Hi! My name is Samantha Michelle Pfaffinger and I am the owner/operator of Crazy Critters Pet Care. I am a retired veterinary nurse, originally from Thousand Oaks, California. I have lived in Las Vegas since 1995 and I share my home with my husband Erich, our 2 labradors Tahoe and Sequoia and our eclectus parrot, Buddy. You can see pictures of my pets at the bottom of this page. I am the former President for the Southern Nevada Association of Professional Pet Services (or SNAPPS from 2003-2009). From 2003 - 2006 I was on the board for the Las Vegas Bird Club, spending 2 of those years as their Vice President.
Prior to starting Crazy Critters, I worked as a veterinary technician. I really enjoyed that job, but after years of dealing with the negative parts of the job (mostly seeing sick, dying, abused animals) I felt it was time for a change. I also wanted to help make a difference in the lives of as many pets as I could and I just was not able to do that working in a veterinary hospital. Through the last 10 years, I have been able to accomplish so many of my goals for helping pets in so many different ways. I love seeing spoiled pets who have soft, cozy beds and lots of toys. But just as much, I love helping educate people about properly caring for their pets so these animals can live longer, happier, healthier lives.
My mission for Crazy Critters Pet Care is to provide the nurturing care and reassuring love that animals need when their families are away. My life goal has always been to make life better for animals in anyway possible. Starting Crazy Critters Pet Care is just one of the many ways I plans on making that dream come true. Through my ability to communicate with animals, I am able to help pet owners better understand and care for their pets as well as reunite missing pets with their owners and help solve medical and behavioral problems.

We strongly believe in and practice the following recommended quality standards for excellence in pet sitting put forth by Pet Sitters International:

• Your sitter is bonded and insured.

• Your sitter has experience in caring for pets and is clearly mindful of their safety and well-being.

• Your sitter visits your home before the first pet sitting assignment to meet the pets and get detailed information about their care.

• Your sitter wants to learn as much as possible about the animals in his or her care.

• Your sitter takes precautions to make sure your absence from home is not detected because of any careless actions or disclosures by the sitter.

• Your sitter has a contingency plan for pet care in case of inclement weather or personal illness.

• Your sitter provides references.

• Your sitter provides written literature describing services and stating fees.

• Your sitter shows a positive attitude during the initial meeting and seems comfortable and competent dealing with animals.

• Your sitter provides a service contract which specifies services and fees

• Your sitter has a veterinarian on call for emergency services.

• Your sitter calls to confirm or has you call to confirm that you have returned home as scheduled.

Crazy Critters Pet Care is........

Licensed, Bonded and Insured

Member of Pet Sitters International

Member of Pet Sitters Associates, LLC

Member of Las Vegas Avicultural Society

Member of the American Ferret Association

Member of the American Federation of Aviculture

Contributor to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

Member of Animal League Defense Fund

Member of SNPERRS (So. Nevada Parrot Rescue)

Contributor to the ASPCA and HSUS

Qualifications of Samantha Pfaffinger

Certified Animal Care Specialist

Former Veterinary Nurse

SNAPPS President (2003 - 2009)

Current SNAPPS Treasurer

Former Bird Club Vice President (2005 & 2006)

PSI Pet Sitter of the Year Nominee

August 2006 Pet Sitter of the Month by Pet Sitter Portal

Former Ferret Club President

Las Vegas Valley Humane Volunteer

Animal Intuitive

Certified Nutritional Counselor for Pets

Pet CPR/First Aid Certified

Testimonials:

"Samantha, the Crazy Pet Sitter, is the BEST! My kitties tell me she actually reads their minds. And most importantly, they LOVE her to come visit and take care of them. THANKS SAMANTHA!" - K.G.

"Samantha is a caring, dependable pet sitter that is always responsive to any special needs we might have with our two cats and two dogs." - S.N.

"If you are looking to hire a pet sitter, you would be foolish not to have Samantha care for your animal companions. The comfort of knowing your beloved pets are being cared for by a trained professional who truely loves aniamls, is worth any amount of money. -S.B.

"Samantha is completely trustworthy and professional. Our dogs love her very much and she is very friendly and plays with them a lot. She always keeps a close eye on them and the house and calls us if there are any problems. Samantha is very good at what she does and we will continue to use her service." -S.T.

"As a first time pet owner, I was worried about elaving my young kittens alone in the house. I selected Crazy Critters Pet Care because they seemed to be a reliable company. Samantha is wonderful and addressed all my concerns. It is comforting knowing I can call or email Samantha at any time to check on my babies. Samantha is an excellent and reliable pet sitter." -A.P.

"Samantha has to be one of the biggest animal lovers I know. When she is not pet sitting she is doing volunteer work for rescue orgs. You cant find a better pet sitter." - S.M

"Samantha is always there with bells on when we need her. She is escpecially attentive to the special care of our diabetic dog and always wants us to call her when we get home to make sure the dog has supervision and her scheduled insulin shots. We appreciate Samantha very much." - M.N.

"It is so comforting to know that when we are out of town we have a professional such as Samantha taking care of our 'Kato'. We know that he is in good care!!!" - M.V.

"Samantha is the most dependable person I have ever engaged to look after my pets - she is always available and provides me with such security and peace of mind because I know my dogs are her top priority. She is honest to a fault and serves as a shining example of how to provide customer service!!" - S.L

"I can always count on Sam! It's such a relief to know that I have someone who truly cares about my kitty babies when I'm traveling!" - L.S.,

"Professional, reliable, caring, well trained. When we travel, we are comfortable knowing Samantha is being our cats' best friend while we are gone." - B.E

"Samantha does a great job of caring for our four pets when we are away. With her in charge, I feel confident that they are safe and well cared for and that our home is secure." - S.N.

"Samantha is terrific, dedicated, and very kind, and deffinitly the pet sitter that we want to have coming to our home to take care of our two treasures, our cats." - H. & A.N.

"We found Samantha one time when another pet sitter let us down at the last minute. She stepped in and saved us even though she was very busy. Samantha is completely reliable, organized, and of course loves pets. We enjoy her newsletter emails also because the keep us aware and involved in the pet issues in our community." - S.V.

"Samantha is awesome with my pets. She has all the qualities I wanted in a pet sitter and more. My dogs and cat are always so well taken care of that I can go away without having to worry about them." - M.R.

Pictures of my Pets and Family!

Sequoia Velvet is the newest addition to the Pfaffinger family. Sequoia, a female chocolate lab, was born on October 27, 2006 and came to live with us on December 13, 2006. Pictured here with her toy bass, our plans are that Sequoia will one day become a fishing partner for my husband Erich. Sequoia loves to play ball at the dog park but is not a fan of small white fluffy dogs. She also is involved with the Las Vegas Dock Dogs. This past summer she entered her first competition and came in 2nd in the novice division.

Tahoe James, our male yellow Labrador Retriever, was born on January 19, 2003. We adopted Tahoe on March 30, 2003. Although he is not "the sharpest tool in the shed", he is extremely loving and gentle. Tahoe has many nicknames which include James, Mr. James and Jamsy. Tahoe loves to watch TV, especially dog shows and cartoons, but hates the vacuum.....we call it the "purple mean machine"!

Buddy is our male red sided eclectus. Buddy was born September 7, 2003. Like all eclectus', Buddy LOVES to eat and enjoys playing with his bells. He is great talker with a few of his favorites being "Come on", "Tahoe James" and "Green". Buddy, also known as Green, is missing a toe on his right foot from toe constriction he suffered in the nest. But he doesnt know its missing and I love him even more without it!

My husband has worked by my side since the opening of Crazy Critters in 2000. In 2008 Erich started working as our Pet Waste Removal Technician when we added the services on. Like myself, Erich has always known that he wanted to work with animals. His first job as a teenager was in a pet supply store where he learned a lot about pet nutrition as well as animal behavior. Since than his knowledge has continued to grow as has his love for animals. In his spare time Erich enjoys tournament bass fishing.

On September 25, 2006 Erich and I lost our beloved chocolate lab, Sierra. Sierra died very suddenly, within 5 hours of showing symptoms, from Hemangiosarcoma. Sierra was only 7 years old.

Sierra was a wonderful dog who was gentle with all of God's creatures but was also the protector of our house. She was our daughter, our princess and our best friend. We will miss our "Princess" Sierra. But we know that one day she will return to us when her spirit is ready to come back. Until than, we love you Sierra and will miss you every day!

Samantha, Erich and Sierra at the 2003 Las Vegas Valley Humane Society Wag-a-Tail Walk-a-Thon.

Tahoe dressed up as a referee for Halloween 2007.

Sequoia bobbing for hot dogs at the 2007 Doggie District Halloween Party.

Buddy sitting on his bed, looking for trouble.

Sequoia and Mommy celebrating Sequoia's first birthday on 10/27/07