We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lyndsey Frondarina. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lyndsey below.

Lyndsey, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?

If I could do it differently, I would do it sooner. I’ve always about stability and routine. When I was in the corporate world, I had a stable income and routine hours. It was safe and comfortable. But at the same time, I was miserable. Weekends and vacations weren’t even fun because I’d spend the whole time dreading going back to the office. But I was too scared to start over and pursue something I actually liked. I was afraid of failure and didn’t want to end up broke and homeless. After I got laid off during COVID and my cat, of 14 years, died shortly after, I went to a really dark place before deciding to take the leap. I figured, I’m already unemployed, what do I have to lose?

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve been a writer since I learned how to write. I’ve always written poetry but never really shared it. During COVID, after my cat died, my depression and anxiety (which I’ve struggled with since childhood) hit an all time high. And I finally decided to seek help. I’ve always used poetry and writing as a coping mechanism but this time I decided to share it on a public platform (Medium and Instagram). I knew there were so many other people out there struggling in silence with mental health issues just like me. I thought if I could help or inspire just one person by sharing my own experiences then putting it all out there so rawly (I know that’s not a word) that it would be worth it.

This brings me to my business. While I was working on myself and fighting my way out of depression, I realized, I couldn’t go back to the corporate world. I couldn’t put myself in that place again. The money wasn’t worth it. It never was. I just wanted to be happy. But I also needed an income. One of my friends (and former coworkers) knew I was out of work and asked if I would be able to watch his dogs for 2 weeks because his regular dog sitter wasn’t available. I jumped at the offer.

I spent 2 weeks in a different city, in his beautiful home, taking care of his frisky little Frenchies! And it was so good for me. It forced me to get dressed and go outside and forced me to get out of bed at a decent hour, because I had to feed and walk the dogs twice a day. Just getting outside and looking at nature and playing with the dogs made me feel so much better. That was when I decided to try and make a living doing something that I loved, something that made me happy . . . Working with animals.

I joined care.com because, unlike the other forums, they don’t take a percentage of your earnings. I decided to look for jobs in other cities and states (within a decent driving distance) so I could actually get out and see other places. It took a good 3 or 4 months before I started getting jobs. But once I did, I gained a couple regular clients and slowly started building my business.

I’m still learning and still growing. I’ve never been a “business” person so it was (and still sometimes is) difficult setting rates. This is something I would do for free if I could. But, unfortunately, I have bills to pay and need an income. I had a few clients tell me I needed to raise my rates. But I’ve also run into clients who want to pay the bare minimum because all I do is “hangout with their animals all day”

But, what I do is provide a service that allows people to go out dinner or out of town or out of the country and know that their pets are in the best hands because I truly do love them and will do my best to treat them just as well as they do. I pride myself in trying to keep them on the same schedule and routine as they are when their human is home. That’s why I prefer to watch pets in their own home. Their human being away is stressful enough. But if they’re in their own home, surrounded by their toys and their beds, they have some familiarity to help them be less stressed.

As a pet owner, I know how stressful it is to leave your pet. I want my clients to feel comfortable leaving them with me. I want them to know they can go out of the country and not have to worry about them every second because I’m there making sure they’re safe and taken care of.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

When I was working on my mental health, I started reading a lot of self help books about behavior modification, psychology, how to retrain your brain and stuff like that. One of the first books I read, that really inspired me was The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. After I read that book, I ordered several more of his books. From there, I moved on to the more Psychological books about understanding depression and anxiety and how to cope with mental health issues. I like the more direct ones that break things down rather than the technical text book like things.

After, I got into pet sitting and built a clientele, I wanted to read books and take classes to develop skills that would help me be better that profession. I started reading a lot about Reiki (more specifically animal Reiki). I’m currently a certified Reiki level 2 healer. I haven’t started studying to become a master yet. Nor have I officially started practicing. Because once again, I’m having trouble with profitizing something I would do for free.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

This one is difficult. This one is sad. But, the things that make us resilient often are. I lost a fur-client during one of my sittings. It was my first time sitting for this family. They went out of the country on their first family vacation since COVID. There were 2 German Pointers and a little old def dog they took in from my clients mother. She was the cutest little dog. Her name was Juicebox.

It was my third or fourth day into the 2 week stay when she started vomiting out of nowhere. I have no idea what happened, there was nothing that she could have gotten into. The only thing that might have been the issue is during the night, one of the dogs tore apart some foam that was on the couch. I figured it was one of the bigger dogs. I informed the family right away. And discussed taking her to the vet. They said to monitor her because dogs (and cats) do throw up sometimes. I called the vet as well and they said the same thing. They suggested I withhold food and water until her stomach settled.

When I checked on her the next morning, she was just laying in her bed, lethargic. She had thrown up again. I made the decision to take her to the vet. I called my clients and they agreed. When I got to her vet’s office, they said the doctor wouldn’t be in for another hour and suggested I take her to emergency.

I wasn’t allowed to go in with her because they had strict rules during COVID. I waited in my car panicking, trying to figure out what was going on. Then my client called me and said they spoke to the vet and there wasn’t anything they could do. They suspect she had a seizure sometime during the night and there was likely brain damage. They said even if they were able to stabilize her, she’d be on meds for the rest of her life and couldn’t guarantee she’d even have a good quality of life. They decided to put her down. I felt horrible. Horrible because it happened on my watch. Horrible because she had to go alone and was probably so scared! I cried on the way home. I was worried my clients would blame me. I felt horrible for them and their kids having to go through this on their vacation in another country. It was awful!

But as bad as I felt, my clients actually felt bad for me for having to go through it. They didn’t blame me. They were understanding. And they became one of my regulars. I usually sit fir them at least once or twice a year at least.

One of the reasons I got into pet sitting is because I love animals and after my cat died I couldn’t bring myself to get another one. I didn’t want to get attached to another animal and lose them again. I didn’t take into account that I would get attached to each and everyone of my fur-clients and eventually lose them too. Since that incident, I’ve lost 6 other fur-clients. And it never gets easier.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_traveling_pet_sitter?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/th3.trav3ling.p3tsitt3r?mibextid=ZbWKwL
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndsey-frondarina-b3a323184?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app
• Other: https://medium.com/@in2thedarkness