Today we’d like to introduce you to April Winder.
Hi April, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
In 2018 I decided to take charge of my anxiety and took a weeks approach at the “Yes” method. I spent a week saying yes to every opportunity that was presented to me wether I wanted to do it or not. I found myself working as a personal maid, volunteering at the animal shelter and performing various tasks for others as well as having conversations with complete strangers. Normally, I would say no, come up with an excuse and stay home. I love being a homebody! However, this exercise was important for my mental health and it led me to see things in a new light. I no longer work as a maid or talk to every stranger, but I did find myself going back to the shelter. I have always loved animals and had a gift for working with them. I began walking dogs, caring for the cattery and even fostering in my home. I told myself this “yes” method had made a difference in my life and I would spend a week a year making sure to broaden my view of the world this way. I found myself walking dogs for a neighbor who was elderly and couldn’t physically handle his dog after his wife had passed. That one client sang my praises to others online, told me I should charge more and make a business out of this. He was always encouraging me and I found myself passionate for the idea. I began checking out forums, websites, clubs and social media sites that did dog walking and found that there was an entire industry out there of pet sitters and dog walkers that I never knew. The industry was booming and ripe for growing. So, I went all in. I soaked up as much education as I could. I felt like a kid again. My anxiety was still there, but I was more excited than anything else. I was good at it. I am good at it and I absolutely love it. I have no business experience except for a few management positions I had as a young adult. I learned about running a business, getting an LLC, setting up taxes, protecting my assets, insurance, etc. I got certified in Pet First Aid and CPR as well as gaining membership Pet Sitters International and then obtaining my Certified Professional Pet Sitters certificate through PSI. Since then, I have hired and set up a team to help me with the growth of the business. We recently were named Best of Bastrop 2025 which was thrilling. Our clients are like family and we love caring for their pets. Most of our business is vacation drop in visits. We come to the pets home where they are most comfortable attempting to keep them on their routines and give them all the love and attention they deserve while their owners are away. We keep track of the home, taking out or bringing in garbage, checking mail, rotating blinds/ lights and every visit the client gets a report full with photos and updates in real time. With encouragement from those first few clients to the growth of new clients, hiring of team members and continuing education through The Texas Pet Sitters Association, Pet Sitters International and other business owners within the industry, I couldn’t be more grateful to be where we are today. Growing steady and everyone is happy.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest struggles I have found has been finding the right staff. This is a part time gig and doesn’t pay a lot. Most people look at it as an introductory job and it’s difficult to find qualified candidates. As much as I would love to mentor a younger crowd, it’s important that we have team members who understand how to handle emergent situations. Not just with the pets themselves but what if a home has been burglarized or theres a gas or water leak? It’s important that our team members have a certain level of experience to handle these types of situations. Another is finding people who have experience with pet behavior and understand what each pet is telling you. It isn’t all puppy kisses and cat cuddles. There is a high level of professionalism I expect from my team and that can be hard on people coming into a job they think is “playing with pets”. That’s only one small part of the job. We are perfect for retired teachers, care givers and veterans. It must be people who live locally as there is a significant amount of driving involved and not always back to back. I tell everyone who applies, this is more a lifestyle than a job.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My company offers in home pet sitting and dog walking services in 30 min, 45 min and 60 min sessions. These visits happen between 7am and 9pm and cover the basics such as feeding, potty breaks, litter scooping, ect. It also covers bonding, mental stimulation such as puzzles, training upkeep, sniff walks and toys. We take out trash on trash days as well as bring it in, water plants and check mail. Each visit has a visit report sent to the client within our client portal in real time where they can communicate with us immediately or at their leisure. Each one of our staff is Pet CPR/ First Aid trained, back ground certified and required to keep a certain level of continued education within the pet sitting industry. We hold ourselves to the industry standard, making sure to keep up with the newest information, products and practices. We specialize in pets that struggle with boarding situations, need additional time to gain trust or otherwise the client wouldn’t be able to travel. We have emergency protocols for those unexpected things and we take the time necessary to get to know the pets in our care. Each visit is tailored to the client and pet needs for the most peaceful result for everyone. Anyone can love a pet, feed and let them out for potty breaks, but not everyone knows what to do if a pet gets loose, has a medical episode or gets attacked by an off leash pet while on a walk. If one of our team has an emergency, we usually have a backup so there’s no delay in care for client pets leading to distraught or stressed out pets. A percentage of our proceeds goes to local rescue and sheltering organizations. I have to honor where I started and if it weren’t for the Bastrop County Animal Shelter’s welcoming volunteer program, I wouldn’t have been able to rekindle my passion for animals in a way that led me to my dream business. Caring for pets isn’t just what we do, it’s who we are. This isn’t a hobby for us. It is what we do. I don’t plan to go anywhere anytime soon.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I have had the good luck of understanding clients. Those who hear my story and want to cheer me on and support me. Just knowing they care about my goals as much as I do has been emotional and heart warming. I didn’t expect that. I also have a husband who provides me the peace of mind to be able to pursue this dream on my own terms. When 2020 came around and the world was in chaos, unsure of what to expect moving forward, I didn’t lose my business. If anything, this was the moment things grew quickly for me. Those who had been offering hobby pet sitting care, decided it was a good time to step back. I began getting more and more calls from those clients looking for someone to take over. As I developed a relationship with each client, they told their old pet sitters and those pet sitters started to recommend me based off of word of mouth. It may have been bad luck for many but 2020 happened to work in my favor and I am incredibly grateful and lucky it happened that way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pineypawspetservices.com
- Instagram: @pineypawspetservices
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/pineypaw
