We know what it feels like to struggle with both your pets emotions and your own, when it comes to leaving your best friend alone.

As a whole, pet parents have become more educated about pet care, we are more aware about what our pets need for a great quality of life. The benefits of having a personal pet sitter far outweighs those of putting your pet in a kennel.

♥Meet Our Staff!♥

♠Management♠

Stephanie is the Owner, Operator and founder of Furball’s Choice.

The company is based on her strong passion and connection with animals. One she has had since the young age of 5 years old “Which was when I had my first cat. I was responsible for helping my parents feed him, scoop his poop, and make sure he was well exercised”.   On top of having cared for her own pets and growing up with animals her entire life, Stephanie also possess the following experience with animals of all types. “This is my life long resume”.

Growing up in Barrie, Ontario her first job was on a horse farm specializing in training Western Pleasure & Gaming horses.  Starting from the ground up working as a groomer, mucking stalls, she soon found herself moving up to working along side her boss, training and riding young prospects.  In the past 10 years she has worked on farms that deal with Harness Racing, Private Show Barns, Circuit A Training Facilities & Boarding Facilities where animals require very specific diets and constant, attentive care.

Throughout her teenage years she donated her spare time to the local animal shelter (QHS), completed two co-op positions at the Quinte Humane Society and one co-op position at Loyalist Veterinary Hospital. After graduating High School she pursue her love of animals by accepting a job at PJ’s Pets. These years provided experience with a vast variety of animals including pocket animals, birds “The Sun Conure is my favourite.” aquatic life such as shrimp & fish, reptiles and even tarantulas. During this time Stephanie was also an approved foster home for Pet Finder and in 2011 started walking dogs in her spare time.
Stephanie continued to keep her passion of working with animals alive by providing pet care services to local pet parents. In 2014 she was presented the opportunity to start her own business. When she was told there was an opportunity to combine her love of animals with providing a positive and much needed service to pet parents alike, she got started right away.   After graduating her Business Management Course at Loyalist, and her business plan receiving a stamp of approval, Furball’s Choice was born!

• Stephanie is skilled in the administration of insulin injections, oral medication, and IC fluids, and loves caring for elderly pets, juvenile pets, pets with special health concerns & disabilities and has over a decades worth of experience providing such care.
• She participates monthly in webinars to learn all she can about domesticated animal health.  She has extensive knowledge about different pet related diseases, illnesses and disabilities and how to treat them such as Degenerative Myelopathy, seizures, diabetes, kidney disease, arthritis just to name a few.
• Stephanie is certified in Dog Walking, Dog Behaviour, Reading Canine Body Language and has completed the Canine Attendant training through Canine Foundations.
• Stephanie is a Pet First Aid Certified Instructor for Walks N Wags Pet First Aid.
• Certified in Raw Pet Food knowledge and is a Certified Pet Nutritionist.
• Furball’s Choice works with Fixed Fur Life, The Quinte Humane Society, Loyalist Humane Society, Homeward Bound Rescue, Danes In Distress, Boxer Rescue Ontario, Home Again Rescue & Soi Dog (Canada & Thailand).
• Furball’s Choice supports it’s community and others.  Our company has ran fundraisers for DM research and spearheaded the ‘Pack 4 Fort Mac’ in 2016 that sent thousands of pounds of pet food and items to animals affected by the Alberta Wildfires.  Furball’s Choice can be seen at local events such as ‘Strut for Strays’ and “Wiggle Waggle Walk-a-Thon’ .  “We will never stop helping where we can.”.
• Stephanie regularly participates in training classes & seminars with her own dogs for fun and educational purposes. “Its one thing to be able to calmly control my own dogs in a positive way, I like to be current on general communication and training techniques that work with any dog I am socializing with.”

Stephanie is a loving mother to her German Shepherd, 2 Cats, Goats, Chickens, Bearded Dragons, Ferret, Fish (fresh water & salt water),  a few Tarantulas,  Donkey and 2 beautiful Horses. She is happy to offer service to any pet parent that needs it.

Furball’s Choice was specifically designed with pet parents in mind, as she is one her self and it pushed her to turn a passion into a lifestyle and make the move to become a pet sitter – “Life is too short to not do what you love”.

What is your favourite animal? I love Orcas!

What is your favourite breed of dog? German Shepherds and Doberman.

What do you enjoy doing when your not working? Riding my horses, boating, yardwork (I get really mad when Carlos cuts the grass, its my favourite!),  anything outside really.

Carlos is the Production Lead and IT Tech of Furball’s Choice’s Raw Pet Food division.  Carlos works closely with our partners and suppliers to ensure only the highest quality source meats are used in our formulas and maintains those relationships so that we get the best pricing possible and can pass those savings on to you!  Carlos is the primary driver for supply pickups and out of area deliveries and is also responsible for overseeing all aspects of Furball’s Choice Logistics.  With a strong background in technology, Carlos installs and maintains the technologies that allow us to operate all divisions efficiently.

Carlos was born in Port Colborne, Ontario in the 70s and spent most of his childhood growing up in Hamilton, and then the Niagara Region.  Carlos has always liked all types of animals and is a wealth of knowledge for many different species – from mammals to reptiles, and even aquatic animals and invertebrates.

Becky is the General Manager at Furball’s Choice.

Becky grew up in Cobourg, Ontario and relocated to the Quinte West area with her husband in 2016. Together they are the proud parents of their daughter Melanie, son Eric and their many Fur Babies which include two German Shepherd (Scout and Atlas), a American Bulldog (Dozer), their cats, reptiles and 4 Guinea Pigs (Squish, Squiggle, Sugar and S’mores). In addition, Becky grew up with a wide variety pets, including reptiles and has always had a passion for animals.

At the age of 13 Becky began volunteering at her local animal shelter. Staff at the shelter quickly noticed her passion for the animals and her patients and ability to connect with the rescued stray dogs in the shelter. Her education to the job led to staff members recommending her to new adopters and from there Becky would go to homes to walk and pet sit new adopters pets.

• Becky began working in pet retail in 2017 where she worked to build her knowledge in the pet industry. She has been recognized by many customers for her outstanding customer service skills. Becky takes pride in getting to know clients on a deeper more personal level.
• Through the retail store, Becky was introduced to an organization called Fixed fur Life, a rescue organization for cats. Becky became a foster parents and volunteer. To date she has fostered over 50 cats and kittens, participated in multiple rescue operations, and volunteered at a number of fundraising events.
• Something you may not know about Becky is that she is heavily involved in her local community. Taking part in many different fundraising events, rescues and non-profit organizations for both animal and human.

Becky has been working with Furball’s Choice for over 6 years now, she is a very important member of our Furball’s Choice team.

What is your favourite animal? All the doggos!

What is your favourite breed of dog? German Shepherd

What do you enjoy doing when your not working? Hiking and searching for waterfalls across Ontraio, or anywhere. I also love reading.

♠Pet Sitters♠

Shayla has spent her entire life in Quinte West, growing up in Trenton. From a young age, she knew she wanted animals to be a big part of her life.

Sarah was born and raised in Belleville and moved to Shannonville where she currently resides with her family. She has 3 cats (Cornflower, Biscuit & Loki) and a hognose snake (Gimli, check out her picture, look closely!).  She has always had a passion for animals, likely due to being surrounded by them her whole life.

When she was younger, Sarah quickly developed a passion for horses and riding. She competed in local dressage competitions, such as “Reach for the Ribbons.” Through her lessons and competitions, she developed close relationships with a few Arabian horses, Venus and Sweets being two of her favourites.

As a teenager, she volunteered at the humane society and had her very first job at a grooming salon. At the grooming salon, Sarah worked as a bather and became familiar with a number of different dog breeds. For as long as she can remember, she knew she wanted a career involving animals.

In the summer, she spends a lot of her time camping and going on side-by-side rides with her family and their friends. Any excuse to spend time in the outdoors. She loves being in the forest, surrounded by nature, and often goes searching for bugs or reptiles to watch and admire. She has always been the type to see a snake and run towards it, rather than away.

During her time at Furball’s Choice, she has learned a lot about working with dogs of different breeds, personalities and behaviours. She has developed relationships with so many different animals, and she always looks forward to seeing them.

While she does absolutely adore dogs, she is a cat person at heart and tends to gravitate more towards the kitties she gets the pleasure of seeing. “Getting a head bonk from a cat is one of my favourite feelings. Knowing I have gained their trust is such a rewarding feeling. I look forward to meeting even more different kinds of pets and I can’t wait to learn all about them!”

Sarah’s time with Furballs Choice has passed by so quickly, though its only been a year it’s felt like many. She brings a wealth of knowledge and is always cool as a cucumber. Sarah is such a valued asset to the team and the animals she works with.

What is your favourite animal?

What is your favourite breed of dog?

What do you enjoy doing when your not working?

---

Jade

Trust, Quality & Security.

We treat our clients, their pets, and home with a standard of professionalism and care that is incomparable in our industry.  Furball’s Choice is continually working to set the bar high for pet sitting standards in our industry.

Our staff conduct each service with honesty and truthfulness. Providing our clients with honest feedback, and being open to honest feedback from our clients.  We humbly recognize that we can always do better through mutual feedback and communication.

Our company possesses insurance and liability coverage for your pets, home and property for the duration of our visits. We respect the trust our clients have placed in us to care for their most valuable possessions.

All staff are Walks ‘N’ Wags Pet First Aid Certified with emergency contingencies in place to handle any emergency situation that may come our way, and the ability to safely and adequately care for any pets whom require medication or limited ability care.

Furball’s Choice is an active member of Professional Pet Sitters International, Veterinarian, Groomer & Rescue recommended for both Care Services & Natural Pet Products. There is a reason that Furball’s Choice is Quinte’s only multi-award winning Pet Care Service.  Voted Favourite Pet Care Service by the people of Belleville for 2016 and also awarded the title of Best New Business during the 2016 Quinte Business Achievement Awards.

At Furball’s Choice we believe the “Keys to Great Care” are:

• Superior Customer Service: 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, high-quality care and service.

• Environment: Provide a clean, active, positive, enjoyable environment while providing professional and trusting service.

• Convenience: Being mostly mobile, offering clients a wide range of services in their own personal environment specific for every animal type.

• Location: We will come to you, making Furball’s Choice an easily accessible service for your convenience.

• Reputation: Credibility, integrity, and 100% dedication, from more than a decade of experience and passion with animals.