Karen Minear once got up at 6 a.m. to walk the dogs.
Now she wakes up two hours later. The pandemic changed everything.
Minear, a professional pet caretaker, takes her time to decide what she is going to have for breakfast, then reads a bit or goes through her phone. She looks out the window at the construction of a high-rise apartment complex, which is progressing quickly even though most people in her Roosevelt Row neighborhood are sheltering in place.
There’s not a lot to do, but Minear tries to make herself busy, adjusting to the new reality.
“I’m just trying to find my new normal. I’m so much of an extrovert that I’m not handling this in-house thing very well,” she said.
She used to walked 17 dogs each day. Now she walks only two.
Her remaining clients are Brody, a spaniel with deep, intelligent eyes, long, fluffy ears and fur the color of butterscotch; and Hawkeye, a black Shiba Inu with alert, questioning eyes and a cute greenish nametag. Their owners work long shifts at essential jobs, and still need the dogs walked.
Before the coronavirus pandemic isolated Minear inside her apartment, during her walks she enjoyed sharing small talk with people she knew: neighbors, customers sitting on the patio of the local Fillmore Coffee shop and employees of the apartment complex she lives in.
Now the once-busy sidewalks are practically empty.
In the morning, afternoon and around 9 p.m., when dog owners take their pets outside for essential needs, a once lively community turned into a silent distancing of solitary figures with their four-legged companions.
The change affected not only Minear, but the entire community of Roosevelt Row.
“I have clients that feel like they’re losing their sense of the community because they’re not out anymore,” Minear said. “They feel isolated.”
Before the pandemic hit Phoenix, it was hard to miss Minear. An energetic woman who just turned 57 with short hair dyed in shades of purple, she usually bounded down the streets wearing a pair of comfortable tennis shoes, carrying a backpack and always walking a dog. Or two. Or three.
She created a local community by taking pictures of every pet (dog, cat or rabbit) she took care of. Along with sending the photos to the owners, she began posting them to her Instagram page @kkpetsitting, along with jokes and memes.
Soon her clients recognized the other animals when they saw them around and exchanged greetings with the owners. They began having pet playdates. They helped each other with pet walking.
Her clients are not the only ones who recognized Minear’s contribution.
Weidner Apartment Homes, the company that manages the three Roosevelt Row apartment buildings (Proxy 333, Skyline Lofts and Roosevelt Row Apartment Homes), nominated Minear for their local award, which celebrates a resident that helped foster a sense of community.
She always loved pets, but she had no idea that one day taking care of them would become her job. Minear and her husband Tony, a pastor for Beatitudes Church, moved into a modern apartment complex with red accents, a welcoming reception area and large floor-to-ceiling windows in 2016.
As the owners of two dogs, miniature dachshund Blue and miniature schnauzer Abby, the Minears needed occasional help with the pets while going for long motorcycle rides. They found a pet sitter, who in March 2019 made an unexpected offer: to take over her business, as she was moving out of town.
“We were in Safeway when she saw me and I said, ‘OK, let me think about it.’ And 30 minutes later, I called her and said: ‘Yes, I’ll take over your business,'” Minear said.
Soon she had 122 clients. Scheduling took hours, and Monday was her only day off. She walked 17 pets each day, logging about 10 miles daily and often skipping lunch.
Sometimes it exhausted her, but seeing lonely pets jumping up and down and greeting her with an enthusiastic bark gave Minear energy and a sense of happiness.
When Arizona’s stay-at-home order was introduced, it drastically changed Minear’s life.
The order affected the local dog community, but didn’t destroy it. In this new normal, Minear tries to keep the community alive by supporting and staying in touch with all her clients. Usually energetic and cheerful, her voice became low and trembling when she talked about all the dogs and cats she doesn’t get to see anymore.
“I miss them,” she said.
She keeps in touch with clients through texts and even started group Zoom meetings.
Two of Minear’s clients lost their jobs and their only sources of income. Now she and the entire dog community she formed helps them to survive. Through her husband’s Beatitudes Church food bank, Minear helps with their groceries a couple of times a week. Her other clients help with the food and pet supplies.
May 1 is the anniversary of Minear’s business. She is thinking of baking some cupcakes and delivering them to her clients’ doorsteps, since she can’t celebrate in person.
And one day, she figures, life will return to normal. The high-rise apartment complex under construction will be finished, and as hundreds of new residents will move in, some with their pets. She might become busier than ever.
Contact the reporter at iprysyaz@asu.edu.
