671: The Power of Calm: Staying Grounded in Pet Care and Life with Jenn Wegener
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What does it take to turn a part-time passion into a full-time pet-sitting business? In this episode, former veterinary technician and owner of Dreaming Tree Pet Services, Jenn Wegener, shares how her medical background gives her an edge in pet care and client trust. She opens up about the fear of leaving a steady job for the uncertainty of entrepreneurship, and how she balances structure, family, and growth. Collin and Jenn discuss the importance of networking, setting intentional goals, and knowing when to say no. Above all, Jenn reminds listeners that caring for yourself is part of caring well for others.
Main topics:
Overcoming fear of growth
Vet tech experience in business
Building trust with clients
Managing stress and self-care
Networking and intentional expansion
Main takeaway: “I take a lot of pride in caring for other people’s homes and their pets.”
That line from Jenn Wegener says it all. Trust is the heartbeat of pet sitting—it’s what keeps clients coming back and what gives us purpose on the hard days. When you treat every pet as if they’re yours, your care becomes personal, not transactional. It’s the difference between a service and a relationship. Jenn’s story on this week’s Pet Sitter Confessional is a reminder that compassion and professionalism can (and should) go hand in hand. 💕🐾
About our guest: Jenn Wegener is the owner of Dreaming Tree Pet Services, serving South Tulsa, Bixby, and Jenks, Oklahoma. A former veterinary technician with over 13 years of clinical experience, she brings deep medical insight to her pet-sitting and dog-walking work. Jenn is a Certified Professional Pet Sitter and pet CPR-certified. Known for her calm demeanor and dedication to client trust, she specializes in senior and special-needs pets and is passionate about education, networking, and slow, intentional business growth.
Links:
Dave Matthews - The Dreaming Tree
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by our guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Pet Sitter Confessional, its hosts, or sponsors. We interview individuals based on their experience and expertise within the pet care industry. Any statements made outside of this platform, or unrelated to the topic discussed, are solely the responsibility of the guest.
A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Pet sitting, Dreaming Tree Pets, client trust, veterinary technician, pet care, mobile grooming, pet CPR, senior pets, business growth, stress management, client referrals, professional development, pet care skills, business organization, self-care.
SPEAKERS
Collin Funkhouser, Jenn Wegener
Collin Funkhouser 00:02
Jen, welcome to pet sitter confessional, an open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter. Today, we're brought to you by our friends at time to pet and pet perennials. Today, we're really excited to have Jen Wegner, owner of dreaming tree pets, on the show, to talk about her journey into pet care, how she focuses and works through the tough times is how she stays on top of her clients changing expectations so that she continues to serve them. Well, Jen, I'm really excited to have you on the podcast. For those who aren't familiar with you, or follow you along with you already, please tell us a little bit more about who you are and what you
Jenn Wegener 00:39
do well. First, Collin and Megan. Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be here. So my name is Jen Wegner, and I'm the owner of dreaming tree Pet Services. I service a South Tulsa area of Bixby and Jenks, and it's kind of a smaller outside town of Tulsa. And I've been doing pet setting for about 25 years. Took a break from it for a little while and decided to get back in the groove of it, and I became a certified professional pet sitter about two three years ago. And then I also got my certification in pet CPR. And so I just offer pet sitting, dog walking. I do overnight stays, and I just recently started servicing and offering mobile mail trims.
Collin Funkhouser 01:25
Oh, okay, now first, my very first question, actually, my follow up to that, Jen, is, tell me about the name. Where's the name for your business coming? Because it's very unique. I saw, I thought I was like, Okay, there's got to be a story behind us.
Jenn Wegener 01:37
Okay, so there's a couple, a couple of things it's hard to explain too. So I
Jenn Wegener 01:46
my brother actually, years ago, he was playing a song in his truck one day, and I was like, Who? Who is that? And he's like, that's Dave Matthews Band. And I said, Oh, wow, pretty cool. And so they have a song called dreaming tree. And so when I was changing the name of my business years ago, I had the name of clear spring Pet Services, but I wanted to do something different when I moved to Tulsa, and so I got with my cousin, who's also like my brother, and we were just going back and forth with names. And we tried hundreds of different names and ideas, and this one just kind of stuck. And so I kind of it's a way of paying homage to my brother, who actually has passed away now. And this name just, it just felt fitting to just kind of remember him, in a way, and how I got to know that band and love that song that they have, and so music and pets put all together, along with remembering my brother, that's kind of how the name came about.
Collin Funkhouser 03:00
That's that's really special. I think that just speaks a lot to, I mean, this is a really personal business for you.
Jenn Wegener 03:07
Then it is, it is, and I've loved pets and animals and since I was a kid, and I never really thought that I would ever get into something like this, as far as pet sitting, but, yeah, I think about my brother a lot when I'm off doing pet sits. He was a big animal lover too, and so it's, it's a, I guess, a way to still kind of have a little bond with him.
Collin Funkhouser 03:35
So you've been doing this for 25 years. What got you started in in the business?
Jenn Wegener 03:44
Well, you know, probably, like most people, I just kind of started pet sitting for people here and there when I was in college, and then I ended up getting a job as a veterinary technician, and I was a vet tech for about 13 years. And you know, when you're at a hospital, you get to know your clientele base, and you start to become fond of certain animals that come in and out. And I my first official pet sit was I just had a couple come in with their dog, and they said, Hey, our daughter's getting married, and we need to do something with our dog. And hey, would you would you mind watching them? I was like, Sure. And fast forward, a few years later, I live in San Antonio. I'm working for a mobile veterinarian. She was the only mobile vet in San Antonio, and somehow I crossed paths with a mobile groomer. I think the mobile setup was starting to become a thing back then. There was never mobile groomers or mobile veterinarians around and and so anyway, I I met up some I don't even remember how cross paths with this mobile groomer. You. She was needing help with some dog bathing and some other things, and she also did pet sitting. And she invited me to my first ever pet sitters international conference, and it was here in San Antonio, and I had no idea it was even a thing. I didn't even know that professional pet sitting was anything at all. And so going to my very first conference, I was blown away that people were doing this full time as a business. They had staff, they had a big clientele base. They did marketing. I didn't even I was just shocked that there was even a conference for professional pet sitters. And so that's how I really discovered that this, this is a business, and it's growing and and that kind of led me into, Hey, maybe I could do this on the side too. And so that's kind of how I got started into the business of pet sitting.
Collin Funkhouser 06:06
So we have to blame we have to blame your friend. Then, is that right? Blame the groomer, that this all their fault? Yes.
Jenn Wegener 06:12
And I will say her name. Her name is Robin Hartle, and I thank her every day for inviting me to that, that that conference, I it was just an amazing experience, and I learned so much well.
Collin Funkhouser 06:28
And what I love about that is, you know, many times we start a business, we're interested in a business, and we started from kind of where we are currently. And what you're talking about there, Jen is like the importance of stepping outside of yourself, so that you can see other possibilities. Now it can be pretty overwhelming sometimes when we do that, but that's important. That's an important process to continually do, so that you're always thinking about kind of the next thing, or how could I tweak this, or what would I do to make this a little bit better? Because if we only trust on what we know right when we start right, we never can really grow or go beyond, you know, what we have already
Jenn Wegener 07:09
that's absolutely right. And I felt like I had the pet sitting part of it down. I was very comfortable working with animals, being a Vet Tech, I I knew the signs to look for if there was an injury or an illness or something just wasn't right in a senior dog. And so it was, I think, more of the business side that I didn't know anything about. And, you know, how, how do you even get started? How do you, you know, budget for this. How do you do any of that? So I was like, complete novice. Had no idea how to get started. I just knew I was really good at the peso team. Part of it.
Collin Funkhouser 07:51
Well, yeah, well, so I was curious. You Vet Tech for 13 years. How do you think that's helped you run your business and connect with your clients and serve them well.
Jenn Wegener 08:04
Just having that experience as a vet tech gave me a huge advantage when I started pet sitting, because, like I said, I already had the tools and the knowledge and even some instincts that kind of kick in to catch something that's just not right in a pet, or if they're getting sick, and you know, you know how to look for their waist, and you know if that's looking right, or, you know, vomit, all the gross things sometimes you don't want to talk about. And it just gave me, you know, to get more clients. It just gave me more credibility that I had that experience, and it really gave clients peace of mind that they kind of knew what I was doing, and I'm just not going to be hanging out with, you know, their pet I am closely monitoring them as well, and I think that is very important with anyone pet sitting, even If it's just, you know, for your neighbor or you know, you're doing it professionally. Sometimes you you don't know what. You don't know. If you have an animal that's, you know, they hide their pain so well and so it that just really gave me an advantage to just have all that training ahead of time so I could just be better.
Collin Funkhouser 09:28
Did you find that it skewed your clients to those who were more medically needy from the beginning? Or were you kind of just taking whoever came across and needed your services?
Jenn Wegener 09:41
No, it didn't really bring, you know, senior animals or some that have diabetes and need insulin. It. I just took anyone that that was interested in services, and if. I was able to do it. I would do it. I I am still working on saying no. Sometimes it was hard. I still have a hard time saying no sometimes to people.
Collin Funkhouser 10:12
Yeah, I do too. So hi, welcome. My name is Collin. I can't say I have I don't say no to people. But what I, you know, hearing that about how the the vet tech side, it sounds like, you know, gave you a leg up in a lot of the, like you said, the skills, the tool sets, knowledge, the instincts, but also the language, right? So it gave you a lot of ways to just talk with clients about issues and and how to overcome them. And because that's a big barrier a lot of times with clients, is when we're educating them on things that we're seeing, concerns that we have. We have to be really clear about how we're speaking about those because if they do take our concerns and go to a vet or go to a trainer or go to a groomer, they have to be set up for success to be able to talk the talk and have that industry jargon so they know where to get help and how to communicate that
Jenn Wegener 11:07
that's absolutely right. And I do find myself having to, I guess, counsel a lot of my clients, they have questions, and sometimes I'm the first person that they will reach out to if they see anything wrong and but I always try to tell them, Well, I'm not a vet, but here's what I think might be going on. And sometimes I'm able to give them, you know, a home remedy to try, like, hey, my my dog just ate a squeaker out of a toy. What do I do? And you know, sometimes you can remedy that with just a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide down their throat, and they'll throw it up and you're good to go. You don't have to spend $1,000 at the vet. But again, I always preface, hey, I'm not a veterinarian, but this might be going on, but I do. I'm very careful sometimes, when I asked questions on it, on a pet, on what they what they need to do,
Collin Funkhouser 12:10
well, that's a good point too, because, I mean, we often develop relationships with our clients where they they do thankfully, view us as an authority figure and as a person who has their stuff together and knows, but if we're not careful, they won't go get a second opinion, or they won't go do something, because if we're honest, like we're way easier. I think it's important, we're way easier to access than a vet in a lot of cases. How many? Yeah, they can call you, they can text you at most hours of the day, and we're going to respond, hey, oh, hey, let me just get that really quick. And so it kind of it's easier for them to come to us for those questions. But like, what you're saying, Jennifer, we have to have a huge old caveat over here, being like, but also, I'm not that you need to go talk to yours to make sure that we're continuing to point back them, to point them back to good resources and stuff when we go that's outside of my knowledge and skill set and where I'm comfortable speaking to now it's time for you to go somewhere else, and you really do need to, you know, and that that builds a lot of trust, too, within the community of if we're referring things to trainers, to vets, to groomers, to whomever you know, other sitters, dog walkers like that builds trust among them, because they know that we're sending them to the places where they need
Jenn Wegener 13:23
to be. Yes, that's right. And sometimes you just have to tell them don't wait too long, because they sometimes they just want to wait it out. Well, see how we're doing in the morning. Well, sometimes a pet doesn't have that much time, depending on what what the situation is, especially with senior animals, I don't like to wait too long with them, but sometimes the parents want to just wait it out a little bit longer. Sometimes that they think maybe the the pet might just shake it off, they'll be okay. And sometimes they are. They're just, they're just having a, you know, an off day, like we have. So you never know it's, it's a fine line sometimes.
Collin Funkhouser 14:08
I mean, that's something that we encounter, just even as business owners. Sometimes, of whether we're dealing with a problem client or we have an issue in business, sometimes our first reaction is, well, I'm just going to wait and see. Let me just wait and see what happens with this. And that's a great tactic in a lot of cases, but also sometimes we just need to act. Sometimes we do have to just do something, mostly to get it over with and start moving it forward. I definitely am the kind that is like, hey, there's a problem here, and this client is experiencing this. Let me just wait and see if they complain again, right? That's honestly a lot of what I have. I'm like, Well, if they play it again, if they bring it up again, well, sure, I'll address it. Then what I've had to learn over the last many years, and because I'm a slow learner, for being honest, it takes me a minute to get through my head is no the first time, let me just go ahead and address that, or let me let me speak to this, or let me go learn more about this the first time it comes up. So. So that I don't have to have those pain points keep coming back to me.
Jenn Wegener 15:04
Yes, sometimes I won't have the answer, and I'm not afraid to tell them. You know what? I don't know the answer to that, but let me do some research, and I'll get back to you. I just most recently, had a client who took their Labradoodle to a groomer, and within minutes of walking into the grooming building, the dog started foaming at the mouth and completely collapsed and passed out in fear. Oh my and and so she called me immediately and told me what was going on and what had happened, and we kind of walked through that. I had to calm her down. And, long story short, the dog turned out being okay, but we think that he might have been exposed to something that he was highly allergic to, that might have been in that grooming facility. And so I started reaching, researching mobile groomers for her, or groomers that were closer, that specialize in dogs or cats with really high anxiety when they're groomed. And you know, we spent kind of an afternoon doing that together, but we we found some good resources, and we found some good alternatives for her to try, and I even found a mobile groomer and a mobile veterinarian for her if she ever needed one.
Collin Funkhouser 16:25
Have you heard of tying to pet Susan, the pet gal, has this to say, Welcome to pet sitter confessional, an open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter. Today, we're brought to you by our friends at time to pet and pet perennials if you're looking for new pet setting software, give time to pet a try. Listeners of our show will save 50% off your first three months by visiting time to pet.com/confession Jen, why is it important for you to spend that kind of time? I mean, you just, you just said it. You spent an afternoon doing this. Why was it important for you to do that?
Jenn Wegener 17:01
Well, because I take a lot of pride in caring for other people's homes and their their pets, and I take care of them like they're my own. And something that I hear from my clients, a lot that means more than anything to me is I trust you, some I've started to use a student intern to do some pet sitting for me sometimes. And then I also have a contract Pet Sitter that will do some overnights for me on occasion. And some of my clients, when I talk to them about that, they are completely they trust me so much. They are okay to not even meet that person that's going to be doing the pet sitting job for them, because they say, Jen, we trust you. And that's everything to me. That's just very important. Because, you know, these, these animals are, are like our first children. They are our children in a lot of ways. And just to have that, that trust and confidence and my clients, it's just really important to me, and I think it's it really kind of keeps you motivated to continue, because we all know it, you can burn out in this industry really quick, and it it doesn't take long. So I feel like that that keeps me going when I know that they just have full trust in me, and they don't worry a single bit when they're gone and I'm taking care of their pets or one of my my contractors are
Collin Funkhouser 18:51
now, when we deal in the in the currency of trust, there's really no no, no thing we shouldn't be doing to keep that and to garner that. And so if it takes spending a couple hours problem solving and and finding a better solution, like a holistic solution, to somebody to improve their quality of life, to improve the quality of life with their pet like that, that's invaluable. You can't put a price on that. And can't say, well, in order for me to I can imagine, some people say, Okay, well, here's my consultation fee to problem solving in this and and sure, can you do, can you do this at scale? Could you do this for 1000 clients? No, no, you couldn't. But we you can do it while you can, and for those people who who need it, and you can choose where you invest this time. And that's really the power of of growing that kind of business and having that clientele, because that you do become part of their family. Who else are they going to go to? To have them, have them walk through that process to know the questions to ask. I know that's a big one for us. I love equipping my clients. Hey, I can't tell you who. The absolute best groomer is, but I can help you figure out who's going to be the best groomer for you. And here's the 10 question. Here's the 10 questions you need to ask every groomer to make sure that it aligns with what you're wanting and where your needs are, that all of a sudden, like that is just because if I we kind of view it as if I can improve this one area of life with your pet, you're more likely going to keep that pet around for a long time, and they're going to be a better quality of life for the rest of their life. And that's what everybody wants. Everybody wants that. So where can we find these moments, these little things that we can really do that add up to so much year after year after year.
Jenn Wegener 20:42
Yes, and just that little extra time that you spend with a client might end up being 20 or 30 clients because they refer to you to some other people just for spending that little extra time with them. Yeah.
Collin Funkhouser 20:59
And then we talk about the power of you know, okay, okay. I need to grow my business. I need to have marketing. I need to do all this stuff. Well, I hear it time and time again. And we know in our business, when you have a client referring you who that who's just like the champion of you, you only need one or two of those, and your books are going to be filled like, genuinely like, if you have one person out there who is just raving about you at every opportunity. They're talking to the growth person at the grocery store line. They're talking to the person that's waiting in line to get their oil changed. They're talking to the person like that kind of person is so valuable to your company that, yeah, I'd spend a couple hours helping them find a bit a groomer for them, because if I knows they're going to be like that, right? Like and that's that's just investing in the person like that really is the human side of our business that I think all too often we do lose sight of, especially when the nitty gritty in the day to day.
Jenn Wegener 21:55
So I took a break from pet sitting for a little bit after I started my family. And then in about 2021, I started getting, what I say, the call again, to get back into pet sitting. And the first thing that I did was I went right back to pet sitters International, and I got my membership. And then I got with business insurers to Carolina, and I got insured. And so once I had those two things down, I said, Okay, I'm really doing this now. There's no turning back for now. And so, yeah, I really just started word of mouth. My mom has a Facebook neighborhood association page that they all post things on, and she kind of put my name out there, and immediately I got about five or six clients just in that neighborhood alone. And then, yeah, you know, word of mouth, it spreads really fast, and most of the time you're going to just get some really great clients from those referrals. But it's do. I've just been doing it part time over the years, and so I've kind of purposely let it grow slowly, and it's really been a really a good balance. I've always been afraid again, going back to that, I'm afraid to say no, I don't want to turn anybody down, and so I don't want to have too much business, which is never a bad thing. But I've kind of kept it slow and steady where I could manage it, but, yeah, so it's just it's been pretty, pretty calm and slow, but the The holidays are definitely starting to get busier. I'm already having one particular client. She'll book me for Christmas a year in advance, so I've had her on the book since last December or this upcoming December, because she wanted to make sure, because she has a he's not a special needs dog, but he is a special dog. And nobody, nobody can, can watch him, except for me, and it took me a couple of years just to get him to trust me enough to walk him on a leash. Oh, wow. And you would, you would think it's a big like, Great Dane or something, but it's this little Yorkie mix, and he's probably about six pounds, but he'll, he'll rip your face off. So I definitely had to build some trust with him by dog walking and stuff. And he tried to untie my shoes a few times, but we're good buddies now and and that's another, you know, you just take that as a win. You know, sometimes you work really hard with a dog or a cat or whatever it might be, a bird that just only loves their people. They don't want anyone else in the house. They don't want to have any dealings with anyone else. And so you. That's a success story in itself, when you can kind of break that wall down with an animal, and then they start to trust you again, and that that's a great feeling also.
Collin Funkhouser 25:13
Now you said you've you've kept the growth kind of intentionally slow, is that? Is that because you weren't sure where you wanted the business to go, or you were just worried, like you said, about being overwhelmed, or talk about that in intentional step. Because I think oftentimes we get in business and we go, Well, I gotta go, go, go, go, go. I gotta do everything I can to just explode this. And you kind of went, well, actually, let me do this in a little bit different way. And I'm curious why you decided to really do that?
Jenn Wegener 25:42
Well, it's, it's a funny story. I was working in education. I had a full time job already, but our I have two boys, and they were in competitive sports. And if anyone out there has a child in competitive sports, you know how expensive it is. You know how much the travel ball is, you know, how much the private lessons are? You it's, it's its own little beast. And so I think I just kind of got into this because I was missing the pet sitting, but I also thought, Well, that'll just give me a little extra money for some hitting lessons or pitching lessons, or, you know, that'll, you know, get us some $400 baseball bat, you know. So I think I, I, I, yeah, I had the full time job already, and I just did this as a little extra. And so I think that's why I kept it kind of, kind of slow and steady for a little while.
Collin Funkhouser 26:40
Yeah, yeah. Going, what's my purpose for this business? I think, I think that's a question that I don't see asked enough, right? A lot of people don't say, What do I want out of this? They kind of just go, Well, I like being with pets, and so I'll just start this business. But they don't really think, what is this business going to do for me? It's I love that you were so intentional with that that you knew exactly okay, this is for this, and it's helped keep everything else and all of your decisions in alignment behind that, so it didn't get all, you know, squirrely and out of control on you suddenly,
Jenn Wegener 27:15
yes, it definitely just kind of kept, kept it where it was, and I I knew I could take a little more clients here. I can do some pets, it's here, but, yeah, I think I was afraid for it to get out of hand, because I like to, I like structure. I like I'm a planner. I like to try to keep things organized in that sense, and I didn't want to lose control, especially if you're trying to run a little side business well.
Collin Funkhouser 27:52
So I mean, if you've got a full time job, you're doing travel ball, you're starting this business. How are you how are you keeping things organized? Because I'm feeling a little stressed just thinking about all this.
Jenn Wegener 28:05
Well, shockingly, I don't have a software program that I use to keep track of my clients. I'm kind of old school, and I'm a solo pet sitter, and I just use a good old fashioned day planner to stay organized. And I keep my pet sits in there. I look at it three, four or five times a day, even though I know what's going on for the day, I still look at it just in case I don't want to miss anything. And that's how, yeah, I've just kind of, I stay organized that way. I make my own invoices, and I kind of created my own and I just kind of keep it on my laptop, and I don't use like a digital, like calendar on my phone. I just, I like to write it down. I like to have it on pen or pencil and and look at it that way. So my day planner is with me wherever I go.
Collin Funkhouser 29:00
I found that even if I have stuff in a Google Calendar and Apple calendar, it when I it's when I write it down in my daily notebook, or I've got a little pocket notebook that I keep with me everywhere, and a desk planner and stuff, it's when I write it down in there that I actually remember. It actually becomes real. And now it's like, okay, now I know what to do with that. And I think it's just finding those those systems and those tools that go what fit, what fits me for how I work, given what I need to get done. And again, that's a question that not enough people ask, is, how do I work? How do I want to get things done instead? A lot of times, and myself included, I can get caught up in, hey, what's everybody else doing? And I'll just do that and but without realizing but does that fit me right? Does that? Is that how my brain works, that how I'm wire? Is that what I need to serve my clients well? And that level of intentionality, really, all of a sudden starts making it going well? Of course, it's manageable, because it's perfectly in alignment with who I am and how I operate. Like that, it kind of all just flows. Goes from that instead of having to fight to make a system work, we just find a system that works with us,
Jenn Wegener 30:07
yes, and and these younger pet sitters, well, not, not necessarily younger pet sitters, but there are pet sitters out there that everything is digital. Everything's on their phone. They've got a software program like time to pet that that they use, and I love that, I love that they use that for their business, but I guess for me, I like to have just my good old fashioned day planner, because we all know technology doesn't always cooperate, and if I have it written down, but it's gotten lost in the cloud or whatever it might be in technology or, you know, you get a virus. Well, that's a lot of appointments and numbers and addresses that I may have lost forever that I can't get back. So I even do my pet sitting contracts. I print them out, and I have my clients fill them out, and I just, I keep a paper track of that too.
Collin Funkhouser 31:02
Yeah, well, yeah, technology is great until it's not right, and it's always, always. If you're listening to this, the other lesson for this is have backups of things, even if you think they're secure. Have another backup somewhere.
Jenn Wegener 31:15
Yes, for sure. Now you've, you
Collin Funkhouser 31:18
know, you've been, you've been pet sitting, you've been talking walking for 25 years, you've been you've kind of start and stopped a couple times, and you're growing your business with intentionality. Jan, how, how have your clients needs and expectations changed over those years? And have you serving them well?
Jenn Wegener 31:36
My clients, I've done pet sitting in three states. I kind of started in San Antonio, then we moved to Little Rock. We were there for five years. That's where I kind of really started pet sitting a little bit more. My business name at the time was clear spring Pet Services. And then we moved back to Oklahoma to be closer to family, and that's when I took a break. But every where I've been, where I had clients, they're all just amazing. My clientele base, they're just amazing. The pets are amazing. I have noticed a trend of I'm I seem to be getting a lot more senior pets. I'm seeing a lot of that actually, and have lost, unfortunately, about five. Five of my clients have lost a pet this year alone, and some of them have gotten a new friend. Some of them aren't ready yet, and that's okay too, but I have found that I seem to be again, where my my tech skills come in. I have a cat, actually, that I I see, and he's diabetic, so he has to have insulin twice a day. I have another one that is deaf, one that's the blind. And so I have a handful of situations like that, and what I've tried to do is just keep up on my skills, researching how I can maybe, if I can't take them on a walk, then maybe I can bring in some enrich enrichment activities for them, for their specific needs, or I can get with a veterinarian who's going to let me come in and volunteer and just kind of let me refresh my skills on, you know, diabetic animals, and you know insulin and what are some signs to look for when you know, they're having an issue. And so I have found that I'm starting to do that a little bit more with some senior pets.
Collin Funkhouser 33:52
You can't automate compassion, but you can make it easier to deliver. And that's where our friends at Pet perennials come in. They're built just for this. Their sympathy and milestone gifts are designed for grieving pet parents, and they take the care of the fulfillment from start to finish, so nothing falls through the cracks for you, for busy pet business owners, it's a simple system to scale kindness, nurture long term client loyalty and respond meaningfully to those difficult moments, sign up for their free gift perks business account to receive discounted pricing with zero fees or minimums. Learn more at Pet perennials.com today, now that you mentioned it, I'm actually thinking through several of our clients who Yeah, I think that with a lot of the medical practices and advancements in technology, pets are living a lot longer, but that does mean that they have different needs, and that 14 year old dog is not going to need the same kind of interaction and same kind of visit as that 14 month puppy, and so we have to be adaptable to that. And. Just be looking for that knowledge and know, okay, well, I've got to change XYZ about this visit, or I need to ask XYZ kind of questions and, and I think this kind of sounds like Jen, you're going, okay, case by case basis. As you get a couple requests in, you're you're automatically going out and making sure you fully understand the needs so that you can have that visit. And I love that you're able to go and work with the Veterinary Clinic and kind of refresh those skills and doing their enrichment stuff. It really sounds like, you know, it's kind of sending you on a little scavenger hunt of skills and knowledge to meet the needs of your clients.
Jenn Wegener 35:39
It has, and it's also been really great to network with other vet clinics and groomers just to network and, you know, get referrals for each other too. But I think, I think it's always great to kind of keep up with your skills, because, you know, if you, if you don't use it, you lose it sometimes with pets in general, yeah, you you definitely want to make sure that you keep up with them and and know just, I think having the confidence of just knowing what to do in any kind of situation makes me personally feel like a better pet sitter for myself and for my clients and the animals.
Collin Funkhouser 36:26
Well, okay, so that's a really great transition to one of my other questions that I had for you, because you know, I know, and our listeners know too that this can be really stressful. A lot of visits can be extremely stressful, and how I mean for you and your years of experience, how do you stay calm in those tough and stressful situations and make sure that it's handled well?
Jenn Wegener 36:52
Well, I being a vet tech for all the time that I was, you know, you just see everything you see, sometimes some really horrible sad things. You see some some gory things. And definitely, like just even, for example, you have an animal that comes in that's just been hit by a car. Well, that's an emergency situation. You could kind of lose control of your emotions in a situation like that. And I feel like being exposed to those types of things in a clinic setting really helps me to stay calm in stressful situations when it comes to a pet, and surprisingly, it helped me to be a calm parent when my children were smaller. You know, we've had broken arms and busted our head open, and we've had stitches, and we've had some surgeries and all of those things. And some people, you know, they struggle with the sight of blood, but for some reason, when I would see that, I would immediately go into calm mode, take action. Let's, let's get that taken care of. And I think, yeah, just those skills really helped me to to stay calm and in tough situations, especially well.
Collin Funkhouser 38:12
So there's two parts of that. There's the exposure to the scenario, but all like, Okay, so maybe three, there's the exposure to the scenario, there's the experience of how to handle it, and then there's the there's the confidence in the outcome, right? So it's like, as you see and experience different things, you're able to build that skill set of, okay, when the when XYZ happened, I did ABC, and then this thing came out of that. And so now that this new thing is happening, I can lean on those skills that I had before. And you know, whether that is in a vet clinic or whether that is through in person trainings or pet first aid and CPR classes or everything like it's knowledge and experience that really we have to seek after, so that when those when those stressful things happen, we aren't the ones that are immediately freaking out and running around like a chicken with our head cut off. Yeah, cut off.
Jenn Wegener 39:03
Yeah, that's absolutely right. And I am very grateful that I, I do kind of go into that, like, calm mode and fix it mode, and I don't, like, Lose My Mind and freak out over it and and hopefully I won't ever have to have a situation where it's like a code red for a pet in a home. Knock on wood. I I haven't really had to experience that, but I always felt like if I did, I was prepared, I was ready, and I can handle it.
Collin Funkhouser 39:38
Now, when you were first starting out as a vet tech, is that how you responded? Or is this a skill again, that you've learned and it's evolved over time?
Jenn Wegener 39:46
Oh no, it's definitely evolved over time. I think in the beginning, when I was just, you know, wet behind the ears, didn't know what I was doing, and there would be in an emergency situation come in, yeah, I would kind of like freeze, and I. And just be in shock, like I don't even know what to do. And over time, yeah, that kind of dissipated, and I was able to just jump right in take action. And so I'm glad that that that's gone, because in the beginning, I don't think I was a very good veterinary technician, so I definitely had to get more experience and just get better each time your client would come in with something, something crazy, because you we've seen it all. If you've ever worked in a vet clinic, you definitely have seen things that you don't think you'd ever see. I guess maybe, like an ER nurse at a hospital, we've seen it all well.
Collin Funkhouser 40:42
So how do you, I mean, on those days, whether it's in the, you know, the medical world, or it's a pet sitting visit, and it's just been one of those horrible days. I mean, how do you, how do you refresh yourself? Because what the thing about what we do is there will always be tomorrow where somebody has pets, where we are needed to show up and be at 100% then. So you know, how do you come home from a day of stressful visits and everything and make sure that you're recharging so that you can show up the next day?
Jenn Wegener 41:14
Well, it's pretty simple for me. I I just try to make it a quiet environment for myself. I'll take the hot shower, listen to music. I love music. It really feeds my soul, and I can't work without music being on. So I turn on some music. And to be honest, sometimes I'll just eat ice cream. Ice cream always makes, makes things better. Well, I
Speaker 1 41:46
was gonna, I was gonna ask for some music recommendations, but now I gotta know what kind of ice cream so I can take notes on this.
Jenn Wegener 41:53
Well, ice cream, I kind of go back and forth. Right now I'm into mint chocolate chip, regular chocolate chip. Those are my two go tos right now, sometimes it might be Oreo or just plain old chocolate or a vanilla with chocolate syrup on it. But I try not to get too crazy with ice cream. Frozen yogurts good. I do like those too.
Collin Funkhouser 42:19
You know, the phrase that you said, Jen about that was, you do things that feed your soul. You do things that are meaningful and impactful to you, and importantly, you know what those are? I think I know a lot of people really struggle to know what's going to feed them, because we get so wrapped up in our business as our everything, that all of a sudden it becomes the exclusion of everything and everyone, and we without our business, without walking a dog, without billing a client, without writing notes, we don't know what to do with our time. And so finding ways to fully step out and separate and feed us as a person is really, really critical.
Jenn Wegener 43:04
Yes, and I would say many people in this industry, we have a servant's heart. We like to take care of people. We like to take care of pets. And sometimes that definitely will make us just feel depleted and we don't have anything left for ourselves. And I mean, we've all been there, I do that way more often than I should. I feel like I've given so so so much, and I don't take care of myself as much as I should, especially during the busy seasons as a pet sitter, I think that's just that comes with the territory of just go, go, go, and then you're just so exhausted when you get home you just don't want to do anything except just collapse on your bed. But, yeah, I think, and that's something that they talked about a little bit at this last conference was, you know, you've got to take care of you, or you can't take care of everyone else, and you can't take care of those pets that you that you love and and that are your clients. And so it's very easy to forget to take care of yourself, doing what we do, yeah?
Collin Funkhouser 44:18
And because most of the time we don't think it's important or necessary, right? We kind of hold up our hand and we say, Oh no, thank you. Right now, I'm good. I don't need that. I need us. I need to make sure I'm taking care of these other people and these other pets. Because, see how important that is. I don't have time to take care of myself. See how exhausted I am at the end of the day. See I'm collapsing into bed like that is definitely real. I know I fall into that where it's like it is 1130 at night, I am finally collapsing into bed and and I haven't done a single thing for myself all day, and so just take a few minutes to maybe just read or listen to a podcast or do something like that, going okay, I just need to feed me. Just, just, let me take a couple minutes, and then I'm going to be okay. And really knowing, importantly, what that is for yourself is, is really where that becomes super powerful,
Jenn Wegener 45:07
yes, and I think sometimes we don't even recognize when we need to take care of ourselves a little bit more, because we're so busy and we're go, go, go all the time, and we just have to be on and you just yeah, sometimes we forget our own selves and and that is something that it I wish we could incorporate that into the business and the industry that we're in, but it's sometimes. It's just you don't have time to do that, right?
Collin Funkhouser 45:41
Yep. Sometimes it does mean, okay, I don't have time today, but let me flip my calendar. Let me get my daily planner. I'm going to flip two pages over to a week or two from now. What day this week Am I blocking out? Or what is that? And just being intentional about it, right? That's it's just going okay. I may be in a busy season. I've got a grind I got to do this, but I can't live like this forever, and I don't want to be here forever. So where does that look like? And how do I get off of this? And that takes us stepping out and saying, Okay, this is important. I need to find that time Absolutely. Jen, I really want to thank you for coming on the show today, for encouraging us to take that time for ourselves and to invest in ourselves so that we can serve our clients well, as their needs change, and as we grow and adapt in our business as well, I'm really thankful for this time. I know you have a lot on your plate and everything if you're taking your time out of today to do this. For those who want to connect, follow along. You know, pick your brain on this kind of stuff. How best can they do that?
Jenn Wegener 46:39
Well, my website is currently under construction, but they can always reach out to me through my email, dreaming tree pets@gmail.com or they can reach out at my number is 918-691-1580, I am on Facebook, and I'm also in Instagram, so you can follow me there as well.
Collin Funkhouser 46:58
That's awesome. I'll have all those links in the show notes and on our website, so people can click right to those. Jen, again, I want to thank you so much for coming on the show today. Thank you.
Jenn Wegener 47:08
Thank you so much for having me. It has been a pleasure, and I really enjoyed talking with you today.
Collin Funkhouser 47:13
I love when Jen said that she takes a lot of pride in caring for other people's homes and their pets, and that she treats them like they're her own. Trust is the heartbeat of pet sitting and dog walking. It's what keeps clients coming back, and it's what gives us purpose on those hard days when you treat every pet as if they're yours, your care becomes personal, not transactional. It's the difference between a service and a relationship in a world continually filled with more and more AI and automation, relationships matter more than ever. When we build a relationship with a client, it happens through building of trust that trust comes in not just how we deliver the service, but how we communicate that service to the client, and how we make that client feel at every step along the way. My conversation with Jen really was a reminder that compassion and professionalism should go hand in hand. We want to thank today's sponsors, tiny to pet and our friends at Pet perennials for making the show possible. And we really want to thank you so much for listening. We hope you have a wonderful rest of your week, and we'll be back again soon. You
