(CRI)
Updated: 2008-01-22 10:41

When you must leave home but don't want to leave your pet alone, who will take care of your pet?

The answer is a pet sitter.

This profession is in demand in northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang at the present.

Local paper Shenyang Evening News reports on Monday that as many people will go back to their hometowns to celebrate the Spring Festival, some of them have to leave their pets at home.

Some people ask friends or neighbors to stop by and feed their pets while others, like Miss Chen, the owner of a one-year old Samoyed, are looking for pet sitters.

However, a qualified pet sitter can not be easily found in the city, the report said.

Many household service companies admit they don't have any professional pet sitter at the moment.

In Shenyang, monthly salary for a regular house maid is around five hundred yuan, or about US$70, but with pet care service, it rises to 1,500 yuan, nearly US$210.

Another choice is taking the pets to pet shops. A fifty yuan daily charge seems reasonable for the pet owners.

A shopkeeper said lots of people had already ordered temporary care so the shop had to prepare an empty room for these animals.