When Joanne Trudeau took her two great danes to a nearby kennel before going on vacation a few years back, she knew at least one of the dogs was going to struggle with the experience.
Instead, they both did. And by the time she and her husband, Michael, came home from their seven-day trip, the stress her pets had endured was easy to notice.
“There are a lot of dogs that just don’t do well in a kennel environment,” Joanne said.`
It was around that time that she decided to quit her job as an office manager and start her own business offering extended pet-care alternatives. The company, Posh Pet Sitting, offers overnight dog and cat sitting, either at their ranch home in Nipomo, or at the convenience of the customer and their pet at their own house or apartment.
“We offer home visits, too,” Joanne explained. “We can come to their home three times a day to check on the animals or we can stay overnight with them.”
And when Joanne or one of her four employees do stay over, they try to do little things that make the customer’s place seem lived in.
“We want people to know their homes and their pets are taken care of,” she said. “We take in mail, take out trash, water plants—things like that—it’s so the home doesn’t look off.”
Posh Pets houses around seven to eight dogs at any given time at the Trudeau’s 2-acre ranch out in Nipomo.
“Most of it is big lawns with steps down to other lawns with lots of room to run,” Joanne said.
Rates to have pets housed at the ranch are $60 per night. The price for Posh Pets to stay at a customer’s home overnight runs from around $60 to $100 per day. Visits are $15 each and involve 30 minutes of food, play, and exercise. Extra pets are an additional $10 per charge.
Joanne said she does not advertise and relies more on word of mouth from her customers.
“We have tremendously loyal customers that really do a good job of getting the word out,” she said.
To set up an appointment with Posh Pets, call (805) 310-4460, or visit their website at posh-pet-sitting.com.
Highlights:
• Vivid Financial Management, in partnership with some organizations in Ventura County, is running a toy drive to benefit families affected by the Thomas Fire. The company is also running a GoFundMe account (gofundme.com/tftoydrive) to raise money to purchase toys scheduled for a Jan. 25 delivery date. Toys can be dropped off at 340 E. Clark Ave. in Orcutt through Jan. 12 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.
• Santa Marians who bank with Rabobank now have 17 new ATMs they can use without fear of fees after Rabobank N.A. reached an agreement with Allpoint, the world’s largest surcharge-free ATM network. Visit rabobankamerica.com to see which ATMs are now available for use.
Staff Writer Spencer Cole wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, mail, or email at spotlight@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 21-28, 2017.