My dog sitting side hustle allows me guilt-free indulgences like a treat at Starbucks or a mini shopping spree at Athleta

• After our dog died, I wasn't ready to get another one just yet. Instead, I became a dog sitter.
• I use Rover to advertise my services to local dog owners. One month, I brought in nearly $1,000.
• This side hustle gives me so much joy and has helped bring my family closer together.

As we approached the one-year anniversary of putting our family dog to sleep, I felt myself yearning for a dog again. I wanted something goofy and silly to distract me from the weight of the world. I wanted that companion napping behind me while I worked. Still, I wavered.

When we'd said goodbye to our Very Good Boy, I'd been struggling with my health. The absence of walking the dog, cleaning up after the dog, and worrying about the dog had allowed me to focus on rest and recovery. While I was feeling better, what if my health turned again? Plus, dogs are expensive and time consuming. I wasn't ready to jump in all the way.

Instead, I decided to try an experiment — I'd become a dog sitter. Our house and lives were already set up to host dogs, and this plan allowed me to sit in my indecisiveness for a little while longer. Even better, instead of the dog being a cash outflow, the dogs would be a cash inflow. I set up a profile on Rover, a website that matches dog owners to dog sitters and dog walkers, and declared myself open for business.

Business is steady

In my Rover profile, I highlighted that I was an experienced dog owner with two school-age kids. I said clearly that I would only take one dog at a time, and that dog would be part of the family during their stay. I stated that visiting pups get two short walks every day and a longer walk every few days, as well as frequent potty breaks in my small, fenced backyard. I opted to be little bit picky about the types of dogs I would care for. I prefer medium and large dogs that are over a year old who have been spayed or neutered, are good with kids, and are crate-trained.

Since starting in January, I've been busy. I haven't had a full week without a dog guest in the last four months. I'm currently charging $50 to 65 a day, which a steal in the area I live in. I'm easily bringing in $600 dollars a month, and in February, when dogs came over a holiday week that qualified for my higher prices, it was nearly $1,000, even after Rover took its 20% cut. For me, that has meant guilt-free indulgences at Starbucks and a mini-shopping spree at Athleta's spring sale.

I'm getting more than extra spending money

Unsurprisingly, the dogs have brought me more than just extra cash, they've also brought me so much joy. I'm a sucker for a wagging tail when I come in the door and their frequent mischievousness makes me laugh.

I was pleasantly surprised by the way caring for the dogs also became a family hobby. My kids have taken it as a group responsibility to make sure all our dog guests are comfortable and well-loved. The pups are all showered with scratches, played with, and sometimes allowed to snatch leftovers off of my kids' plates.

With each new dog we have that new-puppy energy that takes over the house, no matter what the dog's age is. "Look at their cute floppy ears! Look at how they floofy they are! What tricks can they do?" We enjoy brainstorming nicknames for all our guests, seeing whose room they'll choose to sleep in, and letting them lick our stinky feet. We love it.

One recent morning, we were watching a dog we'd nicknamed Cyborg due to his one, bright-blue eye. I was up earlier than usual because he'd woken me, which meant I overlapped with my 12-year-old son. As Cyborg whined and paced and carried around a single sock, my son and I realized if we all left right then, we'd have time to hit up the coffee shop for a hot cocoa before he got on the bus.

I won't pretend our walk through the fog that morning was a life-changing mother-son moment, but it was special because we don't get to do that every day. It only happened because we had the pup with us. Someday we'll get our forever dog, but until then we're all enjoying our family side hustle.