Jennifer Miler of St. Petersburg, Florida was named as PSI’s 2007 Pet Sitter of the Year™ at the recent Quest for Excellence convention in St. Louis. The award, sponsored by The Iams Company, was established by PSI in 1995 and is considered the professional pet-sitting industry’s highest honor.
Jennifer owns and operates Doggone Purrfect Pet Care. Since joining PSI in 1998, she has risen to the status of PSI Ambassador and has been a regular contributor to The WORLD of Professional Pet Sitting, a bimonthly magazine published by PSI.
In her community, Jennifer is the founder and coordinator of Tampa Bay Professional Pet Sitters Network. And she is an active volunteer with SPCA Tampa Bay, Coastal Poodle Rescue, Tampa Bay DART and other animal-related organizations. In addition, she was deployed for hurricane relief work with the Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) in 2004 and 2005.
To her clients Jennifer is known as someone who can be counted on. “Jennifer is compassionate, considerate and committed,” says one pet owner. Another satisfied client professes, “My pets and I love her! No matter what happens, she is our Pet Sitter of the Year!”
The judges who evaluated this year’s slate of nominees were Bud Most, The Iams Company; Dr. Marty Becker, veterinarian, author and media spokesperson; and Connie Wilson, editor of Modern Dog magazine. The committee was charged with reviewing hundreds of nominations from grateful clients, veterinarians, shelter workers and other pet-care professionals in order to identify the single candidate who most embodied excellence in pet sitting. Addressing the selection committee’s decision, PSI President Patti Moran stated, “Jennifer embodies the spirit and professionalism that we look for in every PSI member. She is a superb role model and an ideal ambassador for the growing industry of professional pet sitting.”
Other top finalists for the 2007 award included Scott Black, Personal Touch Pet Sitting Inc., Kingwood, Texas; Christie Joy, Treasured Pets, Tyler, Texas; Denise Cagle, Housesitting by Denise, Columbia, South Carolina; and Jill Nuccioli, Always There Pet Care, Rochester, New York.
You can see a listing of past winners on the PSI Web site. You can also learn more about the 2008 Pet Sitter of the Year award and obtain information on eligibility and nomination guidelines.
