A good pet sitter also spends quality time with the animal, gives him exercise and knows how to tell if he needs veterinary attention. What’s more, pet sitters typically offer additional services, such as taking in mail and newspapers and watering plants.

But just because someone calls herself a pet sitter doesn’t mean she’s qualified to do the job.

How do you find a good pet sitter in Northern Kentucky? Here are a few questions to consider and qualifications to ask about.

• Does the pet sitter have proof of commercial liability insurance (to cover accidents and negligence) and is bonded (to protect against theft by a pet sitter or her employees)?
• Does the pet sitter have a preferred veterinarian or will they use yours?
• What associations does the pet sitter belong to? Are they members of or associated with the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters or Pet Sitters International?
• Is there a contract that spells out everything, such as fees, what is expected, etc.
• Does the pet sitter have a backup in case of emergencies, such as car break downs, sickness, etc.
• Will they provide documentation about what they did with your pet

One of the most important aspects about choosing the right pet sitter for your pet is to make sure that you and your pet meet that person. You want to be sure that you are comfortable with the person that will take care of your pet. You also want to make sure that your pet is comfortable with the pet sitter also.

There are many qualified Northern Kentucky pet sitters in the area. The best way to find them is to talk to your veterinarian for recommendations, your friends who own pets and have used pet sitters before, or to call around and interview different pet sitters.

That’s just the type of help a new Fort Thomas company, The Essential Helper is offering.  For a flat fee of $25 per hour or even lower when a monthly package is purchased, The Essential Helper provides busy homes help with manage their time and quality of life issues.

The firm offers a variety of personal services including running errands, grocery and personal shopping, pet care, landscaping work, decorating advice and a host of other services that the company provides. 

The company’s website, www.theessentialhelper.com offers complete listing of services and pricing options as well as contact information for the firm.  A free consultation is available to help assist customers.

The Florence Freedom, Northern Kentucky’s own professional baseball team, have finalized their upcoming 2008 54 home game baseball schedule. The team opens with a 5 game home stand on Wednesday, May 21st at Champion Window Field. That game has an early start time of 11:05am for “Education Day” presented by Xavier University’s College of Social Sciences, Health, and Education.  

Opening Night is the first “Thirsty Thursday” of 2008 on May 22nd. The fan favorite night will again feature $1.00 beverages but also have the new additions of Karaoke on the concourse and themed foods including Mexican, Italian, and Greek food on different Thursday nights.Monday through Friday games begin at 7:05pm and Saturday games begin at 6:05pm all summer long.

Sunday’s in May and June begin at 2:05pm and in July and August start at 6:05pm.Four games in 2008 have early start times of 11:05am. Opening Day May 21st, May 27th, 28th, and July 9th are all morning games.

The complete 2008 Florence Freedom schedule is available at www.florencefreedom.com. Florence Freedom is a member of the Frontier League, a 12-team Independent Professional Baseball League established in 1993. The Freedom play a 96 game schedule with 54 home games between late May and early September.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has released a study on possible scenarios for adding tolls to cover the cost of the Brent Spence Bridge, along with other bridge projects across the Ohio River in Louisville.

Kentucky House Speaker Jody Richards says state officials must consider tolls. Richards stated that residents from other states would also be paying tolls allowing part of the costs to be defrayed from Kentucky residents.

The bridge, named after long-serving Congressman, Brent Spence, opened in November 1963 with three lanes of traffic in each direction in a unique double deck design.  In the late 1980′s the emergency lane was removed and currently the bridge carries 4 lanes of traffic in each direction.