About Me

My name is Shanté Smit and I have always had a passion for animals. It started with horses when I was but four years old and just grew from there. I started walking dogs and pet sitting when I was 13. Later in high school, I also started doing sleep over pet sitting. Over the years while working with a variety of pets I have gained experience on how best to work with different personalities and how to evaluate pet health while they are in my care. Growing up, I had my own dogs, a cat and budgies. I held myself responsible for their care and enjoyed learning more about all their needs and just wanted them to thrive.

I have also developed in innate understanding of animal behaviour and how best to approach animals in different situations. I try to keep up with the latest trends in animal training and behaviour doing a lot of research and educating myself. I aim to one day complete a few animal behaviour and training courses to add onto my credentials.

I am very serious about pet and house sitting as I understand the risk that owners are taking when they not only entrust their animals to me but also their homes. I value respect, honesty, reliability and good communication above all else in my role as a pet and house sitter.

I work full time at an academic publishing house (which fans the flames of my passion for books) and pet sit part time. I enjoy pet sitting so much that I can hardly call it a job. It brings me joy to get to know different pets and their owners.

When I am not available when a potential client needs me, I always try to refer clients to other pet sitters or pet sitting agencies. After all, it’s not about me but about the client and their pets. This is my small contribution to the pet sitting community, a group of individuals who have a passion for animals.