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Published: Sunday, 1/25/2015

Pets are a job and a passion for former area resident

BY MARY ALICE POWELL
BLADE COLUMNIST
Mary Alice Powell. Mary Alice Powell.
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AIKEN. S.C.Jan Quail, formerly of Perrysburg, remembers well the trauma that convinced her to open a pet-sitting business. She and her husband, Ron, and daughter, Madison, were on their way to an East Coast island vacation when they learned that the person who had agreed to care for their three dogs and two cats didn’t show up at their home.

“I panicked,”Jan recalled, “and told Ron to turn around, that we had to go home.”

As it turned out, they were able to arrange for neighbors to care for the animals in the Quails’ absence.

But the experience made Jan wonder how often similar disappointments happen to other pet owners. “It got to a point that I didn’t want to travel but stayed home so I knew our animals were taken care of,” she said.

She decided to start a pet-sitting business, and named it after a sign on the kitchen wall in her home.

Jan Quail, formerly of Perrysburg, named her pet-sitting business ‘There’s No Place Like Home.’  Jan Quail, formerly of Perrysburg, named her pet-sitting business ‘There’s No Place Like Home.’
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“There’s No Place Like Home” is appropriate because pets that are in Jan’s care stay in their homes — she goes to them.

“I want to be sure people don’t worry about their pets and have a good time on a vacation they paid their hard-earned money for,” she said.

Clare, a Great Dane, is an example of a pet that needed special care. When Clare refused to eat, Jan cooked buffalo meat and rice for him, and he ate it.

Jan and Ron moved to Aiken from Perrysburg last March, and she opened the pet-sitting service in August.

The business generates new friends for the Quails in a new city as well as new pets in the family. When they attended the Aiken Steeplechase, Jan returned home with a dog she named Gunner.

Over lunch with Jan and Ron at Betsy’s in downtown Aiken, it was easily determined that Jan and Roncare deeply about animals.

Their dogs are referred to as “honey” and “sweetie.” Before lunch they took Gunner and Dolly to the Aiken dog park for their daily run. After lunch they were scheduled to care for the animals of a woman who was in Europe for 10 days.

That assignment included cleaning the stalls and feeding and watering two senior horses, six cats, and orders to be sure the pet squirrel didn’t fall into the horse trough. Ron’s work is a project engineer with Fisher Tank Co., with headquarters in nearby Leesburg, S.C, but this day he helped the pet job by driving a tractor to move hay.

Jan believes she has won the respect of local veterinarians to qualify to administer shots and medication to cats and dogs because of her medical background. She has an associate’s degree as a medical assistant from eastern Ohio’s Jefferson County.

She also has had experience working with assistance dogs in the Toledo area.

Jan and Ron enjoy showing photos and telling stories about their past and present cats and dogs. Most were rescued, including Beau, the cat, who was rescued from the Toledo Zoo, and Dolly, who came from a shelter in Swanton.

It was Ron’s new job in Leesburg that brought them here. “This little town suits us just fine,” Jan said. “It’s unpretentious.” Ron added, “It’s like Perrysburg, on steroids. It has the same flavor.”

Jan works as a cashier at the Fresh Market when she is not on pet-sitting duty. “We first rented an apartment in back of the market. I was there about twice a day so I asked them if they were hiring,” she said.

That’s where Jan and I met the day I bought Tony Packo pickles. Both were pleasant unexpected “back home” coincidences.

The Quails have a horse in addition to their cats and dogs. That adds to the good fit here, as Aiken is definitely horse country.

Many homes have stables and riding rings. Thoroughbreds are trained here. Steeplechase is a big social event and there are miles of riding paths.

The Quail horse is Tucker, a pinto that has belonged to their daughter Madison since she was 7. Madison will graduate in May from Georgetown College, Georgetown, Ky., and chances are that Tucker will go with her wherever she decides to do her graduate work. If not, then welcome to Aiken, Tucker.

Then again, Jan and Ron could add a horse to their animal family if one needs a good, caring home. The Quails are that way — there’s always room for one more, maybe even for a horse.

“Nothing else is as beautiful as the horses running on the track in the dense fog in the morning when I am doing my run with the dogs,” Jan said. “It’s enough to drop you to your knees.”

Mary Alice Powell is a retired Blade food editor.

Contact her at: mpowell@theblade.com


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