Missing Mario - The Pet Sitting Adventure  

1st June 2015

One morning last week, I was headed out to my car to do a quick shopping run when I encountered an unexpected guest on the side porch. The tiniest dog I’d ever seen was sitting by my cement planter and he came running over to me, not the least bit shy. I looked around for an owner, but didn’t see anyone around. I live on a busy street and was not comfortable with just leaving the poor guy to fend for himself.

I scooped the doggy up in my arms and he didn’t seem to mind at all. He appeared to be some sort of miniature chihuahua, but he wasn’t a barker like most of the other chihuahua’s I’d met in my lifetime. He was completely calm. I noted that he was older dog because of the white hair on his snout and back. Also noticed that his nails were in desperate need of a trim, which made me wonder if he’d been on his own for awhile.

I took my new friend up and down the street asking neighbors if they recognized him. Nobody did. So, I brought him into the house and offered him some human food since that was all I had, and he wolfed it down like he was starving. He took a good long drink of water and curled up on my lap and fell asleep. By this time, I must confess, I’d fallen head and heels in love with the tiny guy. After his nap, we had a photo session during which he followed each of my requests perfectly.

After sharing a little more love with “Buddy”, as I’d started calling him, I knew I had to take him to a nearby veterinarian’s office to see if he had a microchip that would tell me where he belonged. So, we hopped in the car and Buddy rode along like he’d been doing it his whole life. Another indication that he had a home somewhere. Buddy sat calmly on one of my arms as we walked into the vet’s office. The receptionist checked him over with the chip finder and, sure enough, he had been microchipped. She made a phone call and got the name and address of the owner. Buddy and I thanked her and got back in the car. Time to take him home. I wasn’t too crazy about handing him over, but I was sure his owners were worried sick.

The address was only a few blocks from my house. I pulled up in front of the big house that had kid’s bicycles and toys everywhere and took Buddy to the door. It took awhile for a young lady to answer the door. She appeared to be high school age. She saw Buddy in my arms and her mouth opened in surprise.

“I’ll bet you’ve been looking for this little guy,” I said to her with a smile.  She laughed and replied, “Oh, wow! I didn’t even know he was gone.”

She explained that the actual owners were on vacation and she was sitting for the three children, “Mario”, and two other dogs. The house looked as if someone had been playing Jumanji, one of the kids was screaming, and this teen seemed completely unconcerned. And no one was missing Mario! I told her that Mario had been with me for the last four hours and she grabbed him and didn’t even say thank you as she closed the door.

As I got back in my car to head back home, I was already missing Mario. And I wondered whether I should let the owners of the animals--and parents of the children--know how their sitter was managing the brood of responsibilities. I decided I would stop by and talk with them when they returned from vacation the following week. I wanted to give them a good recommendation for a pet boarder nearby and offer them another option for pet care, at least, to use the next time they were planning to leave town.

Using a reputable pet boarder will save you the worry of lost pets. Pet boarding makes your beloved animals top priority and their safety number one. Mario would have gotten a much-needed nail trim and lots of personal attention. If I hadn’t taken Mario under my protective wing and worried about getting him back home, his fate might not have been so favorable. Don’t take risks when it comes to the well-being of your pets in your absence. Find a pet sitting service you can trust on PetStayAdvisor or ask a friend or your local vet for referral.

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