For Fluffy and Fido - meet West Side Pet Sitting and Alex Cross!

Alex Cross and her kitty Micah

With busy work and personal life schedules, many pet parents are faced with the dilemma of what to do with their furry family members during those long days away from home. 

Luckily, there are several options available in our area!  From in-home pet sitting to doggy daycare, to boarding for those extended stays while you are out of town.  You just need to do your research and find the best option that fits your lifestyle and, probably more importantly, that your pet is comfortable with.  In the next few months, we will explore local options when it comes to pet sitting, doggy daycare, and boarding.

Today, I would like to introduce to you Alexandra Cross, the owner of West Side Pet Sitting.  I met Alex at her lovely home in Westfield to get to know her better and chat about what she offers to her clients.   Best part – I got to meet her four beautiful kitties Micah, Eli, Link, and Luna!! (You can see their beautiful portraits at the end of this blog post!)

Alex has been an animal lover for as long as she can remember.  When she was trying to figure out her career post-college (Alex is a Mount Holyoke graduate), she knew animals had to be a part of it.  Skip forward, Alex runs a business that focuses on vacation cat sitting, mid-day dog walks/hikes, and in-your-home pet sitting for when clients are away for business or personal travel.   Alex is also able to administer subcutaneous fluids, insulin shots, transdermal and oral medications.  How great is that?!?

Micah and Eli enjoying their food puzzle togehter

Alex truly believes in enrichment and play, not just physical exercise.  Playtime does not require fancy equipment or toys.  She notes that sometimes, the simplest of enrichment can be that the most fun for your pet.  While interviewing Alex, I watched her kitties play with a food puzzle toy (which is sold as a dog toy), and they were having a blast!  I think they even had some teamwork going!  One of the things Alex suggest is a simple as hiding a few pieces of kibble throughout the living room and then watching them use their sniffers to find them.  I agree as I play this “find it” game with my dogs quite often!  For her cat clients, Alex stresses the importance of enrichment activities include playing with a laser pointer, cat wands, or food puzzles that engage their natural hunting instincts.  There are even games they can play off your iPad!

Alex and I took her client's "Penny" for a walk at the local park, as we chatted about her business and life in general.

While she does not have any dogs of her own, Alex loves to take her clients’ dogs on hikes.  She frequents local parks such as Mittineague Park, Robinson State Park, and sometimes Skinner State Park. 

Alex tells me that she is incredibly grateful to have clients that run the gamut: pets with special needs, dogs and cats with social/human anxieties, puppies and dogs that just need to get that extra energy out, while their parents are working.

West Side Pet Sitting service areas include Westfield, Feeding Hills, Agawam and West Springfield.

 Contact Info :

Email: Alex.irish@me.com 

 Phone number : 813-388-0386 

Website:  www.westsidepetsitting.com