Bio

As a child growing up in Schenectady, I was surrounded by animals. My mother and I were always taking in whatever strays crossed our path, including cats, dogs and wildlife. I grew up with a nurturing habit for helping things.  I spent years as a child on the farm where my mother kept her horse, learning how to take care of him and the other horses in the barn.  The wide array of animals I was exposed to as a child helped shape my love for all animals as an adult.

In January, 2004, I joined Whiskers Animal Benevolent League as a volunteer. At the time, I wasn't allowed pets and was searching for an outlet for some animal companionship. For nearly a decade I’ve done a variety of tasks at Whiskers such as cleaning, feeding, medicating and transporting cats to various veterinary appointments. I’ve met many cats over the years and I’ve had the opportunity to help some very sick ones as well. At some point early on in my time at Whiskers, I moved into an apartment that allowed cats. It was during this time that I happened to come across a situation where 2 two week old kittens were in need of fostering and bottle feeding.  Little did I know that those two kittens would change the path of my life forever.

After raising the two kittens by hand for months, I learned during a vet appointment that they tested positive for Feline Leukemia, or FELV.  I was so attached to them that I couldn’t fathom giving them up just because they had a disease, so I kept them.  It soon became apparent that there was a great need for someone in the area to foster FELV cats.  Since Whiskers is the only shelter in the area that takes in FELV cats, that the need was greater than one the shelter could handle.  So, for nearly 10 years, I’ve taken in and loved over 40 cats with this disease. Some have lived many years, and some sadly lived for only months or weeks. 

In my early years of fostering, I quickly became interested in the medical aspects of animal care. So, in 2006 I applied for a job at a local Veterinary Hospital and quickly moved up to being a Veterinary Assistant, where I picked upon a variety of medical skills and knowledge.  However, it was a difficult job to deal with emotionally.  There were a lot of great aspects to the job, but unfortunately too many sad ones. So after 6 years, I left the job to do something else. After working a few non-animal related jobs, I decided I missed doing animal work. So in the summer of 2013, the idea for Capital Pawsitting was born.

Having fostered and owned all different types of animals my whole life, turning my love and nurturing habit into a profitable business seemed to be the best way I could give back to animals and their owners. I couldn't imagine a better way to spend my days than to give people comfort in knowing that their animals are well taken care of while they're away. I know firsthand how stressful it can be to leave my pets with people they don't know well, so I make the process less stressful for both pets and their owners alike. With my veterinary background I can reassure owners that no problem or symptom will go unnoticed.

My view on what I do is to treat each pet as if it were my own; it’s what I'd hope for in my Petsitter. How could I offer anything less!

- Kasey