There are moments in life that create schisms, gulfs, separations, that become a clear before and after. In our personal world one such schism was created when we had the twins. They were born 13 weeks early and spent over 100 days in the NICU. That was a trying time and business took a backseat, but there was a moment.
I remember that day and that moment almost perfectly. Standing in the boys hospital room at Princess Anne reading their daily chart. Looking at the team of nurses I started to question why we function the way we do with our staff. Why do we have a main pet sitter and a back-up pet sitter for our pet sitting and dog walking clients when the nurses in the NICU work as a team?
Each day we would have a team of nurses during the day and at night and then the next day we would be given a different team. Looking at that chart I wondered why we held ourselves, as pet sitters and dog walkers, to a different standard than NICU nurses. They were the ones doing that far more difficult and taxing job, and it made more sense. A team mentality keeps everyone at their best. Each member of the team will be better rested, better prepared, and more focused when on the job.
Up until that point it was common that a pet sitter could work back to back to back days getting to their first visit at 5:00 AM and leaving their last visit at 9:30 at night giving themselves little time for rest and relaxation. Being a pet sitter/dog walker is not the same as being a NICU nurse. To many people, myself included, our pets are our babies, but they are fully grown semi-self-sufficient babies whereas the children in the NICU require constant monitoring and care. While pet care is care it isn’t the same level as the NICU and if a team of nurses can handle the delicate development of at risk infants then our team of pet sitters and dog walkers can handle the care of your beloved pets.
It has been nearly four years since our time in the NICU. Almost four of a more team focused approach to scheduling pet sitting visits, and like many things in business I imagined a much harsher reception than what has been received. We still get a few phone calls and emails asking for only one pet sitter or dog walker, but when we explain the team approach, the team focus, and the benefits it is more often than not well received. With Stable Hands Pet Care working as a team we have been able to provide more refreshed and prepared pet sitters, we are more available to take bookings by spreading it out over a team, and your pets have multiple new friends to play with.
As Stable Hands Pet Care moves towards the future and continues to grow the team approach continues to evolve. Just like a NICU nursing staff has head nurses we now have team leaders to lead from the field. Pet sitters and dog walkers that aren’t simply a secondary authority figure giving orders from afar but fellow staff members assisting our pet sitters and dog walkers to improve on their already excellent care.
Business constantly evolves and inspiration for evolution can be found anywhere. There was a day I stood in the NICU attempting to decipher a daily chart and noticed the team of nurses. Since that time I have been working to bring the same approach to our pet sitting and dog walking clients. Giving them a team of pet sitters and dog walkers to care for their pets, and now with team leaders to help guide and develop the team Stable Hands Pet Care can only become more effective.
We look forward to continuing to be your partners in pet care and provide our team of pet sitters and dog walkers to care for your pets needs when you’re not there.