Critter Caretakers gets to pet sit for all kinds of animals in Mesa and Gilbert. We’re dog pet sitters, cat sitters, ferret sitters, rabbit sitters, goat sitters, chicken sitters; well you get the idea.  But regardless of what kinds of pets we pet sit for, there is one thing that is absolutely, positively THE most difficult part of pet sitting. And that is when we have to say good-bye to one of the pets we’ve watched because it’s their time to cross the Rainbow Bridge.

One of my most recent pet sitting jobs in Gilbert over Memorial Day was with a cat named Baxter. Prior to his visits, his beloved owner had shared with me that he wasn’t doing his best, had slowed down considerably and was not eating as well as he used to. So I was aware of all these things going into the sit. But when his visits began, I was surprised at how much he’d changed since the last visit 3 months prior.

As the week long sit went on, it became clear to me that Baxter was not doing well, and so, during one of his visits, I spent an hour with him just laying on the couch. During this visit, I shed many tears for Baxter because I knew this was probably going to be one of my last visits with him.

Sure enough after his mom got home, she remarked how he appeared to slow down even more over that week’s period. I had tried everything to get him to eat even bringing different things from my house (with his mom’s permission) and worked hard at giving him his newly prescribed medicine (he was not a fan!). But Baxter was clearly telling us something was not right. His mom took him to the vet and blood work showed he was in renal failure. She called me to share the news and we cried on the phone together. I asked her to give Baxter one last kiss from me, which she did. And his mom did the hardest, but most loving thing for Baxter; she helped him say good-bye that afternoon.

Several days later she sent me the most beautiful card she’d made in tribute to her sweet boy. I’m sharing it here with her permission. Baxter was an amazing cat and we will miss him terribly. We are always sad to say good-bye to our client’s pets!

Pet sitting is a wonderful job which brings us so much joy daily. We get to spend time with your amazing pets and get to love them, their quirks, and personalities almost as much as you do. And while we treasure every moment we spend with them, saying good-bye to them when it’s time is the most difficult part of pet sitting.