Hi!

My name is Marissa, and I adore all animals! My family has always had pets, ranging from your normal cat and dog to your unusual goose, donkey, and goat. I have grown up with animals, taking care of my parents’ 12 dogs at a very young age.

With a vet tech for a mother, I’ve learned to take care of animals with a variety of disabilities and medical requirements, whether it be insulin shots, eye drops, animals that are blind/deaf, or nervous animals that need lots of TLC. I love walking dogs and playing with them, and I also love playing with cats and birds! Every animal I meet becomes a member of my extended family, and I have yet to meet an animal that I’ve been afraid of or unable to work with. I enjoy bathing and clipping nails, training basic commands, and I also have basic emergency skills that my mom has taught me, such as how to stop bleeding, how to calm a variety of animals down in a stressful situation, and how to react when an animal has a seizure (regardless of whether the dog regularly has seizures or is seizing unexpectedly). I am also comfortable caring for small mammals (I have rats and am obsessed with them!), reptiles, and larger animals like horses, goats, and cows.

I work full-time with a 50/50 work from home schedule, meaning that I’ll be home full-time for two or three days per week. In addition to that, my workplace is a 10 minute walk from my house, giving me plenty of time to come back during lunch and make sure all furry residents are having a good time and relaxing!

I have a small fenced in yard and a friendly dog – Odie – as well as a gated front porch. Odie is great with older and younger dogs, as well as cats (he may get a bit excited, but is a good “first time dog” for desensitizing). My three cats (Arthur, Guinevere, and Knox) are also super sweet – Guinevere and Knox are older and usually pay new animals no mind, while Arthur is younger and interacts with new friends nicely.  I am comfortable caring for specialty animals, like horses, cows, goats, sheep, rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, etc. and also love reptiles.