Her Love of Animals became her Business

Last summer, when friends of Summerland resident Lindsey Redlich asked her to care for their new puppy, she decided to investigate the potential for a pet and livestock care business. Today, Lindsey owns and operates Pet Home Support which keeps her busy fulltime, provides part time employment for six assistants and continues to grow rapidly. "It all began with Easton", Lindsey said, referring to her friends' Basset hound puppy. Lindsey, an education assistant during the school year, was looking for a summer job. So, in early summer 2007, she prepared and distributed flyers, placed ads in newspapers and built a website. Her boyfriend, Craig Denton, helped a lot as  he has a good business sense and can build websites. The first response was from a Penticton couple who asked Lindsey to do daily home visits for two Spaniels while they were on holiday. Her next job was staying overnight and caring for a cat. This kept the house looking lived-in for security purposes.   By August Lindsey’s phone wouldn’t stop ringing and by September she knew she needed help.   “Many of my assistants are empty nesters who like animals and have some spare time,” Lindsey said.   If Lindsey isn’t able to do a job herself, she makes sure clients meet and approve of her assistants during preliminary discussions. The assistants mostly walk dogs and do some boarding.   In November, Lindsey resigned from her position as an education assistant in order to devote herself fulltime to her business. To help with scheduling and to provide rapid responses to clients, she carries a Blackberry for quick retrieval of emails, text messages and phone calls. She also learned a computer program for bookkeeping, filing and scheduling. Earlier this year, Lindsey had her first jobs taking care of large animals.   “On one ranch I fed three horses once a day and on the other I lived-in and took care of three horses, 30 cattle, a goat and assorted dogs and cats,” she said.   During the middle of the day, Lindsey did other jobs for other clients.   “You have to be really organized,” she said.   Currently, approximately 55 percent of Lindsey’s time is devoted to dogs, 33 percent to cats, 10 percent to horses and cattle and 2 percent to other creatures.   Other creatures include birds and Lindsey’s most unusual charge to date, Bob the Bearded Dragon.   “He’s one cool lizard,” she said, recalling Bob’s leisurely lunches of salad and crickets and his afternoon strolls.   Lindsey’s goals include increasing the percentage of farm and ranch clients as her company continues to grow. She also wants to eventually own her own home on a small acreage set up with inside and outside exercise areas for dogs of all sizes. At present, she lives in the basement suite of her mother’s home which has a fenced yard.   “My mother helps me with the day-care dogs and the ones I billet overnight,” Lindsey said.   A few months ago, Lindsey achieved her goal of buying a van strictly for business use. Pet Home Support is growing by leaps and bounds primarily due to the positive word-of-mouth advertising from satisfied clients. An increasing number of referrals are coming from groomers, veterinarians and pet stores.   “Total Pet recently called me in an emergency to take a dog whose owner was injured in a car accident,” Lindsey said.   As she faces the challenges of a rapidly growing business, Lindsey feels fortunate to have the help of knowledgeable friends and family members.   Pet Home Care services are available from Kelowna to Osoyoos. Lindsey needs more assistants, especially in the Westside-Kelowna area.  If you are interested in helping, please contact her at 250-809-9934 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it For more information visit the website www.pethomesupport.com.

 

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