Fleeing fashion for Fido has worked out well for Kenosha resident Lori Mendelsohn Thomas.
Thomas left a 33-year career in the garment industry after being laid off in October. By March, she’d set up the Wisconsin Pet Care pet sitting service.
“I never want to get back into the corporate world,” said Thomas, 53. “This is my opportunity to never have to kiss up to anyone else again.”
Thomas walks, plays, feeds and gives required medicines to her customers — that’s what she calls the pets — in their homes when their owners are away.
But she also will tend to the house, taking in mail, watering plants and adjusting lights and curtains, for example. She will offer advice on groomers, veterinarians, nutrition and even animal communicators, who are people who say they understand pets’ feelings and perspectives.
Thomas said she has an affinity with pets by reading their body language.
“One elderly dog wanted me to hold her, and I could sense that and feel her energy telling me that,” she said.
Thomas’ husband will stay in the owner’s house overnight when on vacation. A second part-timer works on pet behavior and training. They’ve had about 50 customers so far.
“Not everyone has been hit by the recession,” Thomas said. “The pet industry is one of the few that is growing. People just have a different approach to their animals. They truly are members of their family.”
She can be reached at 262-764-0823 or via e-mail at lori@wisconsinpetcare.com. Her Web site, wisconsinpetcare.com, includes charges.
She doesn’t accept just any customers, however, especially those needing obedience training.
Wisconsin Pet Care serves Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie and the south Racine area. Thomas had to limit the service area when trips west of Interstate 94 were eating up all her time. She hopes to expand.
There was quite a transition from the heady, high-energy and well-compensated fashion industry, including television work, to handling animals, she noted.
“I was winning awards, flying all over the world and staying at the Ritz Carlton,” she said. “Now I’m going to be poor, but I’m really happy.”
WISCONSIN PET CARE IS NOW THE OFFICIAL "DOG DAY" SPONSOR OR THE LAKE COUNTY FIELDERS!
