Pet sitter enjoys being her own boss

“I’m Mexican American. My parents are from Mexico, and I was the first one born here. I’ve always been working to help out the family. It’s mostly been in sales. But in my last position, I realized that I was not completely happy working for somebody else.

“On the side, I started doing some pet sitting. I love animals and I love to hustle. I’m always going to make money somehow. I just wanted my pet sitting business to become my hustle. So I decided to go for it.

“I began doing it full-time last July. I take care of people’s furbabies at my home. I check on them at the owners’ homes. And I do dog walking, too. I’ve also taken care of other animals, like little turtles and parakeets.

“It started slow, mainly because of COVID. People didn’t want anybody in their homes. They weren’t traveling much anyway, so they didn’t need my services. It got a little discouraging there for a while.

“Then a few months ago, things started picking up. People were ready to get back out there and go on vacation. So right now it’s going really well, and I love what I’m doing. I enjoy being my own boss, having that freedom to kind of make my own schedule. And I’m getting to be around animals all day, which is great.

“I just have this big old heart. I have a lot of compassion, even for the smallest of animals. I told my fiancé that if I could have all the dogs in the world, I would. But with the house we’re in right now, that’s probably not the best idea.”

— Natalie Salazar

Learn more about Natalie’s business, PawsFirst, @pawsfirstinbaytown on Facebook and Instagram.