2023 Monthly Newsletters
August 2023
We hope you are surviving this heat! Man, it is brutal out. Always make sure your pets have enough fresh water to drink, and cool places to lay. Keep outside time to a minimum necessary for bodily functions, and monitor their behavior. Signs of overheating include excessive panting, drooling, disorientation, a bright red tongue, gums and mouth. We have shortened walks for dogs after 11 am, and are doing quick outside potty breaks and inside play or cuddles!
Ruff Life Pet Care had a packed summer schedule. We are so happy we were able to service all of you, and we hope you enjoyed your summer activities and vacations! We were so busy that we realize we never sent out a newsletter for July. So, to recap our June newsletter, we had our annual price adjustment effective July 1. Walk and visit prices were not affected, but overnight prices went up to $95 for 1-2 pets, and $115 for 3 or more pets. Our overnight structure is still 12 hours - a sleepover in your home starting about 8 pm (adjustments made sometimes for holidays and/or extra busy periods of the year) and 1 midday visit, done around lunchtime. You are welcome to add on additional visit(s) during the day, if needed.
At the start of summer, we welcomed aboard a few very caring, considerate and fun women to help out when Kaleigh and Dylan's schedule is booked. So far, the feedback has been positive and we are happy to have them on our team!
Upcoming Events:
August 25 - Team Event!
We will be unavailable to accommodate walk or visit requests from 4-9 pm. If you request an overnight for 8/25, please be aware the sitter will arrive late.
September 4 - Labor Day
We still have availability for overnights and visits.
November 4 - *Tentative* Annual Client Appreciation Event
Last year our event was postponed due to hurricanes, so we are pushing it out a little further to hopefully avoid bad weather. Stay tuned for more details!
November 23 - Thanksgiving
Kaleigh and Dylan will be unavailable for visits and overnights November 22-26. We will do our best with the other team members to cover requests, but it might be a good idea to start getting a backup plan.
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June 2023
We hope this newsletter finds you and your beloved pets in good health and high spirits. As we enter the summer season, we would like to take a moment to update you on some changes regarding our pricing structure.
We understand the importance of providing the best possible care for your pets, which includes offering last minute and on-demand services. With great consideration and to ensure the sustainability of our business, we are making adjustments to the pricing of some of our services, effective July 1, 2023.
The following are details regarding the upcoming price adjustments:
Dog, cat, or other pet visits (no price increase)
$25 per 20-30 minutes
Can increase visit time to 50-60 mins for an additional $12
Overnight service (8pm-8am with 1 midday visit included):
$95 for 2 or less pets
$115 for 3 or more pets
Surcharges applicable to standard service pricing:
$10 per day travel fee for over 10 miles of travel from sitter's home
$5 per day for basic medication administration
We genuinely value your loyalty and trust in our pet care services, and we assure you that the adjustments in prices are necessary to maintain the high standards you've come to expect from us. We will continue to provide personalized attention, expert advice, and the utmost care for your four-legged family members.
P.S. Stay tuned for new sitter introductions throughout the month! I am happy to share that we are adding more awesome, pet-loving people to team Ruff Life!
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May 2023
We hope this newsletter finds you and your furry friends happy and healthy. As we enter the month of May, we want to take a moment to wish all of our amazing pet (and human) moms a very Happy Mother's Day! We know that your pets are a part of your family and we celebrate the love and dedication you show to them every day.
With May comes warmer months ahead, so we want to share some helpful tips to keep your pets feeling their best:
1. Keep them hydrated: Make sure your pets have plenty of fresh water available to them.
2. Never leave your pet in a hot car, even just for a few minutes.
3. Limit exercise: Keep your pets outside activities limited during the hottest hours (we would say 11 am-4 pm, here in Florida). Choose earlier or later times for longer walks outside, and try walking in grassy or shaded areas.
We pride ourselves on providing the best possible care for your furry family members. We always take your pets' safety as our top priority. If we are scheduled for a visit during hours of extreme heat, we will spend minimal time outside in order for your pet to relieve themselves, and then spend the rest of our time for indoor play and cuddles.
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April 2023
March was a whirlwind and it goes to show as I'm a day late on getting this newsletter out! We hope you all are well. Not only was March a busy month for business, but Dylan and I got married, we celebrated his younger brother getting married, we had some car troubles and just the usual life "stuff" that waits for no one. Needless to say we are ready for our vacation! We will be out of office April 9-16. We will return any messages and calls starting Monday, April 17.
Please remember that we are here for all your pets' needs! We have flexible schedules and are ready to help. We may be expanding our services a bit - stay tuned for updates later this month!
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March 2023
Well, Spring is in the air and "the pollening" has begun - hope you are holding up so far! February was another great month, with lots of awesome walks, visits and overnight stays. We thank you for your continued support and trust in our team.
As we get into Spring Break trips, we want to bring up an important note that sometimes pets can act out of character when away from family, especially for longer trips. Please do not be alarmed if we bring to your attention a behavior that your pet(s) may have not displayed for you. We look out for medical and behavior problems, like anxiety, (which can manifest in chewing or destroying objects, pacing, refusing food, etc.) and will bring to your attention if we notice them. If we can stop or minimize the behavior in any way we will also attempt to do so. However, we cannot be around your pets 24/7, and unfortunately sometimes things happen. Please understand that we want everyone's (yours, ours, your pets) experience to be positive, and we will take whatever measures we can towards that outcome.
This month and next Dylan and I have some scheduled time off. As a reminder, we will be off March 4-5 (our wedding!), March 10, and April 9-16 (honeymoon). We have sitters who may be able to help if you have a request during those listed times, so please still reach out.
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February 2023
Hello amazing pet parents! Here we are already in February and wondering where last month went! You all were so awesome and made our January much busier than I anticipated. We are so glad to know that you are satisfied with our services and continue to request our help.
Our March schedule has filled up fast and on that note, we are going to bring on more sitters and walkers to our growing business. As we find these special people, Meet & Greets will be arranged so that everyone feels comfortable. We promise to uphold the standard of care that you are used to.
P.S. In a sweet turn of events, Dylan proposed to me on January 20th. We are going to be getting married on March 4th (yes, 4 weeks away) because why not? Haha
That being said, the 2 of us will not be available for sitting the following dates as of right now:
March 4-5, 2023
March 10, 2023
April 8-15, 2023
If you find you are in need of any service during the above dates, please still reach out. We may have a sitter who can help and would love to get you introduced! Thank you so much!
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January 2023
Happy New Year! We here at Ruff Life Pet Care hope the holiday season went well, and that the start of the year has been promising.
This year, I’ve made a commitment to release a monthly newsletter to keep you in the loop regarding schedules, changes to business policies or practices, team member updates, and whatever else may come to the forefront. After all, you and your pets are like family, and a good practice in family is communication!
For January and February, we anticipate a post-holiday slow down, so if you have a trip planned, please do not hesitate to reach out! We absolutely will be available for either overnight stays or visit appointments. And as a heads up - we already have some bookings for spring break in March, so get your requests in as soon as possible for that month.
A goal for this quarter is to gain a few more regular Walk or Visit clients in the Winter Springs area. We are targeting Winter Springs specifically this month, and will be door knocking over the weekends to introduce ourselves and our services to the community. If you live in Winter Springs, please speak to your neighbors or family in the area about our services!