I grew up in a home with lots of animals, dogs, (although allergic to both dogs, but worse cats), a bird and a snake. My family treated my dogs like royalty - we were made to move out of Didi's spot when it was her time for an afternoon nap on the couch, and Bart was so accustomed to the high life that he didn't know the difference between his bed or my bed!

 

I started pet sitting in 2012, in my Matric year to make pocket money and was often left to look after my family dogs while my parents enjoyed weekend getaways. This quickly became a passion of mine, both staying in new spaces and loving pets of all shapes and sizes.

 

After school I moved to Sodwana Bay where I pursued a career as a PADI Scuba Instructor, I lived there for a year and guess what? I pet sat there too! I made connections with locals who lived in the little holiday town and looked after their pets when they needed to go back to the city for a few days.

 

After finishing at Sodwana Bay, I moved back home with my parents and started Roxys Scuba School which I ran for 3 years. During this business venture, my love for pet sitting was still burning and I started and ran Durban House and Pet Sitting Services for 4 years, closing it when I moved to Cape Town.

 

While I was running both the dive school and the pet sitting business, I was also pursuing a career as a Marine Biologist and was enrolled in my BSc Marine Biology undergrad and Hons Degrees at UKZN. 

 

I moved to Cape Town to pursue my Masters in Conservation Sciences (worked at sea on deep sea trawlers, traveled to remote locations alone to collect samples and won awards for presenting at conferences), and shortly after the move here I launched What a Treat Professional Pet Care (2019). I have subsequently left the life of academics to spend it with your furry family members and ensure that they get only the best pet sitters.