Pets in Paradise

"It's not just a frivolous service," she says. "A lot of my clients really see the benefits. It's a lot better than waiting until the dog is in a bad state and spending thousands of dollars at the vet."

One of her clients is Rhapsody in Blu, a greyhound that belongs to Barbara Mulle in Bonita Springs. Blu suffered from muscle spasms after retiring from a three-year racing career. Londeau-Sorenson heads to the Mulles' Bonita Springs home periodically to give Blu a rubdown. Since the massages began, Blu has been spasm-free.

"She loves it," her doting owner says.

The 5-year-old dog has grown used to many of life's other little luxuries, too, and has done a fine job of training her humans.

"She sleeps in our bedroom," Mulle says, in a trampoline-style bed with sheets Mulle made. Blu often wears little booties to protect her feet on walks, enjoys jerky treats that contain sea cucumber and glucosamine for joint health, and dines on stew meat cooked with carrots, green beans, spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms.

"She gets four cups a day," says Mulle. "I feed it to my husband, too."

Chrissy Reseigh of Bonita Springs takes a hands-on approach to her intuitive work with pets. After working with people for 14 years, she switched to animals about two years ago. Through reiki and observation, she works to find out why an animal has a particular behavioral or health problem, including housebreaking, eating difficulties, separation anxiety, arthritis and hip dysplasia.

For a $65 house call, Reseigh spends up to two hours working with an animal. She'll recommend dietary changes, identify problems in the home, and use massage and aromatherapy to promote relaxation and increase energy.

"Animals are no different from children," she says. "You can encourage them to do things that are beneficial to them, but they don't always agree."

DOGGIE DAY CARE

Carolyn Kimbrell was fed up with the restaurant business.

"I'd always loved animals and always took care of my friends' animals when they were out of town," she says of the way she began her pet-sitting service, Carolyn's Critter Care, in Fort Myers. Three years later, she's making a living doing what she loves, although she's learned that it's not a walk in the park.

"I didn't realize that I'd never have a day off or a weekend," she says. That's when sitters are most in demand from pet owners who don't want to leave their pets at a kennel.

"They talk about them like kids," Kimbrell observes. "A lot of baby boomers have opted not to have children, and they're spoiling their pets the way many people spoil their children."

The pet sitter, who's licensed and bonded and has taken the American Red Cross First Aid for Pets course, interviews potential clients, both human and animal, filling out a detailed record of each pet's likes, habits and medical condition.

She's accustomed to special requests. One couple had an epileptic Weimaraner and feared leaving him alone in case he had a seizure. Kimbrell babysat while the owners went out to eat. Another client asked Kimbrell "to make sure on the late evening visit to tuck the dog underneath the covers because he gets cold," she recalls.

Elaine Brower, a longtime breeder and groomer, offers boarding and day care at her North Fort Myers home. Her clients come from as far away at Marco Island and Tampa. Elderly dogs and those with special needs stay in the house, where she can watch them more closely, while healthier pets live it up in her kennel.

"One thing I insist on is enrichment," she says. "They have to have brushing, petting and playtime."

Tina Ballas of Fort Myers takes her six-year-old Siberian husky, Bailey, to Barbara Segel's Camp Segel in Fort Myers twice a week.

"I travel a lot with my job and I live in a one-bedroom apartment," says Ballas, who works in real estate. "I feel bad that she has to sit there alone. I want her to have interaction with other dogs and with people someplace where she gets exercise and can just be a dog."

On Marco Island, Gail DeMoss' Critter Café is moving into cushier quarters so she can create a boarding facility that's almost a pet resort. Her four-legged guests will lounge on well-padded doggie beds and participate in organized activities and playtime. Owners can check in at anytime via the Internet to catch their little darlings at sleep or play. The dogs get social time, too.

"So many people come here on vacation and want to go on day trips, but don't want their pets left alone all day," says DeMoss, who shares her home with three beloved salukis.

Pet Gallery

Although pets are living longer these days, they never live long enough for many of their owners. Some people are preserving their memories with professional photos and other art.

Linda Saha of Cape Coral and Margo Petrov Vigorito of Bonita Springs paint pet portraits. Saha says many owners commission a work as the pets get on in years. Portraits start at $120 and go up depending on the number of animals.

"They want something lasting," she says. Most of her subjects are dogs,

but she also gets some requests for cats and horses. She did a ball python

once.

"I took it to a show so people could see I do more than just mammals," she says. "But people would see it and leave so I had to take it down."

Vigorito creates portraits in pastels or, for "majestic animals" such as horses, in oil. She also teaches others how to capture their pets in paint at classes at the Bonita Springs Art League.

Saha says clients often told her how comforting the paintings were after their pets died, but she didn't really understand until she hung up a portrait of Cyrus the Great, her departed golden retriever-German shepherd mix, in her home.

"I love looking at it," she says. "Not because I painted it, but because it's him."

Alan Veres and Claduia Beaulieu capture pets' likenesses in photos

through their business Flash & Co. Based in Tampa and Sarasota, the pair

travel to Southwest Florida several times a year for a day's worth of

photography. They bring with them backdrops and props such as a surfboard, a miniature airplane and tiny pieces of Chippendale furniture.

"Everybody wants a picture of their beloved pet," Veres says. "It's not just that the pets are getting old. They just want to feel that closeness to

it."

A Farewell to Fido

Pet owners no longer have to hide their grief when their beloved companions die. Hospice of Naples has offered a monthly pet loss support group since September 2000, according to the Rev. Dr. Gordon Postill, director of community bereavement services. The idea came from staff members' personal experiences with the deaths of their pets.

Three to nine people attend the monthly gatherings while others arrange one-on-one sessions with a trained grief counselor.

"Quite often people lose a pet and don't have anybody to talk to about it," Postill says. "We help them feel validated in their grief experience."

At Hospice, when employees lose a pet, they are granted a bereavement day. Bereft owners can purchase a memorial brick at the hospice's Pet Rainbow Garden for $150 each, the same price as a memorial brick for a person. So far, there are 10 bricks in the garden.

Danny Meadows helps grieving owners find closure in yet another way. In his Cape Coral garage, the Maytag repairman creates pet caskets -clear pine boxes with three-tiered tops and rich pecan finish. He and Elaine Brower now operate a business that sells the caskets, which range from $47.95 for the extra-small hamster model to $469.95 for the extra-large dog casket (on the Web at www.peacefulpet.com).