A pet sitter in Plano continues our Employee of the Month tradition here at DFW Pet Sitting!

You guys are up for a treat when you read about James Idley. Be ready to hear all about dogs, hats, and karaoke. What a great mix for a happy life in retirement! #goals

James is a recent addition to our DFW Pet Sitting tribe. A 70-year-young single man, he made a choice to live his life to the fullest.  Even though his small apartment living doesn’t permit him to have a dog on his own right now, he decided to fill the void by finding other people’s dogs to spend his time with.

How it all started

It all started when his neighbor asked him to watch his dog. And then the neighbor got stuck and couldn’t return on time. So James ended up having a four-legged roommate Buster for 11 days. It was then when he realized that spending time with dogs is what’s missing in his life. So he applied for a pet sitting job.

Our company was lucky enough to be on his go-to list to do some dog walking and pet sitting in Plano where he lives. Of course, he was hired on the spot. It was so obvious how much James loves all animals. But his heart belongs to large dogs. His favorite breeds to hang out with are Akitas and Belgian Malinoises.  James held a dog obedience class back in 90s, so he truly understands how to bond with all dogs, large and small. “A dog is a man’s best friend,” he says. He always finds a spot on his calendar to accommodate a new or an existing client of DFW Pet Sitting. He’ll care for all pets, but one will never have to guess James’ answer when offering him a client with a large dog. 🦮

James’ Background

His professional background is in engineering and quality control. His career was spent working for Texas Instruments and Photronics Inc. Being thorough and detailed-oriented are major skills that make him impeccable when it comes to his pet sitting schedule. One will never wonder if care instructions will be followed to the “t”, and pet owners always have confidence that no details will be overlooked.

Love for Music

Ok, you may have guessed by now that dogs are James’ favorite thing in life. The only thing that’s ranking up there with dogs is his love for music. He absolutely loves karaoke. He loves all singing, but his favorite music styles are Jazz, R&B, and Blues. You can find James at Austin Avenue in Plano most Friday and Saturday nights. He even makes his own karaoke versions of music on his computer and saves it on his flash drive, so that he’s able to take it with him when he goes out singing.

James definitely doesn’t just let life happen to him – HE is the one making life happen by spending his time and putting his efforts into all things that he loves. When he can’t sing in person, he sings and records on Smule app. You can listen to his beautiful voice here: https://www.smule.com/recording/the-beatles-cover-by-bob-baldwin-something-smoothjazz/1115013167_2826332193. And here is a recording of him at a local bar in Garland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wm0tZKE6EM

It has been a sincere joy to write about James. We here at DFW Pet Sitting feel lucky that he is a part of our team. We cherish every day he chooses to spend with our clients, because we know that everyone who crosses paths with James is always impacted in the most positive ways.