for their dog walking, pet sitting, and training services in the Halifax Regional Municipality.
Brittany tells our newsroom their business started to come together right before the pandemic.
“We started it as kind of a hobby just because we’re both animal obsessed,” Brittany says. “It grew very quickly. And now Adam does it full-time. So basically, his days are driving all over HRM, visiting mostly dogs, but lots of cats, and sometimes, house pigs and gerbils, and the whole gamut of animals.”
She explains when the pandemic struck it stalled their business as Nova Scotians were no longer taking vacations and many were working at home.
Brittany and Adam Wile with their pug, Lincoln. (CONTRIBUTED)
“During the bulk of the pandemic, we had to keep our cash flow very tight,” Brittany says. “Luckily, coming out the other side of it. We’ve almost tripled our business from where we were pre-pandemic. So now we have a team of 10, including myself and Adam.”
A tip she recommends if you’re worried about pets spending more time alone is to just take things slow. Brittany recommends gradually getting them prepared for a full 8-hour work day of alone time before you spend that much space outside of the home.
Another tip is to have friends or family check in on them to break up the day. If that’s not an option and you need peace of mind, then she believes you should turn to a pet sitter.
Brittany adds in her experience she’s seen more people want to have pets in their lives since the pandemic, which also means they need pet care providers.
Paw Quest Petcare has seen such a huge demand for its services. They’re booking anywhere from one to four weeks for regular walks and visits. The waitlist for overnight care is more like six months to a year.
Brittany and Adam Wile’s pug, Lincoln. (CONTRIBUTED)
Brittany and Adam say they’re both so happy they persevered through the pandemic.
“There were definitely times where we were very unsure if we could continue or if it made sense to continue. But we’re both really, really happy that we stuck with it. And we had amazing clients who supported us every chance they got.”
