A little bit about Terrie Lee Cole, owner of Pet Sitting with TLC/Your Place or Mine.
What does your business do? Pet and House Sitting/Dog Walking/Transportation
- Pets include: dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, birds, fish and she has even taken care of snails. Her house (dogs) or theirs.
- Geographic area: Marion, Mattapoisett, Fairhaven, Rochester, Wareham, Onset, Centerville, Osterville, Marstons Mills, Cotuit. Southcoast & Cape Cod
Who is your customer?
- Someone who wants to go on vacation and doesn’t want to leave their pet in a kennel.
- People who work during the day and need walking for their pets.
- House sitting, either with a pet, so the animal is in their familiar home setting, or for people who don’t want to leave their house empty while they are traveling.
How long have you been in this business? Established in 2004
What have you done before pet/house sitting? Terrie has always worked in a nurturing capacity. She is, and continues to be an Aesthetician (Terrie is also the former owner of Essentials with TLC), a home health aid and a hospice care worker, a mother and a grandmother. Throughout her life, Terrie has always been in a role of giver, which suits her personality of compassionate nurturer.
Why did you start your business? Terrie had two beloved 60 pound dogs of her own, Ninja, her sole mate for 16 years and Sophie who passed peacefully at the age of 13. After the passing of Sophie Terrie began to fill the void by minding the pets of family and friends when they went away. Before long, friends of friends or clients from the salon were asking to hire Terrie and the business blossomed from there. With this arrangement, Terrie can enjoy all the benefits of pets, the unconditional love, interaction and the exercise without the cost.
What do you enjoy most about pet sitting? Terrie’s reply, “the dogs ground me. I define dog as unconditional love despite clothes and hair. I never tire of this or the flexibility. I love change of scenery and animals keep me active, I love walking. I have cared for so many different types of pets and I just love the variety and the personalities of each. The return that I get for minding the pets is priceless.”
What makes your business different from others that do similar things? Terrie believes that anyone can get the job done, but she looks for what each pet needs. She will hang out with them if they need some petting, or lovingly put in the time outside walking. Also, “I follow the rules – I always follow the owners rules, they never come home to any new behaviors!”
What special things do you do for your customers? Terrie takes a lot of pictures of the pet while caring (photography is a serious hobby). She will send an email at the end of the stay outlining what happened, or what you may need to know. Terrie also has a pet stroller for dogs 35 lbs or under in case the dog doesn’t want to complete a walk.
Tell me about one of your favorite customers. Terrie laughs at this and responds, “this is so hard, I don’t have a favorite, I love them all!” She has a story for each pet, the ones who can walk for miles, the one who likes to watch TV, and the ones who love to snuggle.
Ideally, where do you see your business in 3 years? Terrie enjoys this so much she would like to transition Pet Sitting to her primary source of employment and scale back on her other work.
What you may not know about Terrie: Terrie has spent most of her life on the Southcoast of MA. She loves exercise and being outside walking trails or along the beach. She is an accomplished seamstress and quilter and her passion is photography (the photos on the website are mostly taken by Terrie!) Terrie can also be found spoiling her beautiful grandbabies.
If you are in need of pet sitting or house sitting, please contact Terrie to discuss schedules or see her rates.