Pet whisperer swaps corporate world for new pawsome animal adventures

MEET the Dr Dolittle of Dublin - the pet-sitter and dog-walker who looks after beloved cats and dogs, when their owners are away.

- BY LARISSA NOLAN

Animal lover JUJU VASILIAUSKAITE used to be a HR specialist, but burnout led to an exit from the corporate world, into a new vocation.

Now the pet-whisperer is happiest out in the park with border collies and cocker spaniels; or making videos of cats to send to their owners, who love seeing them so happy and cared for.

Patience, communication and love are the most important traits of the job.

Here, Juju, 28, reveals the secret life of pet-sitters....

I'd just brought Maggie back from a perfect walk that ticked all her boxes.

Galloping around the park like a miniature horse - check; getting scared by a Maltese bichon - check; chasing squirrels up a tree - check; trying to eat the remains of a chicken roll in the bush ~ check.

No, Maggie is not a feral small child with concerning eating habits.

She is a five-year-old longhaired lurcher, and I'm her walker.

But once we got home, something didn’t feel right. She immediately scurried away to her bed and plopped down like a sack of potatoes.

I changed Maggie's water bowl and came over for a little smooch on the forehead and a belly rub before I left. Then I heard it.

Maggie's stomach rumbled so loudly it was like shed been starved for two days.

She looked at me with that long lurcher face and eyes that said: “Leave me here to die, human. Save yourself.”

Maggie rolled on her back with her skinny legs up in the air. A big sigh - resembling what a dying husky might produce - escaped her.

I tried to give her some water by bringing the bow1 right up to her snout.

No luck, Hmmm.