Business

Pets Are Inn Provides Even an Iguana
All the Comforts of Home

Scripps Howard News Service

    That long-awaited winter vacation is at hand. Everyone is excited except George, the Great Dane, and Frances, the ferret, who prefer roaming at home to being confined in a strange cage.
    Joan Christoph faced that pet owner dilemma several years ago before moving to Lisbon, Wis., from Philadelphia. Contemplating a cruise, she remembers fretting about leaving her three dogs behind in kennel cages.
    So when she heard of Pets Are Inn, which arranges for pets to be cared for in private homes, she and her husband, Allan, signed up for a franchise.
    "I just love pets, love to take care of them," she said."
    Apparently, so do other Waukesha and Milwaukee County residents. Christoph says she has 74 people who take care of the pets in their own homes. Some have pets of their own. Others used to and miss them.
    As for her non-human clients, dogs and cats are most common, but there have been birds, rabbits and ferrets.
    Then there was the 5½-foot iguana. The problem was the he liked to roam hallways, lie atop a couch and look out the window, even be cuddled.
    "Lots of people are afraid of them," Christoph said. So she cared for him herself, feeding him bananas by hand. Caretaker homes are screened and matched with pet personalities regarding such details as their eating and sleeping habits.
    Christoph says a typical daily care fee paid by a pet owner is $13 for regular dogs or $14.75 for large ones.