Nancy Stevens , owner of Ark Angels Pet Care , had begun inviting other pet sitters to meet for coffee in 2002 when she had just started her own business. The initial purpose was to get to know each other and share our common problems and mistakes . The hope was to form friendships and a network of folks who could help each other . After 6 years of coffee chats, the group grew and we were regularl
y having 10-14 people attend. Once everyone agreed that we should organize into a non profit group and start having regularly scheduled meeting a Board was formed and our Policies and Mission Statement were developed. Jerry Wentz of Homesitters of Raleigh, Ron Wilson of Kildaire Cat n Canary, CIndy Golden of Raleigh Pet Sitters, Denise Doll of Reining Cats and Dogs, Kato George of Bone A Fide Pet Care, Liza Koome of Pipers Pets, Lois Kelly of Four Paws and Laura Campbell of Paws Up Pet Sitting were the initial Board members when the group first organized. In the first 3 years , the group grew to 27 members and raised over$40,000 worth of food,pet care items and money to give to local rescue groups. In more recent years, TAPPS has elected to donate money to 2 rescue groups a year and recently established a scholarship fund for the NC State Vet School. We are local pet sitters who care about each other and our community .The TAPPS Group is now officially dissolved as a non profit group ( 12/29/2015) . We'll continue to refer to each other and get to know one another but there will no longer be a web site nor formal meetings or gatherings.
