ANDY Campbell had a tally of items to tick off her to-do list before she started kindy.
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Get fitted for her uniform? Check. Catch up with cousins? Check. Start up her own business? Check.
The five year old is the proud entrepreneur behind Andy’s Pet Sitting, which she has been promoting this week by handing out pink flyers at the city’s off-leash areas. Business cards on magnets are next.
“I’ve been overseas for a year and I was with lots of animals,” Andy said. “I decided to do this job when we were in Rhode Island.”
The family’s much-loved schitzu Leroy had recently passed away when Andy’s parents Mike and Inga closed the door of their Hamilton South home at the end of 2015 to spend a year house and pet sitting across North America.
The family lived with cats Bella and Gigi in Clam Lake, Wisconsin; Pekinise dogs Dude and Timmy in Breckenridge Colorado; four rescue cats in Providence, Rhode Island; and Goldendoodle Scratchley in Canaan, New York.
“I always wanted it to be my job to look after the pets,” Andy said. “You got to pat them and feed them and it was good, because I knew they were happy.”
Andy received a double dog lead when she celebrated her birthday overseas.
Since returning home, she has had “slumber parties” with Labrador Henry, 13 and Hungarian Vizsla Rafa, 5.
Her next booking is over three weeks in March. “It’s a little white fluffy dog – we don’t even know its name yet – and she [the owner] is going to Japan to ski.”
Andy records all her bookings in a calendar with a picture of a different dog breed each month.
She normally looks after only one animal at a time, but will take multiple pets from the same household.
Owners need to pay $10 a night and bring their pet’s bed, food and toys.
“I feed them, walk them, put them to sleep, give them water, bring them to the dog park and have fun with them,” she said. “I give them cuddles – I take lots of care of them.”
Her dad picks up droppings, but only because “I don’t know how to yet”.
Andy already has plans for how to spend her earnings. “I’m going to give it to my Mum and Dad so they can buy me a dog – a husky.”
Mr Campbell said looking after different pets was a way for the family to “try before they buy” and decide on the best breed for their family.