We’re nearing that time of year again. The Holidays! Once Halloween is over, it’s officially acceptable, in my mind, to start talking about Thanksgiving. I’m not quite ready to throw Christmas into the mix yet, but I know some of you feel differently. And that’s okay!

Just don’t start playing Christmas music around me. Please

The holidays are my favorite time of year. I love the (theoretical) colder weather, lights, food, festivity, family, friends, and general atmosphere of the times. My family usually ends up traveling several times throughout the season. My family is a pet loving one. So finding a place for them to stay during our holiday adventures can be quite an undertaking.

Thankfully we have awesome friends and incredibly generous family members who will either take care of our dogs, or allow us to bring them along with us. Sometimes, though, that just isn’t possible.

That’s where local entrepreneur, Corinne Smith, comes in.

Corinne grew up right here in South Carolina, is a Clemson graduate, and an animal lover.

In 1998, she started to pet-sit for her friends and co-workers as a side job and called her business Cuddly Critters.

Now, here we are, almost in 2017, and Corinne runs her own full-time pet-sitting business. She went from hiring one person to having dozens of sitters across the upstate that she dispatches to pet owners from Greenville to Greer, Taylors, Mauldin, Simpsonville, Travelers Rest, Fountain Inn, and everywhere in-between.

Corinne steadily grew her business almost entirely by word of mouth. She didn’t have to pay for marketing, make fancy commercials, or beg for business by cold calling every phone number she came across. She simply provided a great service and experience for her customers and their pets.

“I want my sitters and I to have a personal relationship with with our clients.”

She and her team provide quality service. This is what makes for happy, loyal customers.

“I picked something I enjoyed doing and made a business out of it. I think those who want to be business owners should find what they enjoy and make it happen. As a local business owner, I always try to support local business from restaurants to local pet stores.”

Corinne also is very involved with local non-profit Speak For Animals and is a huge advocate for the spay and neuter cause.

I think that Corinne has the best job. She gets to spend time with dogs and cats on a regular basis. I wish that was my job. Sounds like a paradise!

Why would you pay more to board your dog or cat in a kennel where they can get sick? Not to mention an unfamiliar place that potentially is very frightening for your pets.

Go ahead and check out Cuddly Critters website and Facebook page. See if she can make your holidays a little bit easier.

Quality Service Always Wins | Cuddly Critters Pet Sitting | Corinne Smith