People named Leah (adventures in finding a petsitter off craigslist)

Everyone who knows me well knows the issues I've had with basically every Lea(h) that I've ever met so I'm not going to go into that back story.  This story is sort of about a change in that trend- sort of.  I cant bring the bean town (my dog) to my art shows, and in most cases I know someone in the area who can watch her, but there have been 3 times where I've had to find someone off craigslist with a "Petsitter NEEDED" ad. 

My ad for my most recent show in Deerfield, Illinois inspired many responses, one of the first was a girl saying she had gotten her dog stolen by a craigslist pet sitter and then sold!! WTF? Like every other dog owner in the world who cares a great deal about their little furry buddy, I cant even imagine what I'd do if that happened. I would kill someone and then cry a LOT.  In addition to that one haunting, terrifying text I received quite a few responses from those who want like $40/day to watch my super duper low maintenance mellow dog.  For those of you who know my dog, she does not require $40/day worth of care, (and for those of you who havent had the joy of meeting my dog, of course she's low maintenance, she wears sunglasses) if anything she probably gives you $40/day worth of smiles so fuckin' pay up bitch! (maybe I'm biased, but fa real, she's pretty cute) So, uninspired by the responses I had gotten from potential pet sitters, I reposted the wanted ad.  Within a few hours I got a text from a girl named Leah

She seemed nice- and the photo makes her seem like a real person that wont sell my dog! yay! winner.  So we scheduled a time for me to drop the Beanster off at her house friday morning before I had to go set up for the show.  I text her letting her know I'm on my way and about 20 minutes away. She told me she was at the grocery store and would be home shortly. I needed the map on my phone so didnt see another text from her but when I arrived at her house, I saw she had texted me that she had gone to the pool at her friends condo and let me know when I was on the way so she could meet me at home. Didnt I already? So i waited for like 20 minutes for her, not a huge deal, we went for a walk.  She rolled up with her friend, they both seemed really nice, I couldnt tell which one was Leah ?they were both blonde... how am i supposed to know?.  When we got to the door her sister came down and seemed completely unaware and unhappy about what was going on.  Leah assured her sister that she had talked to their parents and it was okay and that her sister was just overbearing. fine, whatever, just dont lose my dog. I told her I would be back to get her at like 8 pm on Sunday to pick her up. 

blah blah blah, pretty mediocre  show at best with a fairly dismal turnout so now we're back to the dog story.

After finishing packing up, I walked across the street to Whole Foods for a second to grab some juice and get going on my drive and called Leah, we had a nice chat which was cut off prematurely but what I assumed to be me losing service as I walked into the front doors of Whole Foods.  Didnt think much of it, texted her and told her I'd be there in an hour- it's about 7:00.  I got to house and walked towards the front door when her dad came outside and introduced himself then said Leah had not told them about the dog sitting at all, and although it was fine she needs to tell them before she does such things. haha.  Also, she had taken a train into downtown Chicago for something and left my dog with a friend, AND apparently left her food with a different friend AND her phone was dead. great. So luckily her mom was able to get in touch with the friend who within ten minutes came and dropped her off with me. 
Next day I get this text, it was too long to be able to do a phone screen shot. 






"Alexa!!! This is Leah off a friends phone. Apple claimed to have fixed my cracked screen and water damage yet I'm still having trouble. 😣 So I'm rather phone less for the next couple days but I'll stay in touch because I can watch Beans over the next 2 weekends if you still need a sitter? I'm sorry for the confusion with my family. They've been quite unhappy lately with me and my free spirited ways. But yes I can totally watch the beanie baby whenever you need me!!! Despite the mix up on Sunday, I can assure you I am not as irresponsible as I was made to seem. I took very good care of her all weekend and my friends will attest to that! Equality is a large aspect of my Buddhist faith. Treating an ant on the sidewalk as you would Beyoncé; with kindness and divine consciousness. She was loved on so much by so many people in such a short time she became the mascot of my group of friends and we all LOVED having her around! She's such a love bug and turned out to be the perfect fit for my peaceful group of pals :) I respect you so much for remaining so patient and kind throughout. You are truly living my idea of "dream life" right now. Living out of an RV, traveling the USA with my furry companion, and making art. I don't think I could imagine anything more blissful. Youre making do with what you have while remaining mindful and conscious. I get nothing but good energy from the duo of you and beans!!!! Namaste! Have a beautiful day and again, I apologize for the confusion!"

Yep, so that's my "adventures in finding a craigslist pet sitter story"