A Kenneling Alternative

Floofins and Company

Five Things You May Not Know About Kristin

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Sure, you know that the Floofins staff you interact with LOVE your pet, but have you ever wondered… Is there more to this super-duper, pet-loving person?

To that, we say, YES!

Your Floofins are like family and we want to give you a more rounded picture of our great staff members. So, we dug a little deeper into their psyches to get you the kind of information only Floofins & Co. can provide.

The staff member we are highlighting this month is Kristin. She is the owner/founder of Floofins & Co.

If you could pick a new name, what would it be? “Hmmmm…. Probably Eve or Ivy.”

If you could ask your pet one question, what would it be? “Portia, why do you eat your own poop? Prissy, really, what are you barking at?”

What was your favorite toy growing up? “A dress-up trunk.”

What would your spirit animal be?“Lioness.”

What is the best advice you’ve received? “Sometimes you have to be a “C” student and tweak it as you go.”

When COVID-19 Crashes The Party

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The Background

Owner Kristin Skelton had been making plans for various ways to celebrate her 10-year anniversary in business. She had grown her local pet care and dog walking business from a tiny one-person operation to a multi-person employer that was named the “2020 National Association of Professional Pet Sitters Business of the Year”.

She looked into various ways to say thanks to clients and employees for the support and hard work. The idea was to bring clients, their floofins, and employees together to celebrate the milestone.

Ideas floated around were “yappy hours” and related social outings. Events that would clients, their owners, and the staff to see each other face to face — something that doesn’t occur often in the pet care business. The global pandemic changed all that.  [Read more…] about When COVID-19 Crashes The Party

Welcome To Phase 3 Illinois

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To Our Floofins & Co. Family,

Illinois will be entering Phase 3 today! I have personally received emails from all of my favorite restaurants, spas and retail stores gearing up for business. Our team is ready to help you out with your pets if you are heading back to work/the office, making yourself a long awaited dinner reservation or finally taking that trip to Von Maur (a.k.a. my favorite department store).

Rest assured, our common sense staff “cleanliness policies” are still the standard. We are also continuing to ask that you notify us if someone in your home is ill and to cancel services to limit exposure to our team. We will of course do the same and send an alternate if needed. We are also happy to continue offering any customized safety measures you request at this time. We got this!

Looking forward to seeing more fluffy faces on our schedule as Illinois phases forward.

Kristin Skelton – Owner/Founder

Five Things You May Not Know About Corine

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Floofins & Co.

Sure, you know that the Floofins staff you interact with LOVE your pet, but have you ever wondered… Is there more to this super-duper, pet-loving person?

To that, we say, YES!

Your Floofins are like family and we want to give you a more rounded picture of our great staff members. So, we dug a little deeper into their psyches to get you the kind of information only Floofins & Co. can provide.

The staff member we are highlighting this month is Corine. She works as a Pet Care Specialist.

  • What is your favorite cheesiest pickup line? “How much does a polar bear weigh? Enough to break the ice.”
  • What is the most beautiful place you’ve been? “Cape Town, South Africa” 
  • What is your pet peeve? “Dishes being left in the sink.” 
  • As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? “A zookeeper/dolphin trainer and I am currently living out the dream as a penguin and otter trainer at the Shedd Aquarium.”
  • What would be your spirit animal? “A manatee because they are predator free and love to eat!”

COVID Update – RE: May 30th Shelter In Place Extension

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To Our Floofins & Co. Family,

In light of the latest extension of the IL Shelter-In-Place order, we wanted to reach out as more existing and potentially new clients are being added to the “essential” list that will be allowed to start back up with work in some capacity on May 1st. Yay! Our team looks forward to continuing our existing services and serving more of our clients (and their floofins) as they phase back to work.

With that being said, our standard common sense staff “cleanliness policies” are still being followed and have been enhanced per the latest CDC recommendations and IL State Law, as described below. We are happy to add any specific notes for visits with preferred procedures for social distancing. For example, we can pick up your pet from an area of the home where you are not present or do a leash hand off at the door vs. performing in-home duties at this time. Whatever you need, we are still here for you!

Staff “Cleanliness Policies”:

  • UPDATE: Staff are being asked to wear supplied masks per the May 1st State of IL Mask mandate. Masks will be worn inside clients homes and outside anytime social distancing cannot be followed. Fortunately, social distancing is nothing new at Floofins & Co. Your pets are used to us saying no to dog-to-dog and dog-to-stranger meet and greets.
  • Staff are being asked to use Floofins & Co. provided soap, washing their hands for at least 20 seconds with warm water upon entering and exiting the home, and as needed during visits, as well as using provided hand sanitizer when soap and water is not available.
  • Staff are being asked to avoid touching eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands, as well as covering their nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing if outside with pets and not wearing a mask. If a tissue isn’t available, coughing or sneezing into an elbow or sleeve versus into their hands.
  • If a staff member is sick, they are being asked to call in so coverage can be arranged with another team member.

We are also continuing to ask that you notify us if someone in your home is ill and to cancel services to limit exposure to our team.

UPDATE: Our cancelation policy is extended to ANY client that is ill through the end of May.

Also please remember:

New Client Consultations On Video

We are now offering video new client consultations. While our preference is to meet in your home so we can thoroughly explain our services, note specific locations of items, and get to introduce ourselves in person to your floofin and can still do this provided masks are being worn by all parties, we understand that this may not be possible in today’s circumstances. Therefore, video consultations are now an option. You will still meet with a member of our administrative team and your primary pet care specialist.

Referral Program Update

We have always offered a $25 service credit to our existing clients that send us referrals that become part of the Floofins Family. However, due to the current circumstances, in March we added an additional $25 credit to the new client as a gesture of thanks and gratitude for all of our new essential workers. However, we just LOVE this referral program update so moving forward ALL clients that refer a new client to Floofins & Co. will receive a $25 credit AND the new client will also receive a $25 credit towards their first service. So make sure you let us know who sent you our way!

We appreciate all of the check-ins and support we have received during this unprecedented event and look forward to things opening up one fluffy face at a time.

Kristin Skelton – Owner/Founder