Background on Fussy Felines

In 1989 I had two cats, was single, about to take a week long trip with a girlfriend, and had no family or friends on my side of town to feed my furballs. What would I do with Tasha and Ziggy? I called around to several kennels, but knew they would be very unhappy in an environment full of noise and commotion.

At the time, I worked in apartment management and lived on the premises. When I began expressing my concerns to a co-worker she agreed to go by and feed my cats. This set the stage in the office for many discussions on the subject of "What do other people do with their pets when they have no one to care for them?" Especially, if the pets are not kennel material. My co-workers, knowing what an animal lover I am, suggested that I start my own part-time pet sitting service. What a great idea, I thought, and I have a captive clientele right here! It so happened that our apartment community consisted of 740 units of upscale residents. What better place to start! Once I had permission from management, I was off and running.

Since that time I've married, thankfully to another animal lover. Also, Ziggy developed cardio-myopathy (very common in purebreds) which made it an even greater challenge to travel since he needed human heart medication twice a day. We lost Ziggy in March of 1999, but this experience made it clear how imperative it is to find someone you can trust to take care of your pets, especially when they have special needs.

In memory of my Mother, I spent 1994 to 2000 pursuing a career in advertising and marketing with a local ad agency and newspaper as not to "waste" my degree. In that time I found that I could use what I'd been learning in advertising along with years of customer service experience; to grow a business I really believe in and enjoy ... pet sitting!

In 2001 we moved to the near southside of Indy where we now live. We bought an old fixer-upper with a few acres allowing us to foster additional animals when the need arises. Currently we are housing many dogs, cats, rabbits, a domestic skunk, parrots, parakeets, cockatiels, doves, goats, a potbellied pig, an alpaca, two ponies, iguanas, turtles & a tortoise, and other assorted pets waiting for their forever homes. The button on our website entitled "Our Pets" shows you pictures of some of the animals we share and have shared our lives with.

A few years ago, we expanded our animal involvement to include exotic pets for both pet sitting and fostering. We participated in the rescue and adoption efforts of an exotic pet rescue and in 2009 started our own, IndyCLAW Rescue, operating on the south side of Indy. If we can assist you with an exotic pet situation, call or email us. If we cannot help you with your specific situation, we can usually refer you to someone who can.

Our backyard was recently certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a Wildlife Habitat. It took us a couple of years to get all the elements of shelter, food, and water balanced for our size property, but it has been well worth the effort. We often see foxes playing in our back yard and have had deer, coyotes, ground hogs, raccoons, and a wide variety of birds stop by for a visit.