As a huge animal lover, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to pursue a career that allowed me to be surrounded by pets all the time.
In my fantasy, how bad could it be being in a business that let me spend time with animals constantly while getting paid for it?
But like any other industry, there must be cons that come with the pros.
To find out whether a career in the pet industry is really as ideal as it sounds, we got in contact with Jo Anne and William, the couple behind a 5-star pet hotel called L Residence.
They kindly agreed to have me over and follow them as they go about their day as professional pet sitters (and we brought along the Galaxy S10+ to test out its camera capabilities with the cute pets we’d be seeing).
A Day In The Life Of A Pet Sitter
Stepping into the private bungalow, I noticed it was a little quiet except for a bit of soft barking.
Granted, I did come over around 11AM which is their downtime. We were given a quick tour around where we were introduced briefly to a few of the pets around.
Jo Anne and William shared that they both stay at the facility themselves and their day normally starts as early as 7AM and the dogs go to the garden to ease themselves (fitting as they’re bound to have a lot of energy from having a good night’s sleep).
Afterwards, breakfast is served around 8AM. Clients get two options; they can opt to have their own food be served or they can choose to have home-cooked meals prepped by the couple.
“We have a menu for our clients where they can choose which meal they’d like for us to make for their pet. We have options like pasta, salmon, fruits (like bananas), and more,” explained William.
Once that’s settled, the next few hours are reserved for “free time” where the pets can have some play time or they can stay in their rooms and enjoy some TV.
Yes, you read that right.
According to Jo Anne, this “TV Therapy” time is well-suited for pets who may be feeling a little anxious being at the facility for the first time.
The programs chosen to be played on the TV are specially curated by the couple to help calm the pets and make them feel more relaxed.
L Residence also has “Pet Music Therapy time” where unique music is played about 4-8 hours every day to calm down the pets and help soothe their minds.
“The music we choose is specially tailored to minimise the pets’ anxiety, which is really helpful for first-time pet boarders,” shared Jo Anne.
Before lunch time at 1PM, it’s grooming time for the pets where they get their coats brushed by the couple.
Afterwards, it’s nap time for the pets, which comes easy when the rooms are all air-conditioned and there’s a nice human-sized bed ready for them to sleep on.
2 hours later, to help re-energise them for the rest of the day, snacks are given to the pets. This is when things start getting a little crazy.
After the treats, the pets are then free to have some more play time with other pets or they can have a one-on-one session with Jo Anne and William.
It was all fun and games at first but being young dogs, they got a little too hyperactive and started getting a little rough with each other (but not aggressively of course).
Luckily the general shared area is quite spacious so it was more than enough for them to run around and enjoy their toys or chase each other.
If that wasn’t enough, the hotel has a 1000sqf “Doggy Garden” where they were given more space to go wild and have fun. This is when I got to test out the HDR10+ super steady recording feature on the S10+.
It definitely made it easier to capture shots of the dogs when they’re in their hyperactive moods and running around amok.
When outdoors, I found the S10+’s Scene Optimiser exceptionally good in making the colours pop out. The camera’s intelligence helps apply the optimised colour when recognising a subject or scene automatically, which enhances the effect and quality of the photos.
Once the sun starts setting around 7PM, the pets are fed dinner before they start to prepare for bedtime around 10PM.
“Since we started this hotel, this has been our daily routine. There’s no public holidays or weekend concept for us but honestly, we don’t mind. It’s pretty cool that we’re able to start and end our day with the pets, it makes us feel like we’re a real family,” added Jo Anne.
From Pet Lovers To Pet Experts
Jo Anne and William have both been in the pet sitting industry for 9 years, after leaving their corporate careers to manage their hotel full-time. Through the many years, they’ve gained a lot of experience in all aspects of taking care of pets.
“We’ve been pet owners since we were young, so we already had a lot of experience. But we learned a lot of new things on-the-go, such as providing senior care for pets. We had to learn things like giving insulin jabs every 12 hours and how to handle pets on drips,” shared Jo Anne.
Besides cats and dogs, the couple also handles rarer pets like scorpions, sugar gliders, parrots, and iguanas.
When asked if they consider this a dream job, there was no hesitation.
“Of course! We left the corporate world to work with animals because we feel like they appreciate us sincerely. We’re simple people that prefer to stay away from office politics, so we’re much happier with this decision,” said Jo Anne.
William then added, “Pet hotels can be lucrative but it comes with a lot of high responsibility. These aren’t just pets, they’re children as well so we have to be careful. We have experience so it helps.”
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A lot of effort and dedication is needed to really run a successful pet hotel. I may love animals, but after seeing what L Residence’s daily routine is like, I’ll stick with taking care of my own pets.
I did really enjoy being surrounded by cute pets for an entire day, and thanks to the Galaxy S10+, I was able to capture a lot of the adorable moments. I particularly enjoyed playing with the Live Focus effect which let me mimic photos that looked like it was taken professionally.
Maybe it’s time to consider starting that Instagram account for my pets.
- For more information on the Samsung Galaxy S10, you can click here for the official website.
- For more information on the services and room rates provided by L Residence, you can click here for their official website or here for their Facebook page.
This article was written in collaboration with Samsung.
