ANCONA – She left her permanent job at the Torrette regional hospital, where she worked as an Oss (social health worker) to be happy and surround herself with animals: now, she works as a dog sitter. Less than a month ago, Giulia Ossidi (36 years old from Ancona) resigned from the Gastroenterology and Endoscopy department to try to pursue the happiness. Although, to tell the truth, she didn’t miss it entirely.
«I was fine in the hospital, I was there for twelve years – she says – I was well-liked both from colleagues and patients, but I have always had a very strong passion for animals. Three and a half years ago, I bought a house in the countryside in Montesicuro. There, there are mine horse Merlina purebred Arabian and my three dogs, Jack, Omar and Miranda.”
«I saved them from the streets, they arrived from Southern Italy – he says – and I also have a cat. I have liked nature since I was a child. Little by little – she reflects – I took the courage to leave my job and opened a dog services business under the name ‘Giulia’s friends dog service‘. I thought about it carefully before leaving my job – he specifies – You know, it’s difficult to leave the safe, or rather the very safe, for the uncertain».
Someone was hesitant, someone else encouraged her: «I said that I would only change jobs after I resigned. In family, they supported me and my colleagues gave me a course as a dog trainer. I received much more affection than I expected.”
Not a second job, but a full-fledged profession. Giulia is now a freelancer: «I also work 24 hours a day. Many are dog sitters as a second job, not me – she reiterates – I have opened a very vast range of services, from taxi dog to wedding dog sittingincluding dog trekking, dog walking (a simple walk, ed), dog sitting, home therapy without veterinary assistance and day-night dog care service, assistance to sick dogs even after surgery”.
The wedding dog sitting service is curious: «I don’t bring the family’s dog newlyweds at the wedding lunch as some do – he reiterates – but I’ll pick it up a few hours before so that the bride and groom can enjoy the preparations. Usually, I wait outside the ceremony location and stand next to the couple. Sometimes, not all churches accept dog entry. Just think that once upon a time, it was a big dog that I made wear the wedding rings.”
Each service is preceded by a free introductory meeting: «There is an exaggerated demand and I am forced to say a lot of ‘No’s. Sometimes – he continues – I also help owners free themselves from the guilt of leaving their pet alone at home. It’s about well being from the family and the animal. Whoever entrusts me with a dog, entrusts me with a to be living, a piece of your heart. The dog sitter is not just someone who walks a dog, but someone who takes on its responsibilities, which are many. Trust is the basis of everything. What if I regretted this choice? Absolutely not, I would do it again.”
