The Whys of Pet Sitting

Riley and I have one. A pet sitter. She isn’t really “ours”. But, she does stay with us when Mom’s away. We prefer to call our sitter by her name, Koni, since she doesn’t actually sit on us. She does take us for walks. She also plays with us in the backyard.

The three of us watch TV together, usually Animal Planet, which we all enjoy, or one of the geek channels, which are my personal favorites. And, of course, we sleep in the guest room with her. In fact, Mom keeps our old beds in there just for when Koni is staying over.

Don’t get me wrong. We love Koni and are very happy when she’s with us. She’s a human who really knows how to communicate with canines (although it must help that we speak English). But, why are there pet sitters? Why can’t we just be allowed to take care of ourselves when our humans are gone on overnighters?

After all, our kin in the wild do it all the time. Wolves don’t expect human intervention when the pack has to leave the pups for a while. Not that the whole pack ever leaves the pups, so maybe that’s not the best analogy. But, you get the idea. Wolves take care of themselves. Since we are still pretty close to our au naturel relatives, we can be independent, too.

Mom could just leave us a tank of water and put our kibble in a gravity feeder. Oh, wait, the feeder won’t work. I was the Omega dog in our litter and, for some reason, I still consume everything in sight. I guess old habits die hard. So, I really should be fed each day by a responsible human.

But, it never hurts to skip a meal now and then. And Riley and I could entertain ourselves by playing with our toys, studying and relaxing, pretty much like we do when Mom’s home. Uh, except for the part where he rips his stuff to shreds when he doesn’t get enough human adoration. Riley never touches Mom’s things but he can be a real terrier with his own. Attention from Mom or Koni or whomever has saved a lot of stuffed toys.

Then there’s the issue of dealing with the yard. It’s very difficult for Riley or me to use the scooper. Limited dexterity and all that. Oh, we can type on the keyboard, play video games, turn pages of books. Things like that. But, when it comes to gripping, we depend on the kindness of humans.

O.k., maybe we do need a pet sitter. But, let’s not dwell on it. Or let our wolf buddies know.

See you on the left side.