Serving Our Community and Our Pets

Here at Prescott Maid to Order, we know how important our furry friends are to our clients. We see it every day in the homes of the people we serve. Often, we find that the kids are all grown up and the companionship of the pets in these homes is paramount to the lives of our clients. Because of this, we offer pet sitting to our list of services and have designed a program called Prescott Maid to Order’s

Forever Home Program. I will talk a little more about the program in a minute. But first, here are a few interesting health benefits of owning a pet, according to Women’s Day:

• Decreases stress
• Lowers blood pressure
• Eases pain and anxiety
• Lowers cholesterol
• Improves mood
• Helps people socialize
• Prevents strokes
• Monitors blood sugar levels for diabetics
• Prevents allergies and improves immunity
• Helps children develop

Some homes also have service dogs that provide a valued service to someone with a disability. Many times, these dogs are rescued from a shelter or rescue organization and trained to do specific tasks to assist someone with a particular disability. Tasks performed may be assisting and supporting someone who has balance and mobility issues. The dogs may pick up items from the floor or retrieve items for their handler. There are diabetic alert dogs that alert their handler when there is a spike in blood sugar. There are so many uses for specially trained service dogs that I am not able to list them now. Just keep in mind that dogs do not have to be purebred or a specific breed in most cases to learn these tasks.

Whether a person is looking for a service dog or a pet, adopting or rescuing is a great option. Our Forever Home Program operates in conjunction with Yavapai Humane Society. The website Mighty Cause states, “Every day, 9,000 pets are killed in American shelters. However, the Yavapai Humane Society bucks that trend. YHS is the safest shelter in Arizona and among the safest in the nation, with a lifesaving rate of 97%.” What a great opportunity to serve.

In a previous article a year or two back, I talked about community service in business, stating, “While trying to grow a business, many companies locally and nationwide are seeing the value in serving their community and the world at large. Whether it be on a large or small scale, the value of volunteerism, contribution and service is of unlimited worth.” We are involved in several causes in our community, this being just one.

So, what is the program about?

We will feature a dog or cat (sometimes both at the same time) and post an ad anywhere we can get exposure for it, on our Facebook page, our website and several community pages. Often, it will be a pet that is older, maybe has been there longer or may not be the one that will get adopted quickly. We will post and repost if needed to try to get the word out, not only about that particular pet, but also for the cause of finding homes for any of the pets in YHS. When someone responds to one of our ads, either to us directly or to the Humane Society and then adopts our featured pet, we will in turn sponsor the fees.

How fun is that? We ask people to “share” the ad to their page and to their friends so that the word will spread.

Our homes not only put a roof over our heads, but house and protect those we love, including our pets. It’s where we make memories, enjoy our quiet time, recuperate from a long day at work, celebrate with those we hold dear and much more. If you have been considering the companionship of a new pet, we encourage you to check out our Forever Home Program on our website or Facebook page and visit the Yavapai Humane Society. We love our clients and we love our pets! QCBN

By Lucy Leyva

Lucy Leyva is the owner of Prescott Maid to Order and Prescott Property Maintenance.