Each morning, Linda Pinkston slips on solid walking shoes, slides waste disposal sacks into her pocket, and stocks her car with an umbrella, flashlight, towels, and extra leashes. As an eight-year pet sitter for Walkie Doggie, she doesn’t want to keep her four-legged clients waiting.
“When they see you and start wiggling and smiling, it’s the warmest feeling,” she says.
The Newburgh resident logs 5,000-plus daily steps completing 20-30 half-hour pet sits a week. Pinkston feeds, exercises, and even trains pets through play or walks. Visits with less-mobile pets or curtailed by inclement weather mean plenty of belly rubs indoors.
Preparation is key. “Early in my dog-walking days, I had a dog slip her collar and run off,” Pinkston recalls. Another dog once ate a poisonous mushroom and needed emergency care. But expectations are relatively simple. “The pets don’t care if you’re fashionable, smelly, or sweaty — they just trust you. I try to make it fun for them, and it ends up being fun for me, too,” she says.
The sweetest victory is seeing a pet open up. In turn, Pinkston becomes devoted to her furry clients. “We love them like family, hurt when they hurt, love all their quirky little habits, and grieve when it’s time to let them go,” she says.
