Meet our dog minders – Cathy & Peter from Willoughby in Sydney
Click on the images to view Cathy & Peter’s profile
Local doggy park & why it’s great?
Hallstrom Park – all the roads are far away, so we don’t have to be worried about letting the dogs off the leash for a good run. There’s also a kids’ playground there so one of us can play with the kids and one can play with the dogs.
Your first childhood dog’s name and breed
Ok, I will come clean and admit that both of us have only ever owned a cat. Smokey the grumpy Persian was my best friend when I was growing up. We started dog minding when we realised that our kids’ favourite outing was a trip to the dog park, even though we don’t have a dog!
What 1 life lesson could humans learn from dogs?
Unconditional love.
Best thing about minding?
Having the kids grow up around animals. They just love it and minding gives us the chance to be around the dogs, while also leaving me free to go back to work full time when the kids are a bit older. We also love seeing a whole range of different dogs with their lovely quirks and idiosyncrasies.
Favourite breed & why?
Labradors. They’re so lovely and gentle, and great with our kids. We’ve also had a few King Charles Spaniels that we loved. Really, we’ve found that dogs with lovely temperaments come in all shapes and sizes, so it’s hard to choose a favourite breed.
If you could be any celebrity’s dog for a day who would it be?
Bill Gates. We could find lots of great things to chew and places to dig at that massive estate. And I bet we would get fed fresh meat – no tinned dog food for us!
What did a dog last to make you smile?
One dog that we had would wag its tail so hard that its whole body would shake. She was so cute!
About the Authors
Cathy & Peter have two children and the whole family loves dogs. They offer overnight minding in Willoughby for $35 per night. They make sure your puppy gets all the care he needs and that he is never alone.