While many students leave Gainesville for Spring Break, UF student Stephanie Bittner will be spending much of her time with a 7-month-old kitten named Nala.
She’ll be joined by a dog, gerbil, turtle, fish and two cats, which belong to Bittner.
The UF food and resource economics senior has turned her passion for taking care of animals into a job. For the past four years, the 23-year-old owner of UF Pet Sitting has offered to take care of pets year-round, taking care of dogs and cats for between $7 and $14 a visit.
But every Spring Break, pet sitters like Bittner, and Gainesville resident Stephanie Dorris see a spike in business.
Dorris, 53, owner and operator of A Dog’s Life Pet Sitting, said she stops by about 10 to 15 apartments and homes every day during Spring Break. With many students traveling away from Gainesville, pet owners will leave their animals behind, Dorris said.
“The demand is usually high for this week,” she said. “It keeps me busy.”
She charges between $15 and $20 depending on the pet.
Bittner uses the website Rover to schedule her pet visits, which allow owners to track her with a GPS map.
“I provide reliability and accountability,” she said.
She has more than 12 customers for next week, including Caridad Santos, Nala’s owner.
Santos, who was looking for a pet sitter for Spring Break, said Brittner offered her pet-sitting services on a Facebook page.
Santos said she doesn’t mind paying $10 a day for Brittner to look after Nala.
“It’s hard enough to have an animal in college, but anything helps,” she said.
Bittner will take time off from her job at PetSmart to concentrate on pet sitting.
“I like to get to know (the pets), she said.
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