My parents need someone to take their 2 small dogs out twice a day. Who can help with this?

Some animal lovers do this as a sideline; my sister did. I also know of a fellow who started a dog walking business because he loved to be with animals.

You might contact veterinary offices in your parents' area and ask if they know of anyone. Sometimes they have bulletin boards and people post notices of dog walking services.

There might also be some girl or boy scouts working on animal care badges (I'm assuming there are such badges) who would be willing to help out, if they could work it in with their school hours.

Are there any 4H groups in their area? That's another option. Or you or they could contact the local senior centers and see if anyone has posted a notice or expressed an interest in dog walking.

One thing I would be leary of doing even though it's a possibility, and that's putting an ad in Craigs List. With your parents being so far away and somewhat limited because of health issues, you really wouldn't want anyone taking advantage of them, and one never knows what will result from Craigs' List ads. Just a warning....

This message board is all caregivers sharing experiences; we're not an agency or organization. I agree with what pamstegma said. Also, can they pay a neighbor kid to stop by and walk the dogs? There are lots of people/companies who do this as a business, but they might get a better price just asking around people they know.

They might put in a small dog door and have a small area, say 8x10 for the dogs to use. OR they train the dogs to use piddle pads in the house. My sister has an 8 lb Yorkie, and she put in small stakes and tied inexpensive garden fencing to it to give her dog pee space on some pine straw.