Taking care of pets inside and out

DURHAM -- Corry Hamilton isn't your ordinary pet sitter.

Sure, Ms. Hamilton will walk dogs or take care of birds for vacationing animal lovers. But Ms. Hamilton's business's real focus is taking care of a pet's needs holistically. She says reiki, herbal medicine and nutritional care aren't just for humans.

When pets are showing behavioural issues, like urinating outside of the litter box or chewing up furniture, it might be a dietary problem.

"Many pet owners are at their wit's end with an animal's bad behaviour when I come over," said Ms. Hamilton, who has a degree in biochemistry and ran a pet store for 11 years.

Sometimes a pet's bad manners are the result of a food sensitivity or allergy and can be fixed before all the shoes in the house are chewed up. In other situations, Ms. Hamilton can refer pet owners to other professionals who can help their cat or bird overcome their problems. Pets sometimes need chiropractic care or could benefit from acupuncture.

"Pretty much anything humans use," Ms. Hamilton said.

Nancy Hutchinson has Ms. Hamilton take care of her animals every time she is out of town. That includes all six dogs, three cats, three pigs, two ducks, the rabbit, the parrot and 46 alpacas. It can be pretty overwhelming at the Hutchinson farm, but Ms. Hamilton handles it well, Ms. Hutchinson said.

"I wish I could take all my animals with me when I go away, but I can't," said Ms. Hutchinson, the owner of Spinning Wheel Alpacas farm in Enniskillen. "I sleep well at night knowing I have left the animals in Corry's care."

Ms. Hamilton is in tune with all the animals and will leave 20 pages of notes for the Hutchinson's if she encounters any issues while she is working at the farm, Ms. Hutchinson said.

Ms. Hutchinson has also called upon Ms. Hamilton to help out with her pet's health issues when vet care wasn't enough.

Ms. Hamilton used a homeopathic remedy to clear cloudiness from Hank the cat's eyes.

And when her dog Hogan was having pain in his hip joints, Ms. Hamilton was the first person to notice the problem, Ms. Hutchinson said.

It's important that Hogan is healthy not just because he is a good pet but he is also an outdoor dog that guards the livestock on Ms. Hutchinson's farm. Ms. Hamilton treated Hogan with Reiki, a form of energy healing.

Reiki puts the pet in a deep state of relaxation and pets expel many toxins afterward, Ms. Hamilton said.

After the treatments Hogan was as good as new, Mr. Hutchinson said.

Ms. Hamilton can be reached by phone at 905-697-2788 or by e-mail at info@takingthelead.ca.