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Client Testimonials w/Pet Pics

My two large dogs do not travel well. They are stay-at-home-dogs and, while not "spoiled" as some claim, they are, I admit, "privileged". They sleep in the house, on my bed, every night. So when travel away from home is in the offing I am only able to go because Barbara Ludt comes to the house to stay with my boys.

KW, Roslyn

          She came to the house three times to greet the dogs and to allow them to become comfortable with her before the first overnight pet sitting was needed. She is absolutely excellent with my dogs and, as I've seen many times, excellent with any dog. As for having her stay in my home, one couldn't ask for a better "guest".

We needed a place to kennel our two, 3-year-old, 90+ lb. Labs, "Kimber" and "Gauge", for a long-term stay while my spouse and I are deployed to Iraq for about a year.

Barbara and Bill have a great place; and what a wonderful choice they are to take care of our "Boys". We were invited to bring our dogs over for a Play Date to meet their dogs to be sure everyone got along. We just knew they'd have a great time there as they have all these other dogs to play and run around the securely fenced acreage.

On our first visit, Kimber and Gauge made immediate friends with their big ol' yellow Lab, Riley. In fact, Gauge jumped back into our pickup while we humans were walking around chatting, retrieved his huge rawhide chew toy and brought it over and dropped it in front of Riley, who proceeded to start chewing on it. We all thought that was a nice gesture of canine friendship--for Gauge and Kimber to share their toys in return for sharing the Ludt's home for the next 13 months.

What Barbara and Bill are doing for us is a really huge blessing. These guys are our babies. It's great to get this support while we are away serving our country and not have to worry about our canine family members.

JM, Staff Sergeant/State of Washington National Guard

Our spoiled Schipperke, "Ebi", has boarded at Barbara's home when we are on week-long vacations. We didn't want to leave her in a small "box" of a kennel at a bigger boarding facility when she's used to being part of our family.

Our Ebi is great with other dogs so she fit right in with all the small dogs at Barbara's place...and gets to watch TV on the couch and sleep in bed...just like at home.

Barbara has gone above and beyond in caring for Ebi, even on short notice. We cannot recommend her enough--she's great!!

I am lucky enough to get one of the best little guys, Barbara's rescue had for adoption~~~"JUNIOR" is so sweet, loving and a little "Ladies Man"....and even funny! Getting Junior might have saved my life after the passing of Jesse and at this time of my life, without a job, I don't know what I would do without my "Best Buddy". I count on him to let me know when someone is close by outside, he's my little guard dog, too!

Junior now has a "standing week- long reservation" to stay with his "country cousins" when I go to CA to visit my GRANDchildren three times a year. The biggest issue I worried about was Junior living in a small kennel with no walks or anything, for over a week~~~just sitting there~~hardly moving around. I don't know what that would do to him~~~~:((((((((((((( He's SOOOOOOOO spoiled.

You are our HERO! Junior LOVES coming back to his 2nd home~~~to see you! I miss him so much for the day or so before I leave and when I first come back~~~but I feel so at ease, knowing he's with you, sitting with you and all his little dog pals on your couch and not alone and sitting on a cement floor in a cage~~~:((((

It's an honor to write about "my share of happiness" on you and Bill petsitting my (our?) precious little Junior. You letting him come visit is worth a million dollars to me. Your happy home, is Junior's "other" home..and you are his other "Mom"! Thank you for all you have done for me and Junior,

Patty H., Lynnwood, WA

My husband and I share our home with five cats and two dogs. They are our family. We have never boarded any of them. It’s simply not an option. Thus, we’ve gone on very few vacations.

Recently, my husband celebrated a personal milestone: his 60th birthday. I really wanted to mark this momentous occasion with something special. One of his dreams was to visit Italy, but such a trip was inconceivable—after all, we didn’t even take overnight trips! Over the years, we’ve explored a number of in-home pet sitting services, but we never felt comfortable about leaving our family in the care of a stranger.

And then, Barbara came to our rescue. Her love of animals is legendary and her ability to communicate with them is nothing short of magical. We knew that she was the only one we could ever trust to care for our family.

Our trip called for a 2-week absence and Barbara moved in a few days prior to our departure. She knew that this was the best way to become familiar with the rhythm of the house and the needs and personalities of its inhabitants. Everything she did was part of her program to help maintain the family’s normal environment and alleviate any stress that our absence might cause. Barbara was immediately at ease with our little family and it was obvious that they were equally comfortable with her. It was a relief to know that our home and family would be safe and that they would be cared for by a competent, reliable, and caring professional while we were away.

When we returned from our trip, our feelings about Barbara were confirmed—we had left our family in very capable hands. Although they were happy to see us, it was clear that they were happy, stress-free, and content. During the following weeks, we discovered countless signs of Barbara’s unique ability to understand and empathize with the animal kingdom.

A good example is the way she cared for our senior cat, Murphy. We adopted Murphy as a kitten. She was missing a back leg, but the loss of a limb never stopped her. However, as Murphy aged, she did not always have the strength to navigate the stairs or climb up to her favorite chair near the window. We thought we were helping her when we carried her around and brought her to her favorite places.

Yes, we were helping her, but Barbara also understood that we were also taking away Murphy’s remaining independence. When we returned, a new set of cat stairs had been placed next to Murphy’s chair. The steps were carpeted so that Murphy could maintain her footing as she scooted up and down. Once again, she was in control of her environment. Such a simple solution, yet we had never thought of it; Barbara identified and solved the problem her first day on the job!

Thanks to Barbara, the dogs were now happily addicted to new healthy treats; the cats were joyfully rolling around in fresh organic catnip; and everyone was getting brushed. We began to send away for more travel brochures!

We wholeheartedly recommend Barbara. Know without a doubt that she will take care of your family as if they were her own, and I can also say with certainty that you will quickly realize that the heavens have sent an amazing gift your way.

Mary B, Stewart Manor

Thanks to Barbara, my husband and I were able to take a much needed vacation and not worry one bit about the care of our five horses. Each of the five horses, three full-sized and two miniatures, needed different care esp. since two have a history of foundering and thus their food needed to be precisely weighed at each feeding and one mini needed medication.

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When we came home refreshed, we found our horses all still healthy, content and relaxed with clean water troughs, paddocks and stalls. Barbara cared for them as if they were her own. We highly recommend her "personalized horse sitting" services.

S & C McK, Easton, WA

Some people go to work every day to their job. Some do their job well and some not so well and go home and forget about it. Not so for Barbara Ludt. Barbara Ludt loves and lives for all animals. It’s natural for her. It is a calling for her and no one does it better.

She has been my neighbor and friend since 2004. I have been fortunate to be able to depend on her for the exceptional care she gives my four horses, one cat and too many dogs (as well as occasional litters of newborns and adolescent puppies) when I am unable to tend to them myself. I will always be grateful to her for the extraordinary compassion she had for "Foo Foo", my sweet Cocker Spaniel who lost her battle with cancer at the age of 6 in 2005.

Barbara goes above and beyond what is normally expected of any caregiver. My home, ranch, kennels, and even my raspberry garden receive TLC when she's "on duty". Her honesty, integrity and sincere love for animals are easily recognized. Just watch your dog’s tails as she gets acquainted with them.

I am extremely privileged to have her as a friend, neighbor and animal caregiver. You will be too!

BPU,

Rocking MK Ranch

Over the past two years, we have used *both* of Barbara's pet-sitting service types---with her coming over to our house twice a day to care for our Labrador Retriever, an indoor/outdoor kitty, outdoor rabbits and indoor ferrets as well as having our two Dachshunds stay over at their place and being part of their little dog pack. We know our home and various pets are left in very experienced and capable hands.

Additionally, Barbara's pet first aid experience was evident when we called her in a panic early one evening as our youngest Doxie had come inside from his playtime in our large yard sporting a huge gaping puncture wound to his belly. The clinics were closed for the evening, but Barbara said she'd be right over. Upon arrival, she calmly assessed his injury and although not immediately life-threatening, she advised he would need sutures and antibiotics asap in the AM, but we did not need to make an after-hours emergency visit to our vet who is 35 miles away. 

Since she brought a first aid kit with her, and the wound was not bleeding, she thoroughly cleansed "Frank's" injury of dirt/grass with an antiseptic solution and then proceeded to trim the hair around the wound, applied some Neosporin cream, and covered with a sterile pad. She then wrapped VetWrap over/under/around his shoulder, legs, tummy to keep everything clean and secure until morning...and suggested we just keep an eye on him overnight to be sure he didn't try to remove the bandaging.

We had "Frankie" at the animal clinic upon its opening the next morning and even the Vet commented on what an excellent and professional job was done by our local pet sitter.

Once again, Barbara to the rescue even when she's not pet-sitting!

The K Family, Easton, WA

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