A day in the life of

8.30am          A day in the life of Fetch and Fuss typically starts with any cat feeding jobs I have to do. This week I’m looking after an ageing ginger tom, gracefully approaching his 20’s. He’s a slow, chilled cat who likes to spend his days laid out in the sun washing himself. But it’s a wet week in March, and unfortunately there is no sun, so the shelf above the radiator will do very nicely instead!

                   I wash his bowls, change his water and put down new food. Back again to do the same this evening and I bet he won’t have moved all day!

9am              First walk of the day is a half hour individual walk with a Springer Spaniel. She used to come on group walks but arthritis in her neck has meant she can’t keep up like she used to. But she enjoys the one on one attention and is happy just sniffing her way around the local park.

10am            Pick up for the first group walk and my own dog, a high energy Hungarian Vizsla is with me now. She gets to ride pride of place in the front seat (with her seatbelt on of course!). Today I’m walking a Labrador, a Weimaraner and a Doberman Rottweiler cross. This is the young lively group with my Vizsla being the oldest at 3 years old. They need a little more supervision than the older dogs I walk, as they can lead each other astray at times! But hey, that’s adolescence for you! The hour is usually filled with a bit of sniffing and alot of play. I love to watch dogs having fun together and I’m guaranteed to laugh out loud with this lot!

12pm            With the first group towelled down and settled back at home, it’s time to pick up the older and more ‘sensible’ dogs. Today that’s a Labradoodle, a little black Pug, a Labrador cross and a Border Collie. And of course my girl is still with me. This group always stay close and I don’t need to worry about them wandering too far (although interesting smells can sometimes lure the Labrador mixes but a well timed treat will stop them in their tracks, bribery is a beautiful thing!).  This lot are more chilled than this morning’s group and are happy having a sniff around Highdown Hill. The Border Collie is happiest chasing a ball and the Pug is just glad to be able to keep up, bless him. With those short legs he must walk twice as far as his longer legged friends!

2pm              A quick trip home to drop off my tired Vizsla, change my trousers, as I’m guaranteed to have at least a few muddy footprints on them!, and get a quick bite to eat.

2.30pm          Next is a half hour individual walk with an American Cocker Spaniel. He’s not very tolerant of other dogs so stays on his lead. Luckily for me he lives on a private estate by the beach so it’s a pleasant walk where I can take in all the nice houses and the waves lapping against the beach.

3.30pm          Home again for a couple of hours and time to catch up on my admin! My diary needs to be checked for the following day, invoices need to be printed and follow up phone calls to new customers. Time for a well deserved cup of tea!

5.30pm          Back to check on the ginger tom cat and he’s back on the shelf above the radiator, but his food has been eaten so I know he has moved at least once since this morning! Time to put down some more food, give him a tickle and tell him I’ll see him again in the morning. Home now for the evening, I’ll have a nice hot bath and early night all ready for another satisfying day looking after peoples pets.