Adventures in Pet Sitting: The Tale of the Jackass
Adventures in Pet Sitting: The Tale of the Jackass
I agreed to pet sit for my friends 2 cats over the Thanksgiving Holiday. I've pet sat for her before and things went fabulous. The cats love me and she's got a sweet house. Tonight was my first visit to feed the girls dinner and it was a complete disaster.
She's made many to changes to her home since the last time I watched the girls, including the addition of an alarm. Luckily, the alarm has a remote control so I figured there'd be no problems, I don't have to enter any codes or beat any time restrictions getting in or out of the house. I get to the house tonight, hit the alarm off button and enter the front door. About 2 seconds the later the alarm starts blaring. I keep hitting the off button but it doesn't seem to work. I'm searching for my cell phone so I can call my friend for help when the alarm company comes over the transmitter asking if things are ok. I explain I'm pet sitting and the key fob isn't working. They ask for the password which I don't have and then say ok, have a good night just as my friend's husband answers the phone. He gives me the code to shut off the alarm and explains that you have to hold the button on the key fob down until the red light goes off. I don't recall receiving these instructions but it's all good. The alarm company calls my friend on her cell and she explains the situation so the cops get called off. Thank goodness. Let's feed the cats now.
I feed the cats and then go to let the new outdoor/indoor cat in the house. He's a bit apprehensive since he doesn't know me so I try to give him some space so he'll come in. He doesn't go for it and I can't just leave the door open because the other cats will run out and that would be bad. I go get his food and that gets him in. I go outside to get his water dish and take a quick look around when the patio door shuts and locks me out from the inside. All the keys, mine and hers, my purse complete w/ wallet, ID and cell phone and all the cats are now locked in the house. Great. Plus I don't know my friends cell by heart. She mentioned that she was going to let the neighbors know I'd be coming over so I go next door to see if they can help.
The neighbor turns out to be a sweet old lady. She doesn't have a spare key like I hoped and she doesn't have their cell phone numbers. She tells me she thinks there's a spare key somewhere in the backyard. I ask to use the phone and call Marcus to bring me a flashlight and my old cell which might have her number. I go to the back yard to begin my search for the key. Have I mentioned that for FL its a pretty chilly evening and I'm not dressed for chilly? I digress. I go out front after a few minutes to wait for Marcus. The neighbor comes over with her cell phone and the great news that she got the husband's cell from the other neighbor. I call them for the second time in 30 minutes on the 1st night of their vacation with more wonderful news. I'm locked out. They give me instructions to find the key and after like 10 minutes I finally find it, just as Marcus arrives.Woo Hoo! Victory!
I get myself in the house, hide the key again, finish lovin the kitties and then realize I've totally lost their mail. I took it out of the box while waiting for Marcus and before the neighbor came back with the phone. I retraced all my steps and didn't see it. I didn't go back to the neighbors because it was late and I had already been over there 3 times. I'm going to ask her tomorrow if I don't find it after a second search in the daylight.
Moral of the story: don't let a ditz like me watch your pets while on vacation.
I agreed to pet sit for my friends 2 cats over the Thanksgiving Holiday. I've pet sat for her before and things went fabulous. The cats love me and she's got a sweet house. Tonight was my first visit to feed the girls dinner and it was a complete disaster.
She's made many to changes to her home since the last time I watched the girls, including the addition of an alarm. Luckily, the alarm has a remote control so I figured there'd be no problems, I don't have to enter any codes or beat any time restrictions getting in or out of the house. I get to the house tonight, hit the alarm off button and enter the front door. About 2 seconds the later the alarm starts blaring. I keep hitting the off button but it doesn't seem to work. I'm searching for my cell phone so I can call my friend for help when the alarm company comes over the transmitter asking if things are ok. I explain I'm pet sitting and the key fob isn't working. They ask for the password which I don't have and then say ok, have a good night just as my friend's husband answers the phone. He gives me the code to shut off the alarm and explains that you have to hold the button on the key fob down until the red light goes off. I don't recall receiving these instructions but it's all good. The alarm company calls my friend on her cell and she explains the situation so the cops get called off. Thank goodness. Let's feed the cats now.
I feed the cats and then go to let the new outdoor/indoor cat in the house. He's a bit apprehensive since he doesn't know me so I try to give him some space so he'll come in. He doesn't go for it and I can't just leave the door open because the other cats will run out and that would be bad. I go get his food and that gets him in. I go outside to get his water dish and take a quick look around when the patio door shuts and locks me out from the inside. All the keys, mine and hers, my purse complete w/ wallet, ID and cell phone and all the cats are now locked in the house. Great. Plus I don't know my friends cell by heart. She mentioned that she was going to let the neighbors know I'd be coming over so I go next door to see if they can help.
The neighbor turns out to be a sweet old lady. She doesn't have a spare key like I hoped and she doesn't have their cell phone numbers. She tells me she thinks there's a spare key somewhere in the backyard. I ask to use the phone and call Marcus to bring me a flashlight and my old cell which might have her number. I go to the back yard to begin my search for the key. Have I mentioned that for FL its a pretty chilly evening and I'm not dressed for chilly? I digress. I go out front after a few minutes to wait for Marcus. The neighbor comes over with her cell phone and the great news that she got the husband's cell from the other neighbor. I call them for the second time in 30 minutes on the 1st night of their vacation with more wonderful news. I'm locked out. They give me instructions to find the key and after like 10 minutes I finally find it, just as Marcus arrives.Woo Hoo! Victory!
I get myself in the house, hide the key again, finish lovin the kitties and then realize I've totally lost their mail. I took it out of the box while waiting for Marcus and before the neighbor came back with the phone. I retraced all my steps and didn't see it. I didn't go back to the neighbors because it was late and I had already been over there 3 times. I'm going to ask her tomorrow if I don't find it after a second search in the daylight.
Moral of the story: don't let a ditz like me watch your pets while on vacation.
posted by Will Work For Shoes @ 7:25 PM
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