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Want to Join
Our Team? |
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If you live
within an
8 mile radius of Phoenixville, PA and think
you'd be interested in pet sitting, please send us an
EMAIL. |
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About US
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 Caren
Sipkin (with Abigail)
Hello, My name is Caren Sipkin and I am the PROUD Owner of For Pets'
Sake a Professional Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Service. We are
located in the suburbs of Southeastern Pennsylvania and humbly serve
the Chester and Montgomery County areas.
I
started For Pets' Sake in 1993, and at the time there were only a
handful of pet-sitting services in operation. I had no idea if
this idea of mine would ever get off the ground, let alone be
successful and rewarding.
Within just a few
months of pet-sitting full time I was so busy I was turning work
away. I was doing 12-15 visits a day - sometimes starting
before 6:00AM and not finishing my rounds until 11:00 PM. I
branched out, hiring additional sitters and expanding my coverage
area. Hiring the "cream of the crop" has always been a
priority for me - and each member of my team was selected with great
care. It's very satisfying to see the business grow and flourish
because of hard work and dedication from everyone involved.
In
2008, For Pets' Sake celebrated it's 15th YEAR of outstanding service.
It's been quite a journey, full of blood, sweat, and yes, tears.
I am looking forward to another 15 years of providing you and your
furry, feathered, and finned friends tender loving care as often as
you need.
I
have my own small menagerie of pets, including three cats (Jasper,
Levi, and Eltie) and a dog, Shelby.
Shel
is my constant companion. From time to time, she'll go with me
out on the road to assist with the pets, helping clam down the
skittish, tame the wild, comfort the lonely, and play with the
frisky. She makes friends every where she goes.
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Lisa C.
 (with
new TWINS Gavin and Nolan)
Lisa joined For Pets’ Sake in August 2006. Lisa was
one of the many
respondents to an ad posted to craigslist.org. Initially,
Lisa applied for a part-time pet-sitter position. Ironically, while
interviewing, I came to discover that Lisa also had a very skilled
background in accounting and public relations. It was a perfect
fit, as I was also looking for someone to help out in the office.
Lisa was born and raised in Phoenixville, and aside from a two year
stint in Perris, California, has lived in the area all her life.
Lisa graduated from Clarion University of Pennsylvania with a BA in
Education.
For several months Lisa handled double-duty, both pet-sitting AND
keeping the office running smoothly. Lisa took a break from being on the road when she gave birth
to her son, Justin on
April
28,
2007. Now, Lisa works in the office assisting with the
administrative duties, answering and returning phone calls,
preparing the schedules, and basically keeping me out from under all
the paperwork, as well as doing pet sitting on the weekends.
Lisa, her husband Bob,
and Justin
(below, center)
all welcomed the new two new babies, Gavin Davis
(left)
and Nolan Daniel
(right)
into the family on September 17, 2009.
Everyone is healthy and happy and doing great. Please help us congratulate Lisa, Bob, and Big Brother
Justin on the new additions to their family.
Lisa has her hands full with not only her three boys, but also three dogs!
She and Bob also foster rescued and
abused Pugs, providing them with a loving and secure home for a
short while until they find a permanent home.
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 Susan
W.
(with Caren's dog, Shelby)
Susan has been part of the For Pets’ Sake team since the fall of
2001. From September through May Susan works as an instruction
assistant in the reading department for first, second, and third
graders in East Pikeland Elementary School. Pet-sitting started out
as a way to supplement her income during the summer months, but has
turned into much more. She “finds great comfort in knowing that the
pet sitting that I do is year-round”. Susan does a select group of
clients during the week, primarily afternoon, evening, and bedtime
hours, as well as on the weekends and during school breaks. Susan
takes on increased pet-sitting duties during the peak summer months.
Susan and her husband Mike moved to the Phoenixville area from
Vermont in June of 2000. They have two children: Janelle, 19, who
is just finishing her sophomore year at Penn State University at
University Park, and Jonathan, 16, who keeps busy with basketball
and baseball, and who attends Phoenixville
Area High School. The last member of the family is Dunkin (yes,
like the donut), he’s 11 years old and is loved by all.
Susan enjoys ALL the pets that she cares for as well as the awesome
clients and pet sitters that she’s gotten a chance to get to know
and work with over the years. As Susan puts it: ”I enjoy working
with the youth of our community, teaching and shaping the little
minds that are our future…but for the fun of it, I enjoy caring for
the pets of our community. It’s a fantastic felling knowing that I
can be there to feed, play, and walk YOUR pets just like I was their
owner.” |
Donnie
G.
In
2007 a mutual friend introduced me to Donnie, insisting that he
would be a great addition to the
For Pets’ Sake squad. Well, she was right. Donnie has been
the go-to-guy in
the lineup of For Pet's Sake since early 2008, and is a HUGE cat
lover. Donnie has two kitties of his own at home (Zack and Zeus), but
he is a
lover of ALL animals. Prior to his employment at For Pets'
Sake, Donnie worked for Pepsi Co. for nearly 30 years.
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 Nicole
S.
Nicole has been working
at For Pets' Sake since 2006. She has been an animal lover as
long as she can remember! Through her childhood she had an array of
pets including rats, turtles, lizards, birds, a cats and dogs.
Her first job was at a local pet shop and from that point forward
she knew that she wanted to 'grow up' to work with animals.
Now she does. In 2009, Nicole received her degree in Animal
Biotechnology and Conservation with a minor in Animal Behavior,
Training and Enrichment from Delaware Valley
College. "I love working with domestic animals and have loved
every minute of the three-plus years that I have spent with For Pets'
Sake. Working at For Pets' Sake has been a fantastic
compliment to my studies, and vice versa".
Currently, Nicole has two
German Shorthaired Pointers named Sadie and Benson, and two cats: a
Maine Coon named Bobbie and a black domestic shorthair named Link.
She also has a ferret named Dillanger, a rat named Greg, and a
female betta fish named Dot. :) .
"I walk
dogs for a living. Tell me that's not the BEST job ever."
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 Monique
H.
Monique has
been with For Pets' Sake since
February 2004. "As a working mother, it’s a dream job!
I’m able to get my daughter off to school in the morning and be back
when she comes home in the afternoon. Not to mention I’m
outside every day, clients and pets are always happy to see me, and
they always make me smile! " Monique takes
pride in caring for client’s pets as she would want someone to care
for her own. This has been For Pets' Sake's motto from day
one. Pictured are Monique's two very active rescues Jazi and
Boo.
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 Charlie B.
Charlie,
or "Uncle Charlie" as he is often known, began with For Pet’s Sake
in 2003. Prior to 2003, Charlie was an engineer for Raytheon
Engineers, where he worked on the design of power generating plants
and high voltage substations.
He
lives with his wife of “forever”, Betty, and two equally old dogs.
Four of their five children live in the area, they have eight
grandchildren, the oldest of whom recently got married. “Now
that makes one feel really old”.
When
not relaxing at home, Betty and Charlie like to travel with their
“fifth wheel” trailer, and have seen a good deal of the country, but
say they have just scratched the surface. Bicycles are usually
taken, since they like to see the areas where they stop “up close”,
hopefully without being hit. Charlie says this area is probably
more dangerous than anywhere they have ridden in the country.
(I believe it!)
According to Charlie "My canine clients, and their owners, are
the best I've ever had. They (the canines!) listen
to everything I say, and never talk back”. For Pets' Sake
is extremely lucky to have Charlie on board.
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 Barbara
H.
Barbara has been with For Pets’ Sake longer than any of my other
sitters. After working for a pharmaceutical company for 41
years, and a day care for 5 years Barb decided to work with
animals - her true love. Initially, Barb started working for a
rescue center; however after a bit of time found that, while
very rewarding, she wanted something a bit more personal. Then
she saw a sign I’d posted looking for workers and she applied. “For
Pets’ Sake was just what I was looking for – to care for animals
she knew were already loved.” That was in 1999!
In the
10 years that Barbara has worked for For Pets’ Sake, she has
grown close to the many pets she’s cared for as well as some of
the great owners. Barbara has even gone to vet visits with
some, not only to support the owners, but also to help comfort
the pets. In fact, as Barb
puts it: "When you care for the same pet for so long, you can
recognize important health issues and help call the owners
attention to it. I
feel a great sadness at times because after caring for these
animals for so long and then they go over the Rainbow Bridge, I
miss them as much as if they were my own.”
Barb
has continued her help with the rescue group called “Spay and
Save”. Initially, she helped out with their annual flea
markets, but soon became involved in their rescue work as well.
Over the course of the last few years, Barbara has had at least
25 cats and kittens pass through her home each year on their way
to wonderful adopter homes. Just recently she fostered her
first dog. :0)
“I
must confess I have kept two of my foster cats - one of which
did a complete turnaround from being feral to my precious “lovebug”.
This is hard volunteer work, but so very necessary. The
remainder of my life is devoted to helping these animals as best
I can."
Currently, Barb is the coordinator of her group's cages at her
local Petco store, where she started out cleaning cages 14 times
a week!
"We
have had 120 cats and kittens adopted from this one location
since the store opened! I help with transportation, hold a
monthly adoption day, do fostering, process adoption
applications, and enjoy the fellowship of wonderful volunteers
along with our annual flea market, which is now held in my
church. If I had kept notes, I think I could write a book of
all of the four legged friends I've had over the years at For
Pet's Sake and in the rescue work . I wish so much that my
world had gone in that direction years before it actually did.!"
For more information about “Spay and Save”
please visit their website at
www.spayandsave.org. Additional
volunteers are always needed.
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 Stephanie D.
Steph has been part of For Pet Sakes' team since 2006, and in
addition to covering a steady mid-day route since starting with For
Pets' Sake, she covers a stream of additional stops throughout the
course of any given day. Steph has always been an animal
lover. When she was little, she would always take in stray
cats and rehabilitate baby birds that she'd found. "I love
working at For Pets' Sake. It is very rewarding to care for
all of the dogs and other animals when their owners cannot be there.
I care for each and every one as if they were my own."
Steph is married and has three children, as well as a cat, a ferret,
a bird, and a dog who was abused that she adopted/rescued 5 years
ago.
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 Jonelle B.
Jonelle is one of our long-term mid-day sitters who has been with
For Pets' Sake for over 6 years. Pictured at right is Jonelle with Chance and Bodie, her
mid-day boys who are two of the biggest "hams" out there.
They'll do anything for a treat (or TWO)! Not to mention that
they love their time with Jonelle as much as she enjoys spending
time with them.
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 Lauren S.
Lauren
has been with For Pets' Sake since the Summer of 2009. She is a senior at Drexel
University, who will be graduating in 2010 with a degree in General
Studies and a minor in Ecology. While Lauren has a passion for
all animals, her goal after graduation is to someday work with
exotic birds. To date, Lauren's animal experience includes her
work at the Philadelphia Zoo in the Browse (nutrition) Department,
as well as the Academy of Natural Sciences in their Live Animal
Center.
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 Julie
F.
Julie grew up with
animals all of her life, so when she married someone who is allergic
to dogs, she was thrilled to find a place that she could still get
her doggie snuggles and walks even though she couldn’t have them at
home!! Julie has worked at For Pet’s Sake since 2008 doing midday
and weekend stops as well as sleepovers. She graduated from Moore
College of Art and Design with a degree in Textile Design and
currently works as a Pre School art teacher in Limerick. When she
is not enjoying art with little ones, she is playing with her brand
new adopted kitties. This past summer, she adopted a pair of
abandoned 2-week old kitties, Charlotte
(orange) and Dread (black) that instantly became the center of her
world.
“Working at For Pet’s
Sake and meeting so many doggies and kitties with so much
personality has been such a wonderful addition to my life.”
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 Cindy
C.
Cindy has been with For Pets' Sake since the Summer of 2009. She has grown up with pets all
her life ranging from fish to guinea pigs, ferrets and dogs.
Cindy is an active member with the Delaware Valley Siberian Husky
Rescue, attending their events and checking adoption applications
for prospective adopters. Helping a dog find it's Forever Home
is one the greatest joys of doing rescue. Currently, Cindy has
two spoiled Siberian Huskies (right) that reside with her in
Limerick.
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 Maria
T.
Maria started working part-time with For Pet's Sake in the summer of
2009. While working just part-time over the summer, Maria now works
five days a week with For Pets' Sake and covers one of our mid-day
routes. During this past summer Maria also worked as a a groomer at Pet Smart.
Her experience at Pet Smart gave her a great start and a pet sitter,
as it gave her lots of experience handling dogs, large and small. Maria
is very reliable, if somewhat quiet, and absolutely loves working
with animals. Maria plans to take classes in order to become
an "Animal Cop".
 Amanda
H. & Danielle H.
Amanda and Danielle
are both personal friends whom I hired to cover a job because it
was, literally, right next door to where they lived. Before
that job was even done, I asked Amanda to do another job around the
corner, and then Danielle covered one on her way home from work.
Before I knew what happened, it seemed I picked up two new
part-time sitters!
Amanda and Danielle are
both GREAT with animals. Danielle works full time
managing a horse farm in the Chester Springs area - and has nearly
20 years experience working with horses. When I go away, they
are usually the ones who take care of MY dog, Shelby. Amanda
and Danielle have 2 dogs, Ty and Brody (left and
right respectively), and 2 cats, Pocket
(above) and Riley at home.
 Annette
B.
Annette is an old friend of mine, who recently got downsized
from her job as Activities Director in an assisted living
facility. Annette is a graduate of West Chester University
and has a degree in Music Therapy, with over 25 years experience
in her field. She is helping out in the For Pets' Sake
office temporarily (and keeping me from drowning in paperwork)
while Lisa is out on maternity leave. Annette has been
getting me organized, and has re-organized not only my business
office, but my personal office as well. She's even
assisted a For Pets' Sake client with packing in preparation for
their move to a new home. If you need someone to help you
get organized, or just want someone to help you get a handle on
all the "stuff" around the house, give For Pets' Sake a call,
and maybe Annette can help YOU out as well. Thank you SO
much for your help, Annette.
 Robin T.
Robin is one of the newest sitters, at For Pets' Sake, but she has a
TON of experience. Since she's been old enough to care for
animals, she's always had a zoo. Currently, Robin has 6 dogs (yes
SIX - pictured at right) and a large fish tank. Robin has
worked for MAC Cosmetics as a manager going on 7 years - but will be
joining For Pets' Sake "full time" in January. In her spare
time, Robin also volunteers at the SPCA. According to Robin, she's
"A knowledge junky for any information regarding animals,
training, care, etc - I just can't get enough." She loves
the outdoors, and "loves making a difference in peoples lives,
even if it's doing something as small as taking care of YOUR pets
and giving you reassurance that they receive love when you can't
give it to them yourself."
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 Patti
M.
Patti is another new sitter at For Pets’ Sake, but I’ve known her
personally for years. Formerly, Patti was the Owner of PC
Collectibles (Antique Shop) in East Greenville, and a Teller/Manager
at Citizens Bank. Patti also worked for Senior Care-Home
Instead, Inc. (an organization that helps seniors stay in their
homes longer through food prep and respite care for Alzheimer's
patients), and Legend Properties, a commercial real estate company,
before joining the team at For Pets' Sake. At home, Patti has
one dog, Mya
(left),
a recently adopted Weimaraner, Maxwell, a 3-year old tabby cat, 2
parakeets,
and 15 tropical fish. Patti is the proud single mother of FOUR
children, ranging in ages from 26 to 13. We are happy to have her
on board.
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 Nancy
B.
Nan is my "virtual" assistant. By that I mean that she
handles all of the For Pets' Sake online systems, such as
managing and updating this webpage, designing and producing the
For Pets' Sake newsletters, as well as handling our Google and
YouTube accounts, and our advertising posts on craigslit.org.
She's been doing this in various different forms since mid-2006.
Back then
I had a very simple and basic webpage that got the job done, but
that was it. Then in January 2008 and again in January
2009, Nan completely re-did the For Pets' Sake website - taking
it to the next level, adding in this About Us page, updating our
Testimonials, as well as giving everything a fresh new look.
It's something of which we're both very proud.
Unfortunately, Nan was recently laid off from her full time job
of 13+ years as a Project Coordinator for an Environmental
Engineering and Consulting in Plymouth
Meeting, Pennsylvania. Nan will continue to put in several
hours a week ensuring that For Pets' Sake's electronic
information is always current, and who knows, maybe even pick up
a stop or two here and there to help out until her job search
pays off.
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Back to Top |
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Interesting FACTS |
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The staff of For Pets'
Sake has a combined total of over 100 years of pet sitting
experience!
Over the course of the
last 16+ years, For Pets' Sake has completed over 178,000
visits!!!
We have a core team of
highly trained adult pet sitters.
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