Pet sitter

Corporate careers for nearly three decades in the long-term health care and hospice field had worn on Stacie Stark.

“There’s a burnout factor,” she said.

Her next job, however, was in question.

The Town of Fredonia resident always loved animals and had volunteered helping wildlife at the Wisconsin Humane Society in Milwaukee for 30 years.

“I don’t do dogs and cats since I’d bring them all home,” Stark said.

She found inspiration at Advent Lutheran Church in Cedarburg. The pastor gave a sermon on service.

“How do I use my passion for animals in service to others?” Stark wondered.

Her answer came in the form of pet sitting.

“When you’re traveling it’s a big deal who’s going to take care of everybody,” she said.

Experience wasn’t lacking. She had golden retrievers for years and has had ducks and goats. Today, she and her husband have a dog, four cats, geese and chickens.

“I remember telling my dad as a little kid when I grow up I want to live in the country where there’s a lot of animals,” Stark said.

“I’ve slept with animals in my bed since I was 5 years old,” she said.

Now, she sometimes sleeps with her clients’ pets. Overnight stays are part of her packages.

“I’m happy as a clam to have a snuggle buddy,” she said, adding, “There are some bed pigs.”

Stark started her business in March 2019. She got an LLC online and “mapped out a very, very poor business plan.”

She spent hours going door to door to distribute flyers. She tied dog biscuits to her business cards.

She tried to develop clients through friends, fellow parishioners, veterinarians, pet stores and trainers, as well as random contacts during strolls through Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve.

“If I see someone with a dog, well, first of all I have to pet the dog,” she said. Then she would discuss her services.

Stark made the typical mistake of starting with too large of a coverage area to handle. She has since stayed in the range of Port Washington, Grafton, Cedarburg, Fredonia and Saukville.

One year later in 2020, she was booked. Spring break trips filled her schedule.

“Things had ramped up,” Stark said.

Then business crashed due to the pandemic.

“Some pet sitters went out of business,”Stark said. “Luckily for me, my husband has a job and it’s not my only livelihood.”

During the pandemic, many people got pets and when lockdowns started to lift, Stark’s business picked back up.

“Everybody was like, ‘I want to travel. I want to get out of the house,’” she said. “After the pandemic, it really, really has exploded.”

Stark built a list of nearly 140 clients. She is always jammed during spring break. Her alarm goes off at 4 a.m. and she goes to bed at 11 p.m.

Weekends, holidays and summers are popular vacation times, so that’s when Stark’s business picks up. She and her husband have come to understand she can attend social events for a few hours before she has to leave for work, then return to the fun. She also must carefully plan her own family vacations — nothing spur of the moment.

She also has to cater to the clients’ pets, whose types and needs differ.

She used tweezers to drop a mouse into a cage of a snake, pulling from her experience at the Humane Society. She let a rat run around the living room for an hour before luring it back to its cage with food.

Her first ferret was friendly and loved to be held and played with.

Many animals are happy to see her.

“There are some cats you’ll never see. You always try to put eyeballs on them,” she said.

For felines, she usually only stays about 20 to 30 minutes per visit.

“A cat doesn’t care about me after that,” Stark said.

Dogs can run the gamut, from large English mastiffs to tiny chihuahuas.

“Every animal is different. They all have their own personalities, and every animal is different with what their needs are,” Stark said.

One client had a dog who got seizures and needed medicine at a certain time each day. She thought she couldn’t leave the house and called Stark a “godsend.”

Stark sends a daily photo and text update of how the pet is doing, and she leaves a checklist of services — such as medicines administered — and thank-you notes.

She requires meet-and-greets with the pet and owner before taking on a client.

“They need to know who’s coming in their house. The pet has to meet me,” Stark said. “I’ve met some of the loveliest people and I’ve met a lot of really, really nice animals.”

“Most people feel their pets are part of their family. They are to me,” she said.

Stark’s job and volunteer work aren’t the only times she caters to animals.

She will stop her car for animals killed in the road and move them to the side, making it safe for other animals to feed on them without the danger of being struck by a vehicle.

Stark’s husband grew up with dogs, and she converted him into a cat lover, too. They both have rescued feral cats and turned them into snugglers.

“If I can help an animal, I’m going to help it,” Stark said.

Getting to do that as a second career is a dream come true.

“It’s very enjoyable and I feel like I’m helping people,” Stark said.

“I’m so much happier.”

For more information, visit https://mycrittercompanion.com.