About Barks 'N Bites

Barks 'n Bites is a pet sitting and day care service located in New York. More specifically, the town of Massapequa, which is in Nassau County, on Long Island. My complete devotion and love of animals inspired me to start up my own small business. Animals are my passion, and I love taking care of pets, and I have done a lot of animal husbandry in my life, whether it is pet sitting, or working in an animal environment. My goal is to provide a warm, cozy environment for your pet to stay when you can't be there, and give you a peace of mind while you're away, and that your pet is OK and in good hands. Why impose on neighbors & family, when you can leave your pet with a animal lover/pet owner who specializes in working with animals and is ready to give your pet so much love, devotion and attention while you go away?

Let me tell you a little about myself. My name is Jackie. I am an 19 year old girl. I graduated high school in 2004, and while still deciding what path I'm going to take in college (definetly a career working with animals), I have had so much free time and I'm always at home, so I figured I would start doing pet sitting again and expand my horizons and gain more experiences. Yes, again, I started at a very young age, walking neighbor's dogs, and I babysat for a Springer Spaniel owned by my dad's friend, I started all this at age 10. In my younger years before I was allowed to do any of this, I was subscribed to DogFancy magazine, and would sit for hours upon hours reading about dogs. Most people under 10 were reading story books, and I would always be researching dogs. So, don't let my age fool you at all, I have been taking care of other people's pets for 8 years now, and I also have owned animals all my life. I am very mature, and have always been mature for my age. I am also reliable, dependable and extremely responsible.

During High School, I had two jobs, both of them working with animals. One job was in a reptile specialty store, in which I worked with 300+ species of reptiles. I did basic animal husbandry, including feeding, watering, medicating, cleaning, and assisting veterinarians as needed. I also worked in a kennel, and I worked with many different breeds of dogs. My resposibilities were basically the same as the reptiles.

Before, in between, and after those jobs, I did pet sitting and have experience in taking care of a wide variety animals. I have worked with birds, fish, dogs, cats, hamsters, mice, ferrets, reptiles and more. I have a great knowledge of animals, since I have been researching and studying them for a long time, and of course the experience helps as well.

I have also owned/rescued/fostered many types of animals, but right now I have a Dog & Ferret. Therefore it is important that if you have a dog, he or she would get along with my own dog. He gets along well with dogs and cats, is very tolerant and gentle, and is used to being around dogs of all sizes, ages and personalities. The ferret is not too much to worry about, as he has his own room to himself, and even my dog doesn't like him too much, but it's managable.

My dog, Taz.

Stitch, my ferret.

I do all pet sitting and day care in my own home, which is a 2 story, medium sized cozy home. The reason is because I do not own a car, so I don't have transportation. I can't do overnight pet sitting in your home, but if you need your dog taken care of for a day, and can provide transportation, arrangements can be made. I would like to assure you that even though I do not have transportation, I could get your pet to a veterinarian in case of emergency. I am lucky enough to have an office up the street from me. I thought it might be a concern, so I wanted to clear that up.

There is absolutely no kennels here. I do not lock dogs or cats up in cages. The only exception is if your pet must be crated at night or at certain times, or if your animal is a caged animal. Otherwise, dogs and cats have free roam of my house. Caged animals will be handled often and given as much love and attention as a dog or cat would. I do private pet sitting, so I do one client at a time, therefore your pet(s) will get lots of one on one attention. Throughout the day your pet(s) will get love & attention, playtime, excercise, naps and more! I do not have a fenced in backyard and it's very unfortunate. I love to walk though, and I will take your dog for as much excercise as he/she requires throughout the course of the day. It could be 2 walks, or it could be 10 walks. I have a preserve by my house that I often visit to hike with the dogs, and if you're dog gets along with other dogs, I would also be more than happy to take him/her to a dog park. Anything to satisfy you and your dog.

If you have anymore questions, feel free to contact me, and be sure to check out the Frequently Asked Questions section for quick reference to find answers to any questions.