I was given the opportunity to read this in exchange for a review from the amazing Rachel’s Random Reads (also known as Rachel’s Random Resources) and although I’m not really one for non-fictions, this was really entertaining and heart warming and I’m so glad I decided to read it!
I’m an avid dog lover and in love my own two cats, so an account of life as a pet sitter seemed like a good book to lighten up those darker evenings. The book was filled with the antics of dogs and their owners, as well as the odd near miss with cars not having their hand breaks applied!
Marchant began her pet sitting life when she had become redundant and still had a mortgage to pay for, loving her own Golden Retriever, Breece (named after a French village), and not wanting to spend more of her working life tied to a desk, dog walking seemed to be the optimum decision. And so we bare witnesses to Marchant setting herself up with a franchise which will give her the support she needs before she strikes out on her own as a PDW (Professional Dog Walker) with her regular four legged charges; ASBO’s/High Maintenance pooches, medium maintenance pouches and low maintenance pooches. We also come across blind pugs, explosive diarrhoea, rats, basement issues and muzzles among other palavers and mishaps.
Toward the end, my chest was physically hurting as Brece and Toby both struggle with age and found myself breathing a huge sigh of relief when there was no goodbye in the book for them!
Laura Marchant has been dubbed the Bridget Jones of the pet sitting world and I can see why! You can literally hear her voice (or what I imagine as her voice) as the words play out and I feel like I’ve also learnt valuable lessons in pet safety and etiquette from Marchant as well as being thoroughly entertained by this head strong woman and her strong willed alpha companion.
This is an ideal stocking filler for any pet lover (or anyone considering a pet!) as we approach the gifting season of winter and I highly recommend adding it to any collection!
Book Blurb
Trials and Tribulations of a Pet Sitter
Hilarious and heart warming true stories of a Pet Sitter.
Laura takes us on her journey describing the immense joy that the animals have brought into her life. But it’s not all fun and games. With sometimes as many as ten dogs around her home, things can get a tad hectic. Not to forget the every daychallenges faced in keeping the pets happy and safe when out walking. Luckily she is not alone in her quest; her unusually dominant Golden Retriever ‘Brece’ is always by her side. Brece earns her keep by convincingly playing the part of the alpha female, ensuring harmony amongst the pack.
At times, the responsibility that Laura faces becomes overwhelming. She may think she has everything covered but that hand of fate could quite easily swoop down, creating havoc for her and the dogs. Laura has endured many close calls and teetered on the precipice of disaster may a time. The longer she continues with her pet sitting enterprise, the more likely hood that total disaster will actually strike. Is she tempting fate?
Laura Marchant is the Bridget Jones of the pet sitting world!
Author Biography
Laura Marchant was born in 1959 in the seaside resort of Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England. Both her parents were born in the same town, so not exactly a family of intrepid travellers! As a child Laura and her siblings were fortunate enough to own shares in the families pets. Unbeknown to Laura at the time, her love for the animals formed the blueprint for a large part of her life. In 2011 she finally found her vocation, and in the comfort of her own home, set up a pet boarding business. For the next 7 years she shared her abode with a pack of dogs. A lot of this time was spent watching over the animals and observing their behaviour, which in turn inspired her to write her first novel ‘Trials and Tribulations of a Pet Sitter’.
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