Hello Wagz ‘n Whiskerz Community,

We’re thrilled to announce a big update! Wagz ‘n Whiskerz has partnered with Swifto, a leader in technology-driven pet care services. This partnership brings advanced technology to our operations while maintaining the local charm and personalized care you’ve come to expect.

Why Swifto?

Swifto is renowned for their innovative use of GPS tracking and real-time updates during pet walks, enhancing transparency and safety in pet care. We chose to collaborate with Swifto because they share our commitment to high-quality, community-focused pet care.

What This Means for You

Our collaboration with Swifto enhances our services without changing the fundamental aspects you love about Wagz ‘n Whiskerz:

• Continued Local Management: Renee Bodary, our dedicated manager, continues to lead with the same passion and commitment to excellence.
• Familiar Faces, Same Great Service: Importantly, all our pet sitters—yes, the same Wagz ‘n Whiskerz sitters you know and trust—are staying with us. Swifto’s expansion into this area is being built around our existing team to ensure continuity and the personal touch you rely on.
• Enhanced Capabilities with New Technology: The introduction of Swifto’s technology gives you access to GPS tracking for walks and real-time notifications. This will allow you to see where your pets are and what they’re up to, giving you peace of mind knowing they’re safe and well-cared for.

Our Commitment to You

This partnership is designed to enhance our service offerings with advanced technology while preserving the intimate, trusted relationships you have with our sitters. Our team remains as committed as ever to providing the best care to your pets.

Looking Ahead

We are excited to embark on this new chapter with Swifto and bring these advanced tools to your pet care experiences. We believe these enhancements will improve our service quality and make our interactions more transparent and reassuring.

As always, we are here to answer any questions or concerns you may have about these new changes. Please feel free to reach out; we’re eager to continue providing the exceptional service you expect, now with even more capabilities.

Thank you for your trust and support. We look forward to serving you and your pets with the same dedication and care you’ve always known, now enhanced with cutting-edge technology.

Warm regards,

The Wagz ‘n Whiskerz Team

We are honored to have been voted as the best pet service in Lake Norman!  Wagz ‘n Whiskerz Pet Sitting received the 2017 Normy Award presented by Lake Norman Publications. 

In honor of Professional Pet Sitters Week, thought it would be good to review things to look at when hiring a professional pet sitter.

If the only thing keeping you from your dream vacation or beach weekend is how you’ll care for Ruffles and Max, it’s time to consider a professional pet sitter. You can begin your search online, but a personal referral is invaluable. You may find extensive information on the Pet Sitters International website (www.petsit.com) but these key points will get you started.

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HUNTERSVILLE, NC:  The 2017 Bark in the Park Top Dog Festival presented by Purina and Harris Teeter will be held at Historic Rural Hill on Saturday, April 29 from 10am to 4pm.  The annual festival from Mecklenburg County Park and Rec returns to Rural Hill for its sixth year.

Dogs and their humans are welcome to join in the festivities which include the annual “Top Dog” photo contest, live music performances, food, product vendors and much more.  Admission is free.

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Many of us enjoy Halloween, whether we are kids yelling, “Trick or Treat” for candy or adults dressing up. While we are planning the festivities, we must look out for the safety of our pets, too.  Keep reading for a list of ways to protect your pets from common Halloween treats and situations.

Be sure to keep phone numbers for your vet and emergency clinic handy – put those into your phone now.  You can post these numbers in a conspicuous place in your home for family, friends and for your pet sitter.  We have provided phone numbers at the bottom of this article for pet poison control centers for reference. 

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Have you ever found what looks like your cat’s claw in the carpet or scratching post? Don’t worry, this is normal and healthy. Cats lose the outer sheath of their claws and reveal a sharper claw.

What causes the claws to fall out?
Scratching helps claw sheaths fall out, which keeps kitty comfortable. Like dog claws, if the sheaths do not shed, they can curl under and pierce the toe pads, causing pain and infection. So like dogs, cats need nail trims.

Is other nail care necessary?
Cutting the nail tips helps cats not scratch as much to lose their claws. Trimming can also prevent tearing nails. If your feline enjoys sitting on your belly and kneading, you know you can benefit from the trims, too! Sharp nails are painful to our tender tummies.

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During hot summer months, your pets like a cool treat as much as you do! Fortunately, you can share some human treats with your pets and you can make treats for them without much effort.

Apple slices are healthy snacks for dogs. They can have pieces of the apple however do not give apple seeds to your dog.  Cut the apple from the core and into small pieces and refrigerate. Other fruits that can be given to dogs include bananas, watermelon (remove seeds and rind), blueberries, pears (remove pit and seeds) and mango.  Cold or frozen veggies can make great summer treats for your dog as well and include carrots, green beans, cucumbers and sweet potatoes. 

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Dogs are at heart, wild animals. They long to romp and roam freely but for the safety of our dogs and others, we use leashes.

Leashes can cause frustration
When dogs are well-balanced and in unthreatening situations, they seldom show signs of aggression. But when confronted with pain or a threat to their safety, dogs might react with redirected aggression. This is when the dog bites or tries to bite something or someone other than the source of pain or frustration. Because the natural instinct in confrontation is fight or flight, dogs feel frustrated when tethered by a leash and unable to get away.

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Many people tell us that we must have a great job just playing with dogs and cats all day. It is a great job, but the responsibility goes far beyond play.

First, a potential pet sitter considers the time and money required to establish the business. In addition to the time spent with the pets, we add travel time, training, scheduling, accounting and marketing.  Initially, the pet sitter or team of pet sitters manage the visits and the office. On-line software and mobile phones make the tasks easier, but we quickly realize that we are doing more than walking dogs. After we pet sit, we manage the office, scheduling and sitters. Pet sitting is a full-time job!

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Health insurance is a hot topic these days, and pet insurance is another option to consider. Would you be able to do more for your pets in an emergency if you had insurance? Perhaps, but not necessarily.

Three websites have released their 2016 top pet insurance providers, and all three agree that Healthy Paws offers the best return on your premiums, followed by PetPlan.

Consumers Advocate, the Canine Journal, and LovePets.com compared several insurance plans and provided readers limitations and exclusions to consider.

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